By Andrea Laznik Amit, RP — registered psychotherapist and clinical psychologist with 25+ years’ experience in psychodynamic and ISTDP therapy
Sometimes your body reacts before you have words for what is happening. Your chest tightens. Your stomach turns. Pain flares during a stressful period. It can be hard to know what to do with symptoms that feel so physical, especially when they seem connected to stress, emotion, or experiences you have not fully been able to process. Knowing that the mind and body affect each other is important, but that knowledge does not always bring relief. What helps is having a careful way to work with the symptom, without fear or shame.
Clinical hypnosis creates a focused state where we can pay closer attention to what is happening inside you. In therapy, that focus helps us work with body-based symptoms that seem tied to anxiety, chronic pain, or trauma. We look at the symptom in the context of your life and the patterns that have become automatic. This gives us a more careful way to approach what you are feeling, with less fear and more choice.
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What clinical hypnosis is like
Many people think of stage hypnosis, which gives a very misleading picture of what hypnosis means in therapy. Clinical hypnosis is quiet, respectful, and collaborative. You remain aware of yourself and your surroundings. You are involved in the process the whole time.
In a session, hypnosis often begins by helping your attention become more focused. We might work with breathing, imagery, body sensations, or a specific therapeutic suggestion. This focused state makes it easier to approach experiences that are hard to reach through conversation alone.
I use hypnosis only when it fits the person and the purpose of therapy. It should feel connected to the work we are already doing together. You should know what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how it relates to the change you want in your life.
Why symptoms sometimes settle in the body
Anxiety often announces itself physically. Your heart races. Your stomach tightens. Your body reacts before you have had time to make sense of what is happening.
For some people, these responses are connected to anger or conflict. For others, they may be connected to closeness, sadness, or the fear of disappointing someone important. The feeling itself is complicated, so part of the tension moves into the body. After a while, the response arrives before you have time to think.
Pain can also become tied to emotional life. The pain is real. Emotional stress does not make pain imaginary, but it can shape intensity, attention, and the space pain occupies in daily life.
When physical symptoms are new, severe, or unexplained, it is important to make sure they have been properly assessed. Therapy does not replace medical care. Once medical concerns have been explored, clinical hypnosis can help you work more carefully with the emotional and physical layers of the experience.
How clinical hypnosis helps in therapy
In hypnosis, we are helping the mind and body respond in a different way. We are not forcing you to relax or trying to talk you out of what you feel. The work is more careful than that.
Clinical hypnosis may help you begin to:
- Notice sensations without moving immediately into fear
- Ease some of the tension around pain or anxious body symptoms
- Practice focused calm outside the session
- Create more space between a trigger and an automatic reaction
Hypnosis does not promise that symptoms will disappear on command. Real change usually takes practice, repetition, and a therapy process that looks at the whole person. The work becomes more useful when it is connected to your history, your relationships, and the emotional patterns that are active in your life right now.
A personalized process guided by you
My work is rooted in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. I also use ISTDP and clinical hypnosis when they are appropriate for the person sitting with me. This means we look beyond the symptom itself. We pay attention to the patterns that shape how you feel, relate, protect yourself, and respond under stress.
There is no single script for clinical hypnosis. For one person, the work might focus on panic symptoms that appear in the body. For another, it might support chronic pain management after medical concerns have been addressed. Someone else might use hypnosis to access a calmer internal state while working through trauma-related reactions.
I want to be clear that hypnosis is not something done to you. It is something we do together. Your will, pace, goals, and choices matter. In therapy, we work to notice what has become automatic, bring it more clearly into awareness, and make room for the changes you choose.
Clinical hypnosis and deeper change
Clinical hypnosis is most helpful in my practice when it is part of a larger therapeutic process. A symptom often has a story around it. It may be connected to old patterns, current relationships, unspoken feelings, or ways of coping that once helped you get through something difficult.
In therapy, we look at the past in relation to the present. Patterns that once occurred outside your awareness can begin to enter the room. Sometimes they even appear in the therapy relationship itself. That gives us a chance to notice and work with them as they happen.
This kind of work takes time. It is not usually a one-session solution or a technique added on top of everything else. It is a way of helping you relate differently to your inner life, your body, and the patterns that keep repeating.
Taking the next step
If clinical hypnosis speaks to something you are carrying, it may be worth starting a conversation. You do not have to know exactly what is emotional, physical, or relational before reaching out. Part of therapy is making space to explore those connections carefully and at your pace.
I’m Andrea Laznik Amit, MA, RP, and I offer personalized, depth-oriented therapy for adolescents and adults. My work draws on psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy, ISTDP, and clinical hypnosis when it fits the person and the concerns that bring them in.
If you are struggling with anxiety, chronic pain, trauma responses, or emotional patterns that feel hard to change, contact me to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We can begin by talking about what has been happening and whether working together feels like the right fit.
Frequently asked questions about hypnosis
Will I lose control during clinical hypnosis?
No. In clinical hypnosis, you remain aware and involved. The work is collaborative, and you should know what is happening and why.
What concerns can clinical hypnosis help with?
Clinical hypnosis can be used as part of therapy for anxiety, pain-related distress, trauma responses, body tension, and automatic emotional patterns.
Is hypnosis safe for trauma?
It should be used thoughtfully and only with a trained clinician. In my practice, hypnosis is not used to force memories or push you into material too quickly.
Do I need to be easily hypnotized for this to work?
No special ability is required. Some people experience hypnosis as deep relaxation, while others notice a quieter, more focused state.
How many sessions will I need?
That depends on what brings you to therapy and how hypnosis fits into the larger work. I see therapy as a process, not a quick technique.
By Andrea Laznik Amit, MA, RP
Her training includes psychodynamic psychotherapy and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), with advanced clinical training at the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on anxiety, depression, trauma, and relational patterns through depth-oriented psychotherapy.
References
Elkins, G. R., Barabasz, A. F., Council, J. R., & Spiegel, D. (2015). Advancing research and practice: The revised APA Division 30 definition of hypnosis. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 57(4), 378–385.
Hammond, D. C. (Ed.). (1990). Handbook of hypnotic suggestions and metaphors. W. W. Norton.
Jensen, M. P. (2011). Hypnosis for chronic pain management: Therapist guide. Oxford University Press.
Milling, L. S., Valentine, K. E., LoStimolo, L. M., Nett, A. M., & McCarley, H. S. (2021). Hypnosis and the alleviation of clinical pain: A comprehensive meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 69(3), 297–322.
Spiegel, H., & Spiegel, D. (2004). Trance and treatment: Clinical uses of hypnosis (2nd ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.