Clinical Hypnosis
Clinical hypnosis is a therapeutic approach that uses focused attention, relaxation, and guided suggestions to help you become more receptive to helpful changes in thoughts, sensations, emotions, and behaviours. You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout the process. Rather than being “put under,” hypnosis is more like entering a deeply focused state where you can slow things down and work with patterns that may be difficult to shift through conscious effort alone.
Clinical hypnosis can be helpful for:
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People receiving hypnosis showed significant reductions in anxiety, with the strongest results when hypnosis was combined with other therapy approaches.
Research suggests hypnosis can meaningfully reduce pain. In some experimental studies, people who responded well to hypnosis experienced approximately 30–40% reductions in pain. -
In one systematic review, 54% of people with IBS experienced adequate long-term symptom relief following hypnotherapy.
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A 2025 review of 20 randomized controlled trials involving 1,250 people found that hypnosis significantly reduced pain and anxiety during invasive medical procedures.
When Could Clinical Hypnosis be Helpful?
Clinical hypnosis may be a good fit if you are looking for support with anxiety, stress, pain, physical symptoms, or patterns that feel difficult to change through conscious effort alone. It can be especially helpful if you are comfortable with guided relaxation and imagery, want to strengthen your ability to regulate your nervous system, or are interested in learning self-hypnosis skills you can use between sessions. Clinical hypnosis can also be used alongside other therapeutic approaches as part of a broader treatment plan. It may be worth exploring if you:
Feel like your mind knows what to do, but your body continues to react differently
Experience anxiety or tension that is difficult to settle
Want help managing pain or uncomfortable physical sensations
Become highly anxious around medical procedures
Want to strengthen relaxation and self-regulation skills
Clinical hypnosis offers a gentle, focused way to work with patterns that can feel difficult to change through conscious effort alone. Used at your pace and in collaboration with you, it can support greater calm, self-awareness, and a stronger sense of choice in how you respond to your thoughts, emotions, and body.