Am I Hypnotizable? What the research says
You are on the booking page. The time slot suits you, the practitioner seems trustworthy. And instead of clicking, you opened another tab to type this question. That is probably how you got here: will it work on me?
Behind it there is often something else. The fear of being "too rational". The memory of a show where people barked on stage. Or the opposite: the fear of being one of those who just go along with anything.
The honest answer comes in three points, and the third is the one that counts.
Yes, responsiveness varies from person to person, and it is measured
Let us start with what many sites keep quiet about so as not to discourage the reader.
Responsiveness to hypnosis is a real individual characteristic, measurable, and studied since the 1960s. There are validated scales that place people in three groups: low, medium and high responsiveness. Most people fall in the middle group.
This characteristic is remarkably stable. A study that has become a reference retested participants twenty-five years after a first measurement: the correlation between the two scores reached 0.71, which is considerable in psychology. In other words, it is not a mood of the day.
So no, "everyone is equally hypnotizable" is not accurate, and we would rather tell you so.
No, it is not fixed for all that
Several studies have shown that guidance explaining what is expected, how to go along with suggestions and what the experience is like raises responsiveness scores. It is not a radical transformation, but the idea of a ceiling set at birth does not hold either.
And a good part of what gets in the way has nothing to do with aptitude:
- What you think it is. The stage-show image, the idea that you would have to be easily influenced. A misunderstanding is enough to block the experience — our page what is therapeutic hypnosis puts things back in their place.
- The fear of losing control. You do not lose it, you hear everything, and you can stop whenever you want.
- Trust in the person supporting you. It is built, and it matters a great deal.
- The timing. Exhaustion, very high stress or hypervigilance make it harder to go in. In that case, that is what gets worked on first.
- The channel. Some people travel in images, others go through sensations. An induction that does not suit you will give the impression that "it doesn't work", when it is the format that is wrong.
Video available in French
Video transcript
Hello. A question our clients often ask: can I be hypnotized? Can everyone be hypnotized? In fact, there is no doubt that you are able to go into hypnosis. The best proof is that we all regularly go into a state of hypnosis naturally, in those everyday moments of drifting or of dissociated awareness, in short, when our mind wanders or we are daydreaming.
In hypnosis sessions, it is a little different. There are actually 3 main conditions for you to go easily into a state of hypnosis. 1. Do you want to? If you have booked an appointment, we can assume you want to, at least rationally, but do you really want to? That is why we spend time, especially in the first session, clarifying your goal and removing any potential obstacles.
And also understanding any secondary benefits of what you want to change. Because you may say, rationally, that you want to quit smoking, yet be so afraid of gaining weight or of losing important social moments with your friends who smoke that, in fact, a part of you, if we do not reassure it, may not really want to quit smoking, and therefore may not want to let go into hypnosis, in case it works…
2. Do you feel confident? Without trust, I doubt you would let go, even if I lulled you with my gentle voice. The quality of the relationship, the trust you build with your hypnotherapist, will be decisive. 3. Finally, are we using the right technique for you? Of course, we try what we think is a good channel and a good pace for you. Some people are more visual and easily set off on great imaginary journeys; others are more kinesthetic, and inner sensation will be essential.
Some will be almost impatient, others very happy to take the time for a nice relaxation before going into hypnosis. So yes, we can all be hypnotized if we want to, in a relationship of trust, with the channel and pace that suit us. The best thing is still to try… The Solutions Hypnose team of hypnotherapists is here to support you. In person near you or by video, it works very well too.
Book an appointment now to create the life you want with hypnosis! See you soon 😊
Hypnotherapy is a complementary form of support and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns about your health, please consult a physician first.
And the real answer: it is not the right question
Here is what seems most useful to us, and what we would rather say before you book.
The link between the degree of responsiveness and the outcome of support is less clear-cut than people imagine. Reviews on the subject give mixed results, with one consistent exception: pain. For hypnotic pain relief, being highly responsive makes a real and repeated difference. For most common reasons for coming, the association is weak or inconsistent.
Which means, very concretely, that people with low responsiveness still benefit from support, and that highly responsive people do not automatically get what they came for.
The question "am I hypnotizable" is therefore largely the wrong question. The one that counts is: can this work, on this subject, with this person, help me?
