From knowing a lot about hypnotherapy and hypnosis, one should be extremely skeptical about anyone who is selling this.
It really has to be approached as one approaches a medical doctor, a real MD that a person sees for real medical issues. If a person goes to see an MD or a surgeon, one has to be certain they know what they are talking about, if you are going under the knife, for example.
Hypnotherapy is no different, whether done by a licensed hypnotherapist, or done by an unlicensed person in a covert way.
Anyone advertising on the internet or on lampposts or even in the yellow pages, as doing hypnotherapy over the phone, promising magical results should absolutely be avoided. There are too many levels they can work on without the subjects knowledge.
Those who are doing it in person, and doing covert hypnosis, should be avoided at all costs. If they try to start doing it at a seminar, for example, a good response is a Pattern Interrupt where their processes are interrupted with an outloud verbal description of what they are doing. But beware, their response will be like that seen in this thread initially, angry and agressive, then denial.
Frankly, the field is so perverted and expoitative at this point, for someone with experience would just avoid the entire thing.
Perhaps a really good licensed psychologist or MD who a person trusts, who has had good hypnosis training, could try it. At least then you know that person is not going to slice and dice your belief system to buy their products, without your awareness.
An experienced person in hypnosis NEVER allows other hypnotists to put them in a trance, that is a fact. For example, Richard Bandler would never allow anyone else to do it to him. None of the big hypnosis Gurus would ever allow anyone else to do it to them, they know what can be done.
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Penelope
I have sought out hypnotherapy in the past to help deal with anxiety disorder and I'm much more wary now.
Hypnotherapy can be very effective for anxiety disorders. So can Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and many other approaches.
Some degree of wariness is good--but keep in mind that ALL therapeutic approaches, spiritual practices, and religious traditions can be distorted and perverted to unhelpful ends...not just hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is probably more appealing to shady manipulators due to techniques of indirect communication, but one can be very manipulative with direct commands too, with meditation, or even "logical" arguments.