Is Hypnotherapy Safe? Trauma Recovery Facts

There can be uncertainty around hypnotherapy. What is it? Is it safe? Does it actually work? These are fair questions that deserve clear answers.

The Research Base

Ericksonian hypnotherapy has substantial research supporting its effectiveness. Studies on fibromyalgia patients show that clinical hypnosis significantly reduces pain intensity, improves sleep quality, and enhances quality of life, with benefits lasting at least three months. Research across multiple chronic pain conditions, including cancer, arthritis, and low-back pain demonstrates its effectiveness for pain management.

Reviews of controlled trials show that hypnosis results in greater pain reductions across various chronic pain conditions, including reduced intensity, duration, frequency, and decreased use of analgesic medications.

Medical Recognition

Research from Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto found that patients who received hypnosis before and after surgery consumed fewer opioids during their hospital stay and reported less catastrophic thinking about their pain. Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal has conducted multiple studies on self-hypnosis for chronic pain management, showing significant benefits for pain intensity, anxiety, and quality of life.

Stanford University School of Medicine has published decades of research investigating hypnosis's influence on brain activity and its effectiveness in controlling pain related to surgery, cancer, and fibromyalgia.

The method was developed by Milton Erickson, a psychiatrist and psychologist whose work changed how we understand therapeutic change and the unconscious mind.

How It Works

Hypnotherapy works with the nervous system's natural capacity for focused attention. You remain aware and in control throughout. There's no loss of consciousness, no making you do things against your will. Those are misconceptions from stage hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy creates a state of deep relaxation where the unconscious mind becomes more accessible. In this state, stuck patterns can shift, pain responses can change, and new possibilities can emerge.

Specific Applications

Research supports hypnotherapy effectiveness for:

• Fibromyalgia (61-70% pain reduction in studies)

• Irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, headaches, cancer-related pain

• Prolonged grief, with improvements in both grief symptoms and depression

• Chronic and acute pain management

• Trauma recovery

• Anxiety and depression

• Sleep disorders

Safety and Control

You're always in control during sessions. You can speak, move, or end the session at any time. The work is collaborative. I guide, but you remain an active participant.

Sessions are conducted in the environment that feels safe for you. You receive recordings to use at home, extending the benefits and enabling self-hypnosis practice between sessions. Private hypnotherapy sessions are offered in -person and virtually effctively.

Ready to explore hypnotherapy for yourself?
If you're curious whether this gentle, evidence-based approach could support your healing, let's talk.

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Offering trauma coaching, somatic movement, and grief mentoring. Virtually and in-person in the West Kootenays, BC

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Disclaimer: Shauna is a Certified Trauma Coach, Somatic Specialist, and Certified Death Doula. Her services are non-clinical and do not replace treatment by a licensed mental health professional.