What Is Clinical Hypnosis?
Clinical hypnosis is not the stage hypnosis you've seen on TV. It's a therapeutic technique used by licensed mental health professionals to help clients access a deeply focused state of awareness — one where the mind becomes more open to positive change.
In this state, the brain's critical, analytical filter relaxes. This allows a trained therapist to work directly with the subconscious patterns, memories, and beliefs that drive anxiety — rather than just managing symptoms at the surface level.
Why Anxiety Responds So Well to Hypnosis
Anxiety is largely a subconscious process. Your nervous system has learned — often from past experiences — to respond to certain triggers as if they were dangerous. This happens automatically, below the level of conscious thought. That's why telling yourself to "just calm down" rarely works.
Clinical hypnosis works differently. By accessing the subconscious directly, it can:
- Identify the root experiences driving anxious responses
- Update how the brain interprets those triggers
- Install new, calmer automatic responses
- Reduce the intensity and frequency of anxiety symptoms
Many clients notice significant shifts in just 1–3 sessions.
What Happens During a Hypnosis Session for Anxiety?
A typical session at Equanimity Counseling begins with a brief conversation about what you're experiencing. Your therapist will then guide you into a relaxed, focused state using a gentle induction process.
Once in hypnosis, you remain fully aware and in control. Your therapist may use suggestion therapy to shift anxious thought patterns, or analytical hypnosis to explore the underlying experiences contributing to your anxiety. Sessions typically run 60–90 minutes.
Types of Anxiety Hypnosis Can Help With
Clinical hypnosis at Equanimity is effective for a wide range of anxiety presentations including:
- Generalized anxiety and chronic worry
- Social anxiety
- Test and performance anxiety
- Phobias and fears
- Panic attacks
- Nighttime and sleep anxiety
- Health anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress and hypervigilance
How Is This Different from Therapy?
Hypnosis can be used as a standalone intervention or alongside other therapeutic approaches. At Equanimity, we often combine hypnosis with Parts and Memory Therapy (PMT) for clients dealing with trauma-rooted anxiety — addressing both the subconscious patterns and the underlying memories driving them.
The result is often faster, deeper change than traditional talk therapy alone.
Is Hypnosis Safe?
Yes. Clinical hypnosis performed by a licensed therapist is safe and evidence-supported. You cannot be made to do anything against your will, and you will remember the session. It is not appropriate for individuals experiencing active psychosis or those under the influence of substances.
Book a Hypnosis Session in Las Vegas
Patrick Tobey offers clinical hypnosis sessions in-person in Las Vegas and virtually for Nevada clients. Sessions are $150 for 60–90 minutes.
Request a hypnosis session here or call 702-807-9531. You can also learn more about hypnosis at Equanimity.