Does hypnosis work online?

Let’s look at the short answer first: To connect with their subconscious, a person only needs to relax and be open to suggestions. It’s really that simple. If someone is open to suggestions to relax, then relaxation will occur. This is true whether the person is physically in the therapist’s office or is connected via the internet. In either case, the key is to determine whether a psychological block to relaxation exists. A block means someone has a protection or defense mechanism which is not ready to relax. A skilled therapist can quickly determine this. Some protection/defense mechanisms are stronger than others. Some will relax and step aside after receiving gratitude for the importance of their work. It is also helpful to reassure protection/defense mechanisms that they are not being asked to go away, only to relax for a few minutes. However, other protection/defense mechanisms—such as hyper-vigilance (which prevents a patient from even closing their eyes)—may require a long period of reassurance before accepting to relax. Patience and respect for the hard work and loyalty of the hyper-vigilance is key. Several sessions may be required before a hyper-vigilant part can relax. In sum, everyone has protection/defense mechanisms, and these mechanisms exist whether a person is in a therapist’s office or is connected with the therapist via Zoom. But once a person is relaxed, hypnosis via Zoom works as well as hypnosis in the office.

Now for the longer answer: There is one big difference regarding hypnotherapy online. Care must be taken before and during a session to determine whether someone might experience an “emotional flood.” Emotional floods occur when long-suppressed emotions suddenly erupt and flood the person with feelings like sadness or fear or anger. During an interview before the session, a patient might refer to this possibility by saying something like: “By nature, I am a very emotional person” or “I’m someone who cries easily.” Other people might not be aware of having suppressed emotions, but the relaxation process might allow some long-hidden trauma to erupt unexpectedly. This can be quite stressful for both the patient and therapist. In an office situation, it is easier for the therapist to see emotions “bubbling to the surface” and then take steps to avoid a flood. But these visual clues might not be evident during a therapy session online. If I suspect the presence of hidden emotions, I will always ask internet clients to let me know verbally if they feel strong emotions coming to the surface.

Since the Covid pandemic, more and more people use Zoom or other internet services to communicate with doctors and therapists. For my part, I used the Confinement as an opportunity to perfect my hypnosis techniques for use during Zoom sessions. Hypnosis techniques created in prior centuries might not work via Zoom. The “arm drop method,” for example, requires the hypnotherapist to touch the patient’s arm. Obviously, this cannot be done via Zoom. With this in mind, I have created several “verbal” techniques which work as well during internet sessions as they do my office.