Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis is a mental state imaginative role-enactment. It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be self-administered ("self-suggestion" or "autosuggestion"). The use of hypnotism for therapeutic purpose is referred to as "hypnotherapy", while its use as a form of entertainment for an audience is known as "stage hypnosis".
The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction.
A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestion it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced.