The 4 Types of Hypnotherapy

The field of hypnotherapy can appear as a muddy mess. Hard to navigate and not well signposted!

There are actually several distinct approaches to hypnotherapy within the field. They represent very different approaches to the whole issue of psychological change and healing.

From directly inducing a “trance”, “hypnotising” people when they're not aware of it, to regression to early childhood (or even past-lives) – the field seems a marketplace for all sorts of uses of hypnosis!

By understanding the different types of hypnotherapy you will be able to recognize what is being presented by a training school and make an informed choice about which is the best approach for you.

In a recent live webinar, I gave this 4 types of hypnotherapy lecture, which is a part of the first day of the Diploma training.

It's usually one of the most well received presentations in our Diploma training as students find it very clarifying and helpful in navigating the hypnotherapy field.

Watch the lecture below, gain clarity and help yourself make a more informed decision about the training that will hopefully – for many of you – be the foundation for your future therapy success.

The Four Traditions of Hypnotherapy

These are the four main traditions of hypnotherapy (note: there can often be a degree of overlap).

Traditional Hypnosis
A focus on suggestions for symptom reduction and removal – however, there is no emphasis on learning and applying coping skills.

Hypno-analysis
A focus on the original cause or sensitising event: regression to the sensitising event is required in order to release blocked emotion, and it may be required to identify “repressed memories” – with consequent risks of false memories.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapy 
Based, perhaps loosely, on the work of Milton Erickson, often incorporating NLP: a focus on the creative unconscious as the source of the solution and the conscious mind of the client as potentially resistant to change.

Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH)
A focus on symptom reduction as well as understanding and addressing, in a collaborative way, the underlying inter-related patterns of thinking, feeling and behaviour that maintain the symptoms – through which the client acquires self-awareness and learns coping skills.