Imagery typically is used as part of clinical hypnosis, but effective hypnosis therapy can also be provided without use of imagery. When imagery is used, patients can be taught to imagine themselves: ...

A strange mystic swings a pocket watch back and forth, repeating the phrase "you're getting sleepy, very sleepy," giving them absolute command over their subject. That's not how hypnotism really works ...

Misrepresentations of hypnosis seem to pervade television shows and movies. For instance, they suggest hypnosis produces an unusual state of consciousness (trance) associated with loss of willpower ...