Clinical hypnosis, according to the definitions of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society, is an intervention procedure based on suggestion techniques. Thus, it is about the therapist or hypnotist, using different types of suggestions, to help the person or patient to generate the problem experience in their imagination, as well as to detect the emotions, thoughts, physiological reactions, etc., associated with said experience with the aim of influencing perception, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors and facilitating change.
Thus, as the specialist Antonio Capafons (1998) defends, it could be said that hypnosis constitutes an adjuvant procedure that allows enhancing the effectiveness of the nuclear techniques of psychological intervention within the cognitive-behavioral paradigm. Moreover, a recent review by Mendoza and Capafons(2009) has not only shown to be an effective technique for the treatment of typically psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, smoking, and post-traumatic stress disorders but also in psychophysiological disorders such as pain management, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes or asthma, among others, as well as the benefits of its use in different medical contexts (preparation for surgery, ontology, obstetrics, pediatrics, dentistry, etc.)
However, it is also true that there are many myths and erroneous beliefs about the benefits of clinical hypnosis, largely promoted by the media, bad practices, or its relationship with esoteric environments, which cloud the benefits of this procedure. and cause rejection of its use. Thus, among the most relevant myths, the following stand out (Capafons, 1998):
Myth 1: Hypnosis does not belong to the field of scientific psychology. Those who practice it are usually charlatans, healers or showmen. People who improve with it, are gullible, ignorant, and "dependent". This is false because multiple psychology personalities have used and studied it, such as Wundt, James, Paulov, or Eysenck, as well as being endorsed by different scientific societies and taught in different universities in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Spain...
Myth 2: Hypnosis can leave the person "hooked" in a trance, so that, unable to "get out of the hypnotic state", their volition would be reduced or they would become insane. Empirical evidence has shown that this belief is not true (Hilgard, 1991; Kirsch, 1993; Sarbin & Coe, 1972; Spanos & Barber, 1976), although it is true that some people may have more difficulty than others in getting out of the state of depression. hypnosis, which is similar to what is found in relation to other techniques such as relaxation (Lynn, Martin & Frauman, 1996).
Myth 3: Hypnosis can make explicit or aggravate "latent" psychopathologies of the person. It can even develop psychic alterations in healthy individuals. Individuals with psychopathological problems may worsen with hypnosis. There is no empirical evidence to show that hypnosis causes negative side effects.
Myth 4: Hypnosis causes a "state" similar to sleep, in which the person shows special characteristics. If these characteristics are not achieved, the person is not hypnotized. You can only be in this special situation if you have received a method of hypnotic induction. Actually, nothing "special" or "spectacular" has to happen in the reaction of a hypnotized person. In any case, all this depends on the person himself, on his expectations and beliefs of him in relation to hypnosis.
Myth 5: Hypnosis eliminates and nullifies the person's voluntary control. This becomes an automaton in the hands of the hypnotist, so he can commit criminal, antisocial, immoral acts that lead to social ridicule. Although it is true that under hypnosis you act automatically, this does not mean that you act in an "uncontrolled" or involuntary way. In reality, the person never loses his decision-making or volitional capacity.
Myth 6: Hypnosis causes unusual, exceptional, and almost magical reactions in people. This is false. What actually happens is that people can experience different types of "hypnotic" reactions -motor, sensory-physiological, and cognitive-perceptive-, although again, although these responses are related to automatism (perceived involuntariness), it is also true that its activation and completion correspond to the will of the person.
Myth 7: Hypnosis is a therapy (hypnotherapy), extremely useful, fast, and effective, and does not require any effort on the part of the client to change behavior. Only very susceptible people, however, can benefit from it. In the first place, hypnosis is not a psychological therapy, but a technique that helps other interventions, enhancing their effectiveness, but this does not mean that the person does not have to make an effort to change.
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