Clinical hypnotherapy

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching

What it is

Clinical hypnotherapy is not a stand-alone school of therapy; it is the use of hypnosis, by a licensed health professional, inside a treatment the clinician is already competent to deliver. Division 30 defines hypnosis as a state of consciousness involving "focused attention and reduced peripheral…

Format

• Clinical hypnosis has no fixed protocol length; sources describe a repeatable session structure nested inside the clinician's own treatment plan.
• Phase A: Assessment and preparation (usually first 1 to 2 sessions, no formal hypnosis or a brief trial).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Training ladder. ASCH Level I covers inductions (at least three), intensification (at least three strategies), reorientation and basic applications; Level II adds ideomotor signalling, an introduction to ego-state therapy, work with children, trauma, habits, anxiety and somatic problems including pain. Level II topics are not covered as full procedures here.
• What it is. Clinical hypnotherapy is not a stand-alone school of therapy; it is the use of hypnosis, by a licensed health professional, inside a treatment the clinician is already competent to deliver. Division 30 defines hypnosis as a state of consciousness involving "focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness" with an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion, and hypnotherapy as the use of hypnosis to…
• How change is thought to happen. Two phases: an induction that builds absorption, readiness to respond and (usually) relaxation, then suggestions that target perceptual, cognitive, emotional or ideomotor processes. ASCH training frames hypnosis as a state of absorption linked to neuroplasticity and change and as a relational clinical skill. Change is consolidated by post-hypnotic suggestions and self-hypnosis…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• breathing slowing in step with your voice.
• over-claiming; describe only what you saw.
• drowsiness, disorientation or headache: see section 5.
• harsh or critical figures; redirect to a kind presence.
• parental consent and child assent; keep eyes-open options.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.