Clinical hypnosis is not the "entertainment" trances we see on television or performed as a stage act. Clinical hypnosis is a proven scientific method of helping a client achieve their goals in conjunction with other established methods of helping. Some goals include stopping smoking, weight loss, relief from pain, stress, compulsions, obsessions, anxiety, and especially trauma. People change their minds and actions throughout their lives when exposed to appropriate information presented in a helpful way. A clinical hypnotherapist uses methods based on sound psychological principles to help repair and restore healthy levels of emotional and behavioral functioning. During trance, you are not powerless- you know exactly where you are and can adjust your position, sneeze, cough, and continue to function normally any time you wish. Trance is not sleep, although some people can get deeply relaxed.
There is no "right" way to experience trance. One person may experience trance as a restful feeling, while another as not very different from regular awareness. Everyone who is motivated to benefit from hypnosis can, and every person's experience of hypnosis is unique. Hypnosis cannot cause anyone to do something against his or her will or that contradicts his or her values. A hypnotic state is not the same thing as gullibility or weakness. Hypnosis is not something imposed on people, but something they do for themselves.
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