Search all 9 myths about clinical hypnotherapy and DTT™. Each entry includes the common misconception and the clinical reality.
A certified hypnotherapist's treatment is only as strong as the client's allowability. Think of it like this: hypnosis does for the mind what massage does for the body. When you are enjoying lying on the masseur's table, you are vulnerable and trust the masseur to treat your body according to your wishes. If at any point, he hurt you or did something inappropriate, you would sit bolt upright, would you not? We call this "abreaction." If a hypnotherapist gave you an undesirable suggestion, you would immediately come out of the state.
A client cannot give up his free will in hypnosis any more than he can give up his free will when he is asleep. Actually, a client uses his/her free will to go into hypnosis, which is simply a heightened state of concentration and focus something most of us experience quite often anyway. In hypnotherapy, we isolate an area of a client's life that he/she wants to change, where he/she has not been able to change on his/her own. So essentially, you gain self-control. When one has not been able to quit smoking on his own and quits smoking with the aid of hypnotherapy, that is gaining enormous self-control and personal power!
Can you go to sleep against your wishes? Or have a massage against your wishes? It is essentially the same "alpha" state. Further, your chances of being taken advantage of by a hypnotherapist are equal to your being taken advantage of by a Medical Doctor. Does it happen? Yes. Are these practitioners in business for long? No!
Even medical science cannot guarantee a 100% success rate. Certainly there is a small percentage of people who go so deep into trance that they do experience spontaneous amnesia. However, the vast majority remember everything the therapist says while they are in the state. Sometimes there is a delayed reaction…in other words, it may "hit" the client a day later. That is the real beauty of hypnosis: no matter how great you feel when you leave the office after a session, it is in the distillation process that occurs within the subconscious/psyche that one feels the real power. In other words, we "plant seeds," and they begin to sprout and grow after treatment.
Clinical hypnotherapy is recognized by the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the British Medical Association as a valid therapeutic modality. Stage hypnosis is performance. Clinical hypnotherapy is evidence-informed treatment delivered by certified practitioners.
The research shows the opposite — intelligent, imaginative, and strong-willed individuals actually respond best to hypnotherapy. The ability to focus and follow guided imagery is a cognitive strength, not a weakness. High performers are often ideal candidates.
Neuroimaging studies show measurable changes in brain activity following hypnotherapy — these are not placebo effects. DTT™ produces structural changes in subconscious patterns, and our 12-session Signature Programs are designed for lasting resolution, not temporary relief.
It is impossible to get stuck in hypnosis. Even if a hypnotherapist left the room, you would either naturally return to full waking consciousness within minutes or simply fall asleep and wake up normally. The state is self-limiting — your mind always returns to normal awareness.
Peer-reviewed research shows telehealth hypnotherapy is equally effective as in-person sessions for most applications. DTT™ was designed for virtual delivery — Dr. Hall has conducted thousands of sessions nationwide with the same resolution rates. The subconscious doesn't know the difference between a screen and a couch.
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