Look into my eyes!
Hypnotherapy actually enhances self-control and provides positive coping strategies. This may seem a far cry from the mind-control that Stage Hypnotists promote as entertainment. As a result some clients arrive with concerns about the myths that still surround hypnosis.
Hypnotic trance is portrayed in the media with an exaggerated air of magic and mystery, often where an all-powerful figure dominates a weaker person, by some irresistible mental force. In reality such suspicions are entirely unwarranted. There is absolutely no question of anyone being manipulated, brain-washed or controlled against their will.
Stage Hypnotists foster a notion of all-powerful control over their subjects but they actually only work with a small percentage of the population who are highly suggestible. The rational observer can see that they never put everyone in their audience into a trance! Additionally, being in front of hundreds of people adds more pressure to the high level of expectation placed upon volunteers to perform and comply.
It is an entirely different context to professional hypnotherapy.