My colleague Dr. Carolyn Hines and I just participated in a seminar in which we were asked to discuss, among other topics, the possibilities of healing through hypnotherapy. Since this is a question I frequently receive in my inbox, I’m going to briefly recount some of the points we covered in the seminar.

First we talked about the basic difference between stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Stage hypnotists are entertainers. As such, their focus is on providing entertainment to the  audience. The welfare of the participant is secondary to the task.

In clinical hypnosis, the aim of the procedure is to help the client heal. Therefore, the well-being of the client is first and foremost.

Forms of hypnotism as a part of healing have been used for thousands of years. In recent centuries, it was re-introduced in the 1800s by a physician named Mesmer, who thought that disease was caused by a misalignment of our body’s electromagnetic fluids. He created an elaborate series of movements to re-align the “animal magnetism.” It appeared to work. Of course, what he was doing without realizing it was hypnotizing his clients. Since then, scientists have researched the phenomenon, which is a natural mental process, and are just beginning to acknowledge the array of potential benefits.

Disorders that respond beneficially to hypnotherapy include depression, anxiety, panic attacks, chronic pain, Reynaud’s Syndrome, high blood pressure, migraines, gastrointestinal symptoms, and PTSD. There are also benefits to those undergoing treatment for cancer, obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases, among many other diagnoses.

The success of hypnotherapy (which is really self-hypnosis by the client) is just another evidence of the power of our minds to heal our bodies.