ABSTRACT
This chapter considers more carefully the hazards associated with hypnosis that it essential to exercise caution and sensitivity in its use. It also describes some of the legal and ethical considerations associated with good clinical practice. Historically, the hazards of hypnosis were rarely discussed and when they were, the focus was a narrow one on the two main issues of whether hypnosis could be used to coerce people into engaging in antisocial behavior, and whether hypnosis would cause psychological harm to presumably emotionally unstable people. There are essentially two hypnosis worlds: the world of the academically trained and licensed clinicians who practice or research hypnosis (physicians, psychologists, etc.) and the world of the so-called “lay hypnotist” who is trained in and practices techniques of hypnosis but without formal academic degrees or clinical licensure in a helping profession. The potential hazards in any type of clinical practice are numerous.
