Hypnotherapy is fascinating, but can it really help you heal from a trauma and resulting post-traumatic stress disorder? Let's take a look.
Is hypnosis actually a real thing?
Yes, but — unless you're already familiar with hypnosis — it probably isn't what you think it is.
Hypnosis isn't a therapy or treatment in itself, but rather a tool to facilitate treatment — take, for instance, cognitive behavioral therapy. Once under hypnosis, therapy can, for some people, enter a different dimension. It's much like meditation or breathing exercises, in that regard. Once a therapist teaches you how, you don't need them to enter a hypnotic state, as self-hypnosis is also possible.
When used for therapeutic purposes, hypnosis is called hypnotherapy. Rather a few scientific studies have suggested that it can help (some) people with anything from chronic pain to smoking cessation, and from anxiety disorders to symptoms of the menopause, though results are often inconclusive.
Not everyone is equally susceptible to hypnosis — and it's not clear why some people are more hypnotizable than others. (I tried it myself over the course of PTSD treatment, and it didn't make me feel any different than usual, so I assume it didn't work for me.)
Could hypnotherapy help make progress with your PTSD treatment?
Once you have a clearer idea of what hypnosis is, it makes some sort of sense. PTSD affects memory in various ways. Intrusive memories of the trauma and surrounding events can assault people with post-traumatic stress disorder with little notice when triggered, while PTSD also commonly features memory gaps — aspects of the trauma that are "blurry". Some researchers even go so far as to call PTSD a memory disorder.
Maybe. A large meta-analysis of studies analyzing the potential of hypnotherapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder did show hypnotherapy as a promising treatment. In fact, the benefits that many people who underwent it reaped remained stable over time. However, many studies on the topic remain of poor quality, and further investigation is sorely needed.
What's more, there is some concern that hypnosis could facilitate the creation of false memories — so if you go into it thinking that hypnosis acts as some kind of truth serum that allows your subconscious mind to recover information about what really happened, whether recently or long in the past, be cautious. Hypnosis may be a helpful tool, but it's certainly not magic.
Before you take the plunge, you may find it helpful to know that hypnotherapy features nowhere on the American Psychological Association's list of highly-recommended PTSD treatments, which would be:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, a broad branch of psychotherapy ultimately focused on helping you recognize and change maladaptive thought patterns, and its spin-off cognitive therapy.
- Cognitive processing therapy, which helps you confront your trauma head-on.
- Prolonged exposure therapy, which desensitizes you to the things that scare you.
Hypnotherapy doesn't even make the list of "conditionally-recommended" treatments, which does include eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) and medications.
What happens during hypnotherapy for PTSD?
Though anyone can take a hypnosis course, hypnotherapy should be carried out by a psychologist or other mental health professional who is specifically trained in using the technique, in conjunction with the kind of therapy they offer.
To induce hypnosis, the therapist can use a number of different strategies — not all will work for everyone. These may include asking you to focus on a spot in the room, recalling a visual of a place where you felt safe and relaxed, or focusing on physical relaxation and breaths. As you enter a state of hypnosis, you will remain in control, but the conscious, logical, part of your brain that usually rules will make space for your subconscious.
When you've reached that point, the therapeutic work can begin. If it works for you, this will allow you to process all sorts of things — from the time before your trauma that's often crucial, to the trauma itself and the way PTSD is now holding you hostage. If it works, hypnotherapy can allow for processing on a deeper level, which can offer new insights and liberate you from burdens and blockages that you've been carrying on for a long time.
Hypnotherapy itself should feel safe. If you need to take a break, even in a hypnotic state, you will be able to do so.
A final word
Even if this therapy does not end up benefiting you, when carried out by a qualified mental health professional you trust, it should not do any harm. For many people with PTSD, it is an option worth exploring — but in conjunction with other treatments supported by stronger scientific evidence.