Does hypno-therapy work

Hypnotherapy has certainly been helpful to me. Aged 20 I underwent a short, intensive, course of hypnotherapy to help manage the stresses and strains of coping with dysfunctional parents (father alcoholic; mother bipolar), and found it a very useful coping tool.

Hypnotherapy can't solve your problems per se, but it can help to put them in perspective, and provide ways and means of better managing them. The effectiveness of such therapy is largely dependent on the client's willingness to engage fully with the process; to be guided and coached by the therapist, suspending critical judgement and allowing him/herself to participate in a collaborative exploration of thoughts, feelings etc..

Some people do this more readily than others, and although most can be hypnotised to some degree if they wish, a smaller number have the personality, disposition etc, to achieve maximum benefit from hypnotherapy. So, yes, it does work... very well for a few; quite well for others, and is a waste of time and money for some.

Individuals of above average intelligence who can concentrate/ focus well, and who have strong imaginative traits; are creative/ artistic, or who routinely engage in very intensely focused types of work (eg lab technicians; researchers; programmers etc) are generally highly responsive to hypnosis, as are occupational groups like nurses (who combine high levels of empathy with good interpersonal skills and a necessity to focus, and follow procedures/ routines etc) - indeed, nurses are probably the most generally "hypnotisable" occupational group.

With regard to hypnotherapy, it is also very helpful if the client has an interest in "the mind", and certainly it is imperative that s/he wishes to explore his/ her own mind, emotions, feelings, thought patterns etc: without this motivation it is unlikely that hypnotherapy will be beneficial. Generally, of course, it is likely that someone who has gone as far as consulting a hypnotherapist will meet this prerequisite.

Hypnotherapy can also be helpful with such matters as sport performance, smoking cessation, motivation etc, but its real effectiveness/ utility in these areas is variable in the extreme, and IMO it's little more than a "ritual of affirmation" for many. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and if it helps people - fine, their choice...but the suspicion remains that some therapist take a lot of money from clients who could achieve the same ends by other less costly means - if only someone thoughtful and caring (such as a good coach, sympathetic medic, or empathetic manager) told them so in appropriate ways.