Hypnosis

During hypnosis, the intense absorption characteristic of the hypnotic state permits the subject to keep out of conscious awareness many routine experiences that would ordinarily be conscious by the process of nonpathological dissociation. Several principles provide guidance for the use of hypnosis in medicine and psychiatry. This chapter attempts to clarify some of the myths and misconceptions about hypnosis by establishing what hypnosis is and what it is not. For the most part, hypnosis is a benign process. Given that not everyone is hypnotizable to the same extent, it is helpful to perform a clinical assessment of a patient's hypnotizability before embarking on the use of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique. The use of hypnosis does not prevent the development of a transference reaction; it may actually facilitate its emergence earlier than in regular therapy owing to the intensity with which the material is expressed and memories are recovered.