Q. Can anybody be hypnotised?
A. Pretty much. The exceptions are: those who are educationally subnormal or suffering from senility, very young children, hard drug addicts, anybody under the influence of large amounts of alcohol.
Q. How do you hypnotise somebody?
A. Usually by a voice induction, though there are various other methods such as strobe lights, rotating spirals and so on, usually the voice is used as well though. There is no special way of speaking, no ‘incantations’ or magical words, and the accent is quite often on producing a very relaxed state of mind. Mostly, a slow and soothing approach is taken but there are many therapists who use their normal speed of speech and may even step it up a bit or use a fairly ‘crisp’ delivery if they prefer the ‘command’ method of induction. Sometimes, too, they will employ – with permission – the use of touch in various ways, commonly of the clients hands or forehead. Mostly the client will close their eyes fairly soon in the induction, but an individual can quite easily be hypnotised with their eyes open. After hypnosis is induced (usually within in matter of minutes) a deepener routine might be used to deepen the state.
Q. Can you make people be made to forget things like, like suggestions or the session itself?
A. You cannot actually ‘make’ anybody do anything in hypnosis. Hypnosis gives nobody any power over the person who is hypnotised. Theoretically, you could suggest to a hypnotised person that they would forget the content of the session. But it is not reliable, by any means, and it is most unlikely that you could create a lasting and total amnesia, and certainly not of the session itself.
Q. Can you get ‘stuck’ in hypnosis?
A. No, you definitely cannot! If you were hypnotised and the hypnotist just walked away and left you, you would simply bring yourself out of the state whenever you wanted to.
Q. How long does a cure from hypnosis actually last?
A. It depends on how much subconscious change was brought about in the first place. If a change has been to a flawed fundamental belief system, then the cure will be permanent and last for a lifetime. If only superficial changes have been made, then it may only last a few days or weeks. This is why direct suggestion therapy sometimes fails miserably. The best therapy is when the/an underlying cause has been resolved before any suggestion work is carried out at all.
Q. Is it successful with real phobias?
A. Usually immensely so, if the right sort of therapy is employed.
Q. Does it always work?
A. No. No more than any other form of medicine, complimentary OR orthodox does. A responsible therapist will soon detect when it is not going to work and discharge that client, so that they may seek the help they need elsewhere. Another hynotherapist might produce the desired result where the first one could not, because of client/therapist ‘mix’.

Acknowledgement: Terence Watts www.hypnosense.com