Last updated on 30 November 2025 by Brisbane Livewell Clinic Editorial Team
Hypnotherapy is a structured and interactive way to explore thoughts, habits and responses that feel automatic or difficult to shift. Many people look into Hypnotherapy when they want to understand long-term patterns or make steady changes in how they respond to stress, cravings or daily challenges.
This guide explains what Hypnotherapy is, how it works and what it commonly supports.
If you want to read about how sessions are delivered, you can learn more about Hypnotherapy Brisbane.
What Is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy helps you enter a calm, focused and receptive state so you can explore internal patterns more clearly. You stay conscious, aware and able to respond the entire time. Many people describe the experience as steady and relaxing.
Hypnotherapy is not stage hypnosis. It does not involve losing control or acting without awareness. It is structured, private and designed to support real behavioural change.
How Does Hypnotherapy Work?
Hypnotherapy supports change by helping you focus deeply while reducing distractions. This can make it easier to explore the thoughts, habits and emotional responses that influence everyday behaviour. The process is grounded and practical, and often involves:
noticing automatic responses
identifying underlying triggers
building new patterns
learning steadier emotional strategies
developing healthier habits over time
You stay aware and can pause or ask questions whenever you choose.
How Is Hypnotherapy Different From Stage Hypnosis?
Stage hypnosis is entertainment. Hypnotherapy is the opposite. It aims to help you understand and shift patterns through clear, structured guidance.
Key differences include:
you stay aware and in control
there is no performance element
the focus is on learning and clarity
you decide how far to go
the plan is tailored to your goals
Hypnotherapy is collaborative and based on steady, supportive communication.
What Can Hypnotherapy Support?
Hypnotherapy is commonly explored for a wide range of concerns. These include:
long-term habit patterns
cravings or automatic impulses
cycles of stress or tension
difficulty maintaining routines
feeling overwhelmed
improving focus and clarity
supporting motivation
building internal confidence
improving sleep quality
breaking unhelpful thought loops
feeling more regulated day to day
understanding emotional triggers
These areas give a clear picture of how Hypnotherapy can support people who want steadier responses, better focus or healthier habits, without requiring force or pressure.
What Does Hypnotherapy Feel Like?
People often describe Hypnotherapy as calm, clear and deeply relaxing. You stay alert enough to follow the process and aware enough to respond whenever you choose.
You remain in control, can open your eyes or adjust your position at any time, and can pause the process if needed.
Many compare Hypnotherapy to meditation, mindfulness or steady breathing.
What Techniques Are Commonly Used in Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapists use a range of techniques to help people explore thoughts, behaviours and emotional patterns.
While each approach varies, many sessions draw on one or more of the following methods:
Focused Breathing and Relaxation
Helps settle the mind and reduce distractions so it is easier to explore internal patterns.
Guided Attention
Encourages a calm, steady focus on a thought or feeling without becoming overwhelmed by it.
Cognitive Reframing
Supports a new understanding of habits or responses by examining thoughts from a different angle.
Pattern Interruption
Helps shift automatic reactions or behaviours by creating space for new choices.
Suggestion-Based Techniques
Uses calm, clear language to support new perspectives, routines or emotional responses.
Anchoring and Grounding
Establishes a sense of stability so a person can explore challenging thoughts safely and with clarity.
Imagery or Visual Cues (Optional)
Some people find it helpful to picture calm settings or symbolic representations of change. This is optional and not required for Hypnotherapy to work.
These techniques are used to support clarity, emotional steadiness and positive behaviour change without pressure or force. They help people understand their responses and consider new ways of approaching familiar situations.
Why Do People Explore Hypnotherapy?
Many people explore Hypnotherapy when they feel stuck or need a structured way to work through habits or emotional patterns.
Common reasons include:
noticing behaviours that feel automatic
wanting to understand emotional triggers
feeling caught in repetitive cycles
managing cravings or impulses
wanting steadier responses during stress
struggling to maintain new routines
feeling overwhelmed by long-term habits
wanting clearer thinking and direction
Hypnotherapy offers a calm, supportive way to explore these areas without pressure.
Is Hypnotherapy Backed by Research?
Hypnotherapy has been examined for many years in psychology and behavioural science. Much of the research looks at how focused attention, guided awareness and suggestion can influence habits, emotional reactions and thought patterns. This helps explain why people often use Hypnotherapy when they want to shift responses that feel automatic or hard to change.
A well-known review by Kirsch and colleagues (1995) found that using Hypnotherapy alongside cognitive behavioural strategies improved results in several areas. Hammond (2010) also reported positive findings for anxiety, phobias and stress-related patterns. Research by Bryant et al. (2005) followed people with acute stress disorder and found that benefits from Hypnotherapy continued well after the sessions ended.
