In order for hypnotherapy to actually take place professionally, it is necessary that the person to be hypnotized has trust in the hypno-therapist and is willing to be put into a state of trance. If trust and willingness are not present, it will be difficult or even impossible for the hypnotist to induce deep relaxation and open the subconscious. Children can also be hypnotized, but this is often more difficult than with adults. Incidentally, it does not matter too much whether the client believes in the success of hypnosis at all. Hypnosis therefore works in most cases, even with doubters who are prepared to accept it.

The question should rather be: What problems can hypnotherapy not help with? Because if you take a closer look, the areas of application for hypnosis are very wide-ranging and versatile. Hypnotherapy can be used to treat panic attacks and anxiety, as well as to combat addiction (stop smoking at last, alcohol addiction), to treat depression and burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, sleep disorders and test anxiety. Hypnosis can also be used to reduce weight, as well as for anorexia and bulimia. Hypnosis is also increasingly being used in preparation for childbirth, as is birth hypnosis itself. In addition to the treatment of complaints or use during childbirth, hypnotherapists also often work with people who want to face up to their past, look for reasons for recurring patterns of behavior, resolve conflicts, work on their self-love or develop as a person.

Before the hypnotherapist puts his or her clients into a trance, an anamnesis is taken in which the current state, wishes and goals are addressed and questions are asked about hypnosis and the procedure itself. After this introductory talk, the hypnotist initiates the trance induction, which can be indirect or direct. The hypnosis techniques vary and are used differently depending on the client and therapist. Eye fixation, as seen on television, in which the hypnotist swings a pendulum, is just one of these possibilities. Touching, counting backwards, scents, ... are also used, as is the flash induction known from the shows, although this is rarely used in hypnotherapy. The aim is to completely relax the client both physically and mentally and to switch off the conscious mind so that the subconscious can be entered by the hypnotist.

In this state of deep relaxation, the hypnotized person has access to all their past experiences and can address their issues and ultimately resolve them with the help of the therapist. In this state, it is also possible to recognize disruptive behavioural patterns, misguided ideas, bad habits, illness-causing disorders and deep-rooted genes, to find their triggers and to apply methods that make it possible to resolve and change them during the session and far beyond. New ways of thinking and behavioral patterns are anchored in the subconscious during hypnotherapy and from now on are a perceived reality. The smoker who undergoes hypnosis is already a non-smoker before he steps out onto the street again, the frustration eater is now a pleasure eater. In theory, at least. In practice, this means working on your new nature or state through self-suggestion even after the session, until it actually becomes reality.

Most schools and training institutes offer basic training in hypnotherapy to anyone who is interested in working with people and accompanying them in their development. Continuing education, further training, on the other hand, requires specialist skills and / or a completed basic training as a hypnotherapist. For the Mental / Hypnosis Coach certificate course, participants are required to have the Cert. Integral Coach or a comparable qualification.

Interested parties usually have to invest between five and nine training days for hypnotherapy training, full-time. The duration of the course can vary greatly - from seven consecutive days, to three weekends, to nine consecutive weeks. The best way to find out the current course dates is to contact the individual hypnotherapy training institutes directly using the contact form.

If you want to be competently trained in hypnotherapy, you usually have to invest between CHF 1,250 and CHF 4,000. More extensive continuing education, further training, such as becoming a certified psychological mental coach, is somewhat more expensive and costs CHF 6,100 (as at 2018 for all figures).