Is Hypnotherapy A Science
This is a common question that gets asked by new students as well as clients, “Is hypnotherapy a science?” Well the long and the short of it is yes and no. I see regularly practitioners advertising claiming that this kind of hypnosis or that kind of hypnosis is a scientific breakthrough in therapy. These claims are highly suspicious. Whilst hypnotherapy has been researched at some of the finest universities in the world, and whilst these will have used scientific approaches to the research, it could be argued that this does not make hypnotherapy scientific.
The principle reason I use to make this argument is that it is impossible to measure some of the critical variables to hypnotherapy. The main one of these is the therapeutic relationship. For example, a client goes to two therapists both using the same protocol. With one she improves and with one she does not. They both use the same approach verbatim, so why the variable? The relationship and the therapeutic relationship is not scientific. I am not really sure how one would describe what it is, but it involves rapport, philosophy, empathy and good old fashioned gut instinct.
So in answer to the question is hypnotherapy a science, I would have to say no, and I would be very dubious of practitioners who attempt to make their brand of hypnotherapy more attractive by calling it such.