Industry bodies summarise these findings too. The Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association highlights research into behavioural change, including smoking cessation. The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis explains how Hypnotherapy uses purposeful language, imagery and attention to help people work with their thoughts and reactions more effectively.
Overall, the research shows a long history of interest in how Hypnotherapy supports behaviour and emotional processing. Results differ from person to person, but the evidence base reflects why many people find Hypnotherapy a steady and useful way to explore change.
Who is Hypnotherapy Suitable For?
Hypnotherapy is suitable for most adults and teenagers who want to change a behaviour, thought pattern or emotional response. You don’t need to be “easily hypnotised” – you just need to be willing to engage with the process and to accept the posthypnotic suggestions made while you’re in your trance-like state.
Hypnotherapy may also support children with anxiety, phobias or behavioural challenges when delivered by a qualified practitioner.
Please note that Hypnotherapists are not medical professionals. If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness or condition such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and so on, please consult with your healthcare professional to discuss whether Hypnotherapy as an alternative medicine is appropriate for you.
Patients Often Seek Hypnotherapy For
Each of these concerns involves patterns that operate beneath conscious control – making Hypnotherapy a practical and effective way to create change.
Smoking cessation – Hypnotherapy helps retrain the part of your brain that associates cigarettes with stress, comfort or routine.
Weight loss – It reduces emotional eating triggers, reshapes your relationship with food and builds internal motivation for healthy habits.
Binge eating and sugar cravings – It helps rewire the emotional patterns driving impulsive eating and builds control around triggers.
Anxiety and generalised worry – Hypnotherapy creates a calm internal state and shifts the automatic responses that feed anxious thinking.
Depression and low motivation – It helps interrupt hopeless inner dialogue and supports positive momentum and goal connection.
Alcohol or gambling control – Hypnotherapy targets the unconscious pull of urges and helps build distance from addictive behaviours and substance abuse.
Insomnia and poor sleep – It teaches the brain to associate bedtime with calm and helps release the mental noise that blocks sleep.
Performance anxiety – Hypnotherapy builds confidence by rehearsing calm, focused responses in high-pressure situations.
Confidence and low self-esteem – It reprograms limiting beliefs and strengthens the inner voice that supports self-worth and self-confidence.
Understanding de-stressors and self-healing is beneficial, however, if your stress continues and you struggle with worry, anxiety, panic attacks, or phobias, or you are preparing for surgery or coping with physical illnesses and other stressors, professional support from a hypnotherapist will guide you and give you the right tools, tailored to your specific needs. This will enable you to trust in your ability to stay calm, in control, and feel on top of life, having life happening for you and not having life happen to you. (Lynd.all Briggs, Hypnotherapy Today, Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists)
Hypnotherapy vs Clinical Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy and Clinical Hypnotherapy share similar foundations. Both use focused attention, guided awareness and structured language to explore habits, reactions and internal patterns. The difference lies in the level of training and the situations each approach is best suited for.
Hypnotherapy is commonly used for everyday patterns, habits and behavioural change. It is often explored by people who want to shift responses that feel automatic or learn new ways of approaching stress, focus or motivation.
Clinical Hypnotherapy involves additional clinical training and is generally best for people who have an existing medical diagnosis or who are working within a broader health or mental health plan. This form of Hypnotherapy is often chosen when someone wants their Hypnotherapist to coordinate more closely with other health professionals or when the work sits within a structured care pathway.
Both approaches use cooperation, awareness and a steady pace. The main difference is the level of training behind the practitioner and how closely your challenge is connected to diagnosed medical conditions and medical support.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnotherapy
1. What is Hypnotherapy and how does it work?
Hypnotherapy is a guided process that helps you enter a calm and focused state so you can explore habits, thoughts and patterns with more clarity. You stay aware and in control at all times.
2. Will I lose awareness during Hypnotherapy?
You stay conscious and aware throughout the process. You can speak, pause or stop at any time.
3. Do I need a strong imagination for Hypnotherapy?
A strong imagination is not required. Hypnotherapy relies on guided attention and calm thinking, not complex visualisation.
4. What does Hypnotherapy feel like?
Hypnotherapy often feels like deep relaxation with steady awareness. You can still notice everything and respond whenever you want.
5. How long do changes usually last?
People notice changes at different speeds. Some shifts happen quickly, while others develop gradually. Many continue using the strategies they learn over time.
6. Can Hypnotherapy support habit or craving changes?
Hypnotherapy can support people who want to understand and shift their responses to cravings, habits or automatic behaviours. It offers a structured way to explore these patterns.
7. Is Hypnotherapy considered safe?
Hypnotherapy is considered low risk when delivered by a trained practitioner because you stay aware and in control the entire time.
8. Where can I read about sessions, fees or booking options?
To find out details about how Hypnotherapy is delivered, read about Hypnotherapy Brisbane.
