Did You Know Hypnotherapy Is the Predecessor to EMDR, IFS, and CBT?

I Know What You're Thinking

When people think of hypnotherapy, they often picture swinging pendulums or pocket watches, stage tricks like clucking like a chicken, or going into such a deep trance state they fall over on stage.

These are all movie clichés. Here’s something most don’t realize:

Hypnotherapy is one of the original roots of modern trauma-informed therapy.

In fact, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and IFS (Internal Family Systems) all share foundational elements that trace back to hypnotic principles and methods.

So if you've ever benefited from, or been curious about these popular approaches, it’s worth asking:

Where did they come from? And how does hypnotherapy fit in?

What Is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy helps people relax deeply and connect with their subconscious mind. It’s not sleep. You’re aware the whole time. And, in this calm, focused state, it’s easier to make changes, shift patterns, and let go of emotional blocks.

For decades, therapists have used hypnosis to help with anxiety, trauma, pain, habits, and more.

Hypnotherapy and CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most commonly used talk therapies today. It is all about changing negative thoughts and behaviors. One major technique in CBT is called “reframing” ie. helping someone see a situation in a new way.

This is a technique not new to hypnotherapy. Long before CBT was formalized, practitioners like Milton Erickson (psychiatrist, psychologist, and father of modern day hypnotherapy) were already guiding patients to reinterpret their experiences and install new mental associations through language and metaphor.

Hypnosis helps people change the meaning of past experiences, so they can feel different and make better choices in the present. It’s the same idea, just through deeper focus and relaxation.

Academic Support:

• Zeig, J. K. (1980). Ericksonian Approaches: A Comprehensive Manual discusses how Erickson’s work laid a foundation for later cognitive approaches.

• Lankton & Lankton (1983). The Answer Within outlines the parallels between Ericksonian reframing and cognitive interventions.

Hypnotherapy and EMDR

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is often used to help people recover from trauma. It uses eye movements to help the brain process painful memories. But to do that, the client needs to be in a relaxed, focused state where they can think about the memory without being overwhelmed.

That’s very similar to the state of hypnosis. In both methods, the nervous system is calm, but the mind is alert. In fact, EMDR’s creator, Francine Shapiro, was trained in hypnosis and was inspired by it when developing EMDR.

Academic Support:

• Shapiro, F. (2001). EMDR: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures notes the role of mental imagery and relaxed states akin to hypnotic conditions.

• Lynn, S. J., & Kirsch, I. (2006). Studies on EMDR have acknowledged its resemblance to hypnotic suggestion and altered states of consciousness.
  

Hypnotherapy and IFS

Internal Family Systems (IFS) focuses on the idea that the mind contains different “parts,” such as inner critics, protectors, or wounded exiles. Some parts protect us, others hold pain, and some carry our strengths. The goal is to help these parts work together and feel safe and supported by the Self, the calm and compassionate center within each person.

This concept is not new to hypnotherapists.

Parts work has existed in hypnosis for decades, often appearing as inner child dialogue, ego state therapy, or archetypal imagery.

In sessions, people often talk to their inner child, their inner critic, or other parts of themselves. By giving those parts a voice, healing starts to happen.

Academic Support

• Watkins, J. G., & Watkins, H. H. (1997). Ego States: Theory and Therapy directly links hypnosis and internal parts work.

• Holmes, P. (2011). The Inner World Outside explores how parts-based psychodynamic models drew on hypnosis.

Why This Is Important

CBT, EMDR, and IFS are powerful therapies. But they didn’t appear out of nowhere. Many of their core ideas, like changing thoughts, calming the body, and talking to inner parts, started in the world of hypnotherapy.

So if you’ve ever wondered whether hypnosis is “real” or “useful,” the answer is yes.

It’s not only real, it helped build the very therapies that many people rely on today.

In Summary

• Hypnotherapy is a natural, safe way to work with the subconscious mind

• It shares techniques with CBT, EMDR, and IFS

• These modern therapies were inspired by ideas used in hypnosis for decades

• Hypnosis can help with anxiety, trauma, habits, and emotional healing

Final Reflection

Hypnotherapy is not a relic of the past. It is the foundation beneath some of today’s most transformative therapies. If you have ever benefited from CBT, EMDR, or IFS, you have already experienced the ripple effects of hypnosis.

If you are looking for a therapeutic path that honours both the science and the soul of healing, hypnotherapy remains one of the most powerful places to begin.

If you're looking for a gentle, focused way to create change, hypnotherapy might be exactly what you need.

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