Clinical hypnotherapy — referred to here as hypnosis — is a therapeutic technique that induces a state of focused attention and heightened receptivity, in which the patient becomes more open to therapeutic suggestions, imagery, and new perspectives. It is used at IsraClinic as a complementary modality within integrated treatment plans, applied to specific clinical targets where hypnotic techniques have a documented evidence base.
At IsraClinic, hypnosis is conducted exclusively following a full psychiatric assessment and on the basis of a specific clinical recommendation. It is never offered on request alone.
One of the most important things to understand about clinical hypnosis is what it is not.
Stage hypnosis — used in entertainment — exploits a small minority of highly suggestible individuals in a social context where compliance and spectacle are the goal. Participants are pre-selected for suggestibility, the setting creates strong social pressure to perform, and the objective is entertainment, not therapy.
Clinical hypnosis is the opposite of this. In a clinical hypnotic state, the patient remains fully conscious, fully aware of their surroundings, and fully in control at all times. The hypnotic state cannot be induced without the patient's willing participation. The patient cannot be made to do or say anything against their values or judgement. They will not reveal secrets, lose memory, or act in ways they would not wish to.
Several common beliefs about hypnosis need to be addressed directly.
Hypnosis cannot erase memories. Memory does not work that way. The emotional, physiological, and behavioural traces of an experience are not stored in a single accessible file that can be deleted. Processing a difficult memory requires clinical work — not deletion.
Hypnosis cannot make someone forget a person, end an attachment, or stop loving someone. These are not memories or habits — they are complex emotional and psychological realities that require psychotherapy, not suggestion.
Hypnosis cannot resolve deep-seated psychological difficulties in a single session. Presentations that have taken years to develop require sustained clinical work. Hypnosis is a tool within that work, not a shortcut around it.
Hypnosis cannot replace psychiatric treatment. It is not a substitute for psychiatric assessment, medication where indicated, or psychotherapy. At IsraClinic, it is used as a precisely indicated complement to these — never instead of them.
Hypnosis works by narrowing and focusing attention, reducing the influence of the critical analytical mind, and facilitating more direct access to the receptive, imaginative, and emotionally present dimensions of experience. In a hypnotic state, the patient is deeply relaxed but fully alert. Suggestions, imagery, and therapeutic interventions are more readily received — because the usual cognitive defences that filter incoming information are temporarily reduced.
The hypnotic state is a naturally occurring phenomenon — one people enter spontaneously in moments of deep absorption or focused attention. Clinical hypnosis induces and maintains this state intentionally, and uses it for defined therapeutic purposes.
Therapeutic techniques used within hypnosis include:
Direct and indirect suggestion — communicating therapeutic messages that work with rather than against resistance. Imagery and visualisation — working with internal images to access, process, and modify emotional material. Ego strengthening — reinforcing the patient's sense of inner resources, confidence, and self-efficacy. Ideomotor techniques — using subtle physical signals to access material held outside verbal awareness.
Clinical hypnosis has a documented and replicated evidence base in the following areas:
Anxiety disorders and specific phobias. Multiple randomised controlled trials demonstrate that adding hypnosis to CBT protocols produces significantly better outcomes than CBT alone. The hypnotic state facilitates graduated exposure in a deeply relaxed and regulated condition.
Chronic pain management. Hypnotic analgesia has one of the strongest evidence bases in the clinical hypnosis literature. The NIH has formally recognised hypnosis as a viable adjunct treatment for chronic pain — including cancer-related pain, chronic pain syndromes, and surgical preparation. Studies demonstrate meaningful reduction in both pain intensity and emotional distress.
Irritable bowel syndrome and functional gastrointestinal disorders. The Manchester Hypnotherapy Protocol for IBS — developed at the University of Manchester — has produced response rates of 70 to 80 percent in controlled studies. Hypnosis directly targets the gut-brain axis dysregulation underlying functional gastrointestinal conditions.
Insomnia and sleep disturbance. Hypnotic relaxation techniques modify the physiological hyperarousal and cognitive hyperactivity that maintain chronic insomnia. Multiple studies show meaningful improvement in sleep onset and sleep quality.
Smoking cessation. Meta-analyses including Cochrane reviews demonstrate hypnosis to be effective for smoking cessation — with higher abstinence rates than no treatment when delivered with an adequate number of sessions.
Psychosomatic and functional presentations. Particularly effective where the mind-body interface is central: tension headaches, functional pain, and somatic presentations with psychological components.
Trauma processing — in carefully selected patients only, following stabilisation, as a component of a structured trauma treatment plan.
Clinical hypnosis does not have a convincing evidence base for personality disorders, psychotic disorders, or severe depressive disorder. It is not a treatment for these conditions and is not used as such at IsraClinic.
At IsraClinic, hypnosis is never initiated without the following conditions being met:
1. Full psychiatric assessment by an IsraClinic psychiatrist, establishing the patient's diagnosis, current mental state, and overall clinical picture.
2. Specific written clinical recommendation for the use of hypnosis, specifying the therapeutic goals, proposed format, and clinical rationale.
3. Defined therapeutic goals. Hypnosis at IsraClinic is always goal-directed. Patient and therapist agree at the outset on the specific outcomes intended — and progress is monitored.
4. Suitability assessment. Not all patients are suitable for or responsive to hypnotic work. This is assessed as part of the clinical intake.
Hypnosis is conducted by Ilana Gurevich — licensed psychologist, Specialist in Medical Psychology (Expert Level), Israel Ministry of Health, Licence No. 27-138306, Certification No. 39426, and trained hypnotherapy practitioner — directly in English and Hebrew.
Hypnosis is contraindicated and will not be used at IsraClinic in the following situations:
Clinical hypnosis is indicated when a full psychiatric assessment has established that it is clinically appropriate; when there is a specific, defined therapeutic goal that hypnotic techniques are likely to support; when the patient is suitable and open to hypnotic work; and when it is integrated into a broader treatment plan rather than used in isolation.
IsraClinic accepts patients for in-person consultation in Tel Aviv, in English and Hebrew. Hypnosis itself will only be initiated following psychiatric assessment and clinical recommendation.
Lead Therapist: Ilana Gurevich — licensed psychologist, Specialist in Medical Psychology (Expert Level) & Hypnotherapy | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
Clinical hypnosis is a precise, evidence-based tool — not what you have seen on stage or screen. If you would like to understand whether it is appropriate for your situation, our team is available in English and Hebrew.