Three things that weigh more
Do you really want it? Not rationally, really. Part of you may be attached to the behaviour you want to change, for good reasons. Someone may want to quit smoking and dread putting on weight or losing the breaks with colleagues, to the point that part of them would rather it did not work. These are secondary gains, and as long as they are not heard, they hold things back. That is a good part of the work in the first conversation.
Do you feel you can trust the practitioner? The quality of the relationship is a decisive factor, not a polite formula. If you do not click, say so, or change practitioner.
Does the format suit you? Pace, channel, length. It can be adjusted, and it should be.
What you will feel, and what you will not
Many people come out of their first session saying "I don't think I was hypnotized", because they were expecting something spectacular.
You will not be asleep. You will not lose consciousness. You will hear the traffic outside and the practitioner speaking. You will remember everything, or almost.
What most people describe is more like this: heaviness or lightness in the limbs, breathing that slows down by itself, a sense of time that bends, a wish not to move, images that come more easily than usual.
It is close to things you already know: the book you surface from with a start, the drive you do not remember, the moment just before falling asleep. The full course of a session is described on the page what to expect in a hypnosis session.
If the first session leaves you doubtful, it is not a verdict. It is information to pass on to the practitioner, who will adjust.
And if I am very rational?
This is the profile that worries most, and often needlessly.
The hypnotic state requires neither belief nor adherence to anything. It does not reward credulity. Sustained attention and curiosity are enough, and analytical people generally have plenty of both.
What sometimes gets in the way is something else: the habit of commenting on what is happening while it is happening. That can be tamed, and it is even an interesting thing to work on in its own right.
Want to give it a try?
Wherever you are in the world, video consultation lets you try it without travelling: the hypnotic state does not require being in the same room, and the session itself is the same as in the consulting room. We see people this way from France, Quebec, Morocco and well beyond. Here is how it works.
Write to us if you are unsure: ask us your question. And if you have already had a session elsewhere that did nothing, say so: it is useful information, not grounds for being turned away.
Where would you like to consult?
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Annie Mayrand
Gatineau - Cumberland (ON)
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Christian Rocher
Beloeil
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Montréal - Anjou
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Florence Aton
Sutton
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Montréal - Rosemont - Saint-Lambert
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Bromont
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Réjeanne LeBlanc
La Prairie
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Frequently asked questions about Hypnotizability
No. You keep your free will and you can stop at any moment.
No. You stay aware and you decide what you say. Hypnosis is not a truth serum.
No, and it is more common than people think. The work can go through sensations, sounds or words. Say so at the first conversation.
One session with no effect does not say much: the format, the timing, the relationship or the goal may be the cause. It is worth talking about before drawing conclusions.
Probably a little. Understanding what is expected and practising improves results on several measures. But what matters most lies elsewhere, as explained above.
No. You have to want to work on it, which is not the same thing.
They generally step into the imagination more easily, which makes the work easier at that age. See our page on hypnosis for children.
Sources
- Piccione, C., Hilgard, E. R., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1989). On the degree of stability of measured hypnotizability over a 25-year period. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 289-295. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2926631
- Acunzo, D. J., & Terhune, D. B. (2021). A Critical Review of Standardized Measures of Hypnotic Suggestibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 69(1), 50-71. doi.org/10.1080/00207144.2021.1833209
- Rasch, B., & Cordi, M. J. (2024). The influence of experience and modality of presentation on hypnotizability. Frontiers in Psychology. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936846 — a review of the trait's stability, the mixed findings on its link with outcomes, the pain exception, and the effects of training.
- Elkins, G. R., Barabasz, A. F., Council, J. R., & Spiegel, D. (2015). Advancing research and practice: the revised APA Division 30 definition of hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 63(1), 1-9.
Hypnosis as practised by the members of Solutions Hypnose is a complementary support approach. It is neither a medical act, nor a diagnosis, nor psychotherapy in the regulatory sense, and it in no way replaces a consultation, follow-up or treatment prescribed by a health professional.
Our practitioners do not assess and do not treat mental disorders or illnesses. They never ask for an ongoing treatment to be stopped or changed: that decision rests exclusively with your doctor.
No result can be guaranteed. The testimonials and examples presented on this page describe individual experiences and do not predict what you will experience.
In case of significant distress, unexplained physical symptoms or suicidal thoughts, contact a doctor, emergency services or a helpline without delay.
Page written by Emmanuelle Sardou
hypnotherapist
partner at Solutions Hypnose.
English version reviewed by David Veilleux
Updated .