Suggestive therapy is perhaps the oldest of the therapeutic methods. Modern clinical hypnosis is usually dated from about 1773. The American Medical Association approved of the use of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique in 1958. The use of hypnosis for psychotherapeutic purposes is usually restricted to psychologists and other licensed health professionals. For instance, physicians and dentists are permitted to use it in conformance with their own training and licensing laws.
Many professionals receive their training through continuing education workshops.
Ask your psychologist or other health professional about his or her training if you have any questions. The professional involved should make the decision whether or not hypnotic treatment is appropriate. He or she should take the individual's complete history in order to determine if there are physical or emotional conditions that would contraindicate the use of hypnosis. The professional will probably not utilize hypnosis with individuals who display such physical problems as severe heart disease or other physical conditions where there is danger of masking an illness. Persons with significant emotional problems, such as borderline psychosis, may not be appropriate patients for hypnotherapeutic treatment.