How it Works

Most people fear the unknown, and for many people hypnosis is a mysterious phenomenon.
They have no idea of how it works.
And many people fear things which they don’t understand.

Scientists have studied this question for over 200 years! But most would agree that hypnosis works by focusing the client’s attention, leading them to notice and become absorbed in certain sensations, feelings, thoughts, memories and images.

Because of stage hypnotists who make it look as astonishing as possible in order to impress their audiences. You can see these stage hypnotists not only in live performances in theatres, clubs, and private parties, but also all over Youtube! There are even “Street Hypnosis” practitioners who are filmed hypnotising people on the street or in bars.

Stage hypnotists select a few subjects from a large audience, while street hypnotists may try it on many people, but only show their best results.

Hypnotherapists work with the average member of the public.
They cannot afford to pick out only the extremely responsive people, as they are a small minority.
We could not make a living if we turned down 99% of potential clients!
But there’s an even more important difference between hypnotherapy and stage hypnotism.
The hypnotherapist is working only for their client’s benefit, to help the client to achieve their own goals.
Whereas the stage hypnotist mainly works to entertain the audience.

Some stage hypnotists have been known to act very irresponsibly. For example, they may make suggestions of a sexual nature, which some people find amusing.
But of course they have no idea of what hang-ups the volunteer might already have.
They’ve never seen them before, and they’ll probably never see them again.
This is why Peter Casson, who was the greatest British stage hypnotist, campaigned for “ethical stage hypnotism.”
He set up an association to improve standards.
If you look at their code of conduct you will see that it forbids many stunts commonly performed by stage hypnotists, and with good reason!

On this site you’ll find articles about what is hypnosis, how hypnosis is used in therapy, how does it feel to be hypnotised, and how I use hypnosis. But if you still have another question, you can use the contact form HERE to ask any question that’s not answered on this website. Every genuine inquiry gets a personal reply, not AI-generated, no sales pitch. You might have several questions- that’s not a problem.