Healing Trauma with Hypnotherapy: A Gentle, Nervous-System First Approach

By Bernadette Chin, Principal Therapist, My Inner Child Clinic

Background: A Hypnotherapy Question Many Are Asking

A Reddit user recently asked:

"Can a hypnotist help me by suggesting that a traumatic event never happened?”

This question captures what many quietly hope for — to stop reliving what’s already over.

But true healing isn’t about forgetting; it’s about helping the body remember differently. Paying attention to the capabilities and agency our clients have as they supported themselves through trauma.

At My Inner Child Clinic, we don’t use hypnosis to erase memories — we use it to help the nervous system find safety, so the memory no longer feels like a threat.

Introduction: When Words Alone Aren’t Enough

A client once told me quietly, “I understand what happened, but my body still flinches when I think about it.”

That sentence captures what trauma feels like — knowing you’re safe, yet your body hasn’t caught up.

At My Inner Child Clinic, we meet people at that point — when insight has outpaced safety.

Our trauma-informed hypnotherapy helps the nervous system relearn calm, so the body and mind can finally agree: “I am safe now.”

1. Safety Before Suggestion

At our clinic, hypnotherapy never begins with commands or scripts. It begins with regulation.

The nervous system must first feel safe enough to access deeper layers of experience.

When safety is established, your brain can shift from survival (amygdala) to reflection (hippocampus).

Only then can suggestion, insight, and reframing take hold meaningfully.

2. How Hypnotherapy Supports Trauma Healing

Clinical hypnotherapy helps the body and mind reconnect. It doesn’t bypass the conscious mind — it collaborates with it.

Hypnotherapy helps trauma clients reacquaint the feeling of safety and agency they have.

Here’s how it works in trauma healing:

Anchoring safety states – helping the body recall and strengthen calm sensations.

Activating inner resources – evoking strengths and protective qualities already within you.

Reframing deep beliefs – transforming “I’m powerless” into “I can choose safety now.”

Integrating memories – allowing the brain to store them as past events, not present threats.

You remain awake, aware, and in control.

The aim isn’t amnesia — it’s coherence.

3. The Salutogenic Lens

We use a salutogenic (salus = health, genesis = origin) framework, which focuses on what supports health and coherence rather than what went wrong.

In each session, we explore:

What helps you stay grounded?

When do you feel most capable or supported?

Where in your life does meaning already exist?

This approach helps you rediscover what already sustains you — your inner architecture of resilience.

4. MEMI + Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy often pairs beautifully with MEMI (Multichannel Eye Movement Integration).

Where MEMI helps integrate fragmented emotional memory, hypnotherapy provides the calm, resourceful state needed for integration to occur safely.

Together, they teach your nervous system this vital truth:

“I can remember, and I can still feel safe.”

5. A Gentle, Realistic Reply (as shared on Reddit)

“Yes — hypnotherapy can help with trauma, but not through suggestions that erase memory.

At My Inner Child Clinic, we use a trauma-informed, salutogenic approach where safety and regulation come first.

Instead of removing memories, we help your body and mind relearn safety so the past no longer feels like a threat. You remain conscious and in control, and the goal is calm, integration, and self-trust.”

6. If You’re Considering Trauma-Focused Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy at My Inner Child Clinic is for you if:

You’ve processed trauma cognitively but still feel on edge.

You prefer a calm, body-first approach to integration.

You value pacing, consent, and therapist attunement.

We integrate hypnotherapy with inner-child work and somatic grounding — always within your window of tolerance.

👉 Book a confidential session

Hypnotherapy for Trauma

Reflective Closing: When the Body Finally Believes You

Another client once said after several sessions, “I used to brace every time I thought of it. Now I can remember — and it feels like watching a scene that’s finally over.”

That’s what trauma-informed hypnotherapy aims for — not to erase the story, but to let the body know it has survived it.

Healing isn’t about forgetting; it’s about allowing your body to rest in the truth that you made it through.