Can a Christian be Involved with Hypnosis? What Does the Bible Say?
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Hypnosis has a funny reputation, often associated more with magic acts or thriller movies about mind control than with therapy. Many Christians are surprised to discover that hypnosis is a legitimate part of some medical or psychological treatments, which prompts them to ask: does the Bible have any advice on hypnosis?
(Disclaimer: this article is not a replacement for medical or psychological aid. Readers are advised to contact licensed professionals for the best advice on these questions.)
Does the Bible Ever Mention Hypnosis?
To clarify, hypnosis is a relaxation technique that can help people to focus on a particular idea. It is similar to falling asleep and often leads to people not feeling physical pain or being highly open to suggestion.
It is generally agreed that hypnosis only works on people who have a certain amount of suggestibility. That is, they need a willingness to undergo the process, probably a level of imagination that allows them to subconsciously play along with the hypnotist’s process, and no mental or emotional problems that would interfere with the process. Many entertainers who do hypnosis shows have discussed how they can only perform it on audience members who are open to the experience.
There are occasional references in the Bible to “deep sleep,” which may sound like undergoing hypnosis. For example, in Genesis 15:12, Abraham falls into a deep sleep while waiting for God to speak to him and wakes up when God gives him a prophecy about his descendants becoming a great nation. However, hypnosis is a particular process for entering sleep-life relaxation, not falling asleep. One of the earliest texts to identify hypnotism, The Book of Healing by Persian physician Avicenna, explores this point.
While hypnosis can involve suggesting ideas to patients, and patients with existing problems may get worse symptoms from hypnosis, it never becomes complete mind control (for more on that, see the section below). Therefore, hypnosis is different from things mentioned in the Bible like demonic possession, which involves a spiritual being receiving consent to manipulate someone’s mind and influencing them in strong ways.
Granting that the Bible does not explicitly talk about hypnosis, the reasons that many people undergo hypnosis raise questions that the Bible does answer.
So, what is hypnosis used for?
Why Might Christians Want to Use Hypnosis?
While hypnosis is often associated with stage magic, like a magician making someone cluck like a chicken onstage, it also has medical uses.
As the Mayo Clinic explains, hypnotherapy is a recognized treatment licensed medical practitioners can perform on patients to help with certain problems. The way that hypnosis helps people relax or temporarily stop feeling pain can make it a useful tool for helping people stop certain behaviors (like smoking) or overcome certain kinds of pain (post-natal pain, anxiety).
While movies may make hypnosis appear to be mind control, this is an exaggeration. For one thing, as many medical doctors explain, people under hypnosis cannot be made to do things they would find abhorrent, completely against their morals. Someone might do silly things under hypnosis, such as cluck like a chicken or cry. If the hypnotist told the person to take a gun and get on a plane to Detroit to kill someone, the patient would be confused and do nothing.
Another common myth about hypnosis is that it helps people access past childhood memories. As the Johns Hopkins Hospital explains, research has shown that hypnosis may bring up memories that patients believe are true, but it’s never clear whether those memories are real, something suggested in the session, or something loosely based on reality that someone’s mind has altered over time. This means that only specific treatment plans with very discerning therapists can help people access buried childhood memories. Hypnosis lacks that rigorousness and often makes things worse.
Both Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic emphasize that hypnotherapy is not recommended for people who have preexisting mental health conditions. For example, someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), where trauma has led their brain to develop several personalities to handle the pain, would have big problems in hypnotherapy. The process that is supposed to relax the brain will not work if the brain has severe unresolved trauma.
Given that hypnosis is only useful for a limited number of things, we can understand why Christians may want to pursue it for particular problems. However, history has also made it clear that Christians using hypnosis poorly can create a lot of trouble. Various scandals during the Satanic Panic appear to have been caused by people thinking that hypnosis had resurrected genuine memories of ritual abuse. Many of these cases were discredited.
Granting that the Bible does not explicitly mention hypnosis, it does provide some principles we can apply as we consider whether to use hypnotherapy.
What Biblical Principles Apply to Getting Hypnosis?
First, the Bible encourages us to seek advice from many counselors (Proverbs 11:14). While Proverbs 14 is primarily talking about seeking mentors or a community who can offer us advice on things like spiritual growth, it also presents an important guideline for Christians seeking mental and emotional health. Getting help for problems is not something to be ashamed of. While the Bible promises we have great blessings in Christ, it never promises that becoming a Christian will magically erase our hangups. If anything, the New Testament’s words about how grace frees us not to worry about social expectations like circumcision (Romans 2), avoid snobbishly worrying about our appearances by only spending time with “the right people” (Galatians 2), free us to seek therapy and other tools that aid our well-being.
Second, we are called to pursue wisdom and love the Lord our God with all our minds as well as with all of our strength and heart (Mark 12:30). This means that we are exhorted not just to seek help for our issues, but to seek reliable help. It can be tempting to seek help from whoever seems willing to help or confident they have all the answers. This is especially true in Christian settings, where it may sound unloving not to point out if someone is making mistakes. However, the New Testament speaks clearly in verses like Titus 2:7-8 and James 3:1-2 about the need for teachers to take their work seriously and for Christians not to let immature or unprepared people advise them. Relying on mentors, counselors, or therapists who have poor training or who lack emotional maturity is not being kind or graceful. It is foolishness that harms everyone involved. Therefore, Christians seeking any kind of help need to be discerning about who they get it from. The fact someone calls themselves a Christian teacher or therapist by itself is not enough. We must consider the fruits of their behavior.
Third, we are called to imitate Jesus Christ’s behavior and values (Philippians 2:5). Jesus not only saved us: he guides us today. Therefore, an important question we should ask ourselves before exploring any treatment plan is whether the person offering the treatment or the treatment program clashes with our values. For example, a therapist who doesn’t believe in sin and thinks that every human problem can be solved with better medication, would be a poor choice for Christian patients.
These values give us several important guidelines to consider before getting hypnotherapy.
What Should Christians Remember Before Getting Hypnosis?
First, if we are called to have many counselors, we will talk with doctors and people who have given reliable advice in the past to see if they think hypnotherapy is a good step. They may suggest a simpler, cheaper option that we should pursue first. For example, hypnotherapy can help in some cases with anxiety. However, many people find that basic lifestyle changes like starting a regular exercise plan, implementing a better sleep schedule, and even a healthier diet can help them regulate anxiety. If we have a history of mental or emotional problems that hypnotherapy will aggravate, we should look into another treatment plan.
Second, we are called to be wise, so if we determine that hypnotherapy seems a good option for our specific issues, our next step is doing good homework. Not everyone who says they are a good hypnotist has the training to understand how to do their work well. Not everyone who says they are a Christian behaves in a Christlike manner. We need to ask our doctors about recommended, licensed hypnotherapists in our area. We need to ask the kind of questions we ask when we seek any other kind of medical help (what the person’s credentials are, whether they have recently been sued or had any big scandals). We need to look up good questions for the first session (cost, how long the treatment takes, etc.).
Third, if we are called to watch out for behavior that doesn’t mesh well with the Bible’s vision of truth, we carefully consider big warning signs to watch out for. For example, if we meet a hypnotherapist who is rude or dismissive of faith, we should look elsewhere.
Having problems is nothing for the Christian to be ashamed of. Seeking good help from experts who can help us with our problems is nothing to be ashamed of. The key is to wisely consider whether hypnotherapy, medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, or some other method is truly right for us.
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