The Hypnos Method

The Hypnos^® Method combines hypnosis with psychotherapeutic work.
Rather than focusing only on changing a symptom, it aims to understand and work with the inner processes that keep a problem in place.

Hypnosis gives us a particular kind of access to perception, emotion, memory, and unconscious psychological processes – allowing therapeutic work to begin exactly where a difficult pattern first took shape.

The core idea: every symptom has a history

Anxiety, a phobia, compulsive behaviour, psychosomatic complaints – these rarely appear out of nowhere. A behaviour or symptom often once served a purpose: protection, relief, control, or comfort. What helped at an earlier point in life can later become a problem in itself.

So we don’t only ask “How do I get rid of this?” – we also ask “Why is this symptom here in the first place?” That question changes the therapeutic perspective: the problem stops being an enemy to eliminate and becomes a clue to an inner connection that can be understood and changed.

Four principles behind our work

• We experience our perception of reality, not reality itself. Two people can live through the same situation and take away entirely different meanings – one person’s ordinary moment can be another’s threat. Hypnosis helps bring these perception patterns into view, and change them.
• Every behaviour has a reason. Even behaviour that seems unhelpful today often once served a real function – a strategy for coping with fear, overwhelm, or conflict. Understanding that original function opens the door to new ways of responding.
• A problem was often once a solution. A panic response may once have helped avoid a dangerous situation; overeating may once have brought comfort; control may once have created safety. Recognising this inner logic – rather than simply fighting the symptom – often makes change easier.
• Body and mind influence each other. Emotions show up in breathing, muscle tension, heart rate, pain, and digestion – and the body’s state shapes how we feel, too. This is especially relevant for psychosomatic complaints.

A short example from practice

Mr. R., a successful businessman, felt intense anxiety whenever he had to eat in front of others. In regression, it became clear that as a three-year-old, he had been harshly ridiculed by his father at a family meal. This moment – his Initial Sensitizing Event – was reinforced over the years by similar experiences, until a later life change (starting his own business) triggered the symptom in full force. Once Mr. R. could see this thread running through his biography and re-evaluate the original experience with an adult’s perspective, his eating problem resolved quickly.

Is hypnosis mind control?

No. A common misconception equates hypnosis with losing control or free will.
Even in deep trance, you remain able to perceive, speak, and refuse an action. Hypnosis is not a form of outside control – therapeutic hypnosis works precisely because you remain an active participant.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Hypnos Method scientifically recognised? The Hypnos^® Method is our own methodological approach at Hypnos specialist practices. Hypnotherapy itself has been recognised in Germany since 2006 by the Scientific Advisory Board for Psychotherapy (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Psychotherapie) as a scientifically grounded psychotherapeutic method.

Can hypnosis change memories? Hypnosis can change how a memory is experienced and emotionally evaluated. It is not a way to verify whether a memory is historically accurate – so we never treat what emerges in hypnosis as proven historical fact.

Can hypnotherapy replace medical or psychiatric treatment? No. Necessary medical or psychiatric treatment should never be replaced by hypnotherapy. Whether hypnotherapy is suitable in a given case is always clarified before treatment begins.

Your hypnotherapy with the Hypnos Method

We offer the Hypnos^® Method at our specialist practices in Berlin, Hamburg, and Bavaria – since 2003.

How many sessions will I need? How far apart should sessions be? What does it cost? We answer all organisational questions on our Pricing and Process  page.