People often use the words hypnosis and hypnotherapy as if they mean the same thing. They are connected, but they aren’t exactly the same.

Hypnosis is a state of focused attention and relaxation. It’s something people can naturally experience throughout the day. You may enter a focused state while driving a familiar route, watching a movie, listening to music or getting completely absorbed in a book. Your attention becomes focused on one thing while you become less aware of everything happening around you.

Hypnotherapy involves using hypnosis as part of a therapeutic session. Instead of simply experiencing a relaxed or focused state, a hypnotherapist guides you through hypnosis with a specific purpose in mind.

During a hypnotherapy session, we may work with your subconscious mind to bring attention to thoughts, emotions, memories, habits or patterns connected to what you’d like to address. The session is guided around your individual needs and goals. One way to think about it is that hypnosis describes the state you’re experiencing while hypnotherapy describes how that state is being used during a therapeutic session.

Hypnotherapy can also look different from one person to another. Some people may experience vivid mental imagery. Others may notice physical sensations or changes in their emotions. Some people may simply feel very relaxed while listening to the hypnotherapist’s voice. You don’t have to experience hypnosis in one particular way for the session to be meaningful.

You’re also still an active participant during hypnotherapy. You’re able to hear me, communicate with me and make choices throughout the session. Hypnosis isn’t about giving your mind over to someone else.

For me, one of the things I enjoy about hypnotherapy is being able to work directly with the subconscious mind. It can give people an opportunity to pay attention to thoughts and experiences that may be difficult to access through ordinary conversation alone.

If you’re interested in experiencing hypnotherapy with Magically Hypnosis, you can contact me with any questions. You can also fill out the hypnotherapy application to get started.