Youth Hypnosis Mental Health Ambassadors are middle school students (Grades 8–11) who have completed mental health training.
Youth Hypnosis Mental Health Advocates are Youth Hypnosis Mental Health Ambassadors who have completed training to promote mental health knowledge to their peers within their schools, creating a healthier psychological environment for themselves and their classmates.
The list of advocates is shown below (in alphabetical order by school name):

School: Elegantia College
Advocates: Huang Lee Nga, Ma Kan Huen, Yu Wing Yin Queena

Promotional Services:
Over the past few months, we’ve experimented with sharing insights during morning meetings. We discussed causes of insomnia stemming from excessive stress and ways to regulate sleep—such as establishing a consistent sleep schedule and ensuring a quiet, comfortable environment for rest. We also covered sleep debt and the benefits of adequate sleep.
Additionally, we wrote morning readings centered on emotions, briefly explaining their connection to sleep and stress. We also outlined three steps for emotional management: accepting and understanding emotions, regulating and expressing emotions, and utilizing and reflecting on emotions to transform them into a force for growth. Finally, we discussed how to comfort classmates affected by their emotions.
Beyond these topics, we hosted an activity using games to convey key lessons. The first game was an Emotion Drawing Relay Challenge. We provided various images, and students took turns acting out the scene depicted in the picture, drawing it, and then describing the emotions shown. This demonstrated how each student interpreted the same scene differently, highlighting the diversity of emotions and the varied ways we understand and express them.
Another game was “Test Your Hidden Personality.” Each question offered four choices, each corresponding to one of four personality types: Dominant, Influential, Compliant, and Steady. This helped students recognize that each personality type has unique approaches and strengths. Different personalities can complement each other—there’s no inherent good or bad—and students can learn to flexibly utilize their own traits.
While promoting mental health information, we also deepened our understanding of sleep, stress, emotions, and related topics.

School: HKSYC&IA Chan Nam Chong Memorial College
Advocates: Lam Sze Yu, Suen Cho Wing

Promotional Services:
For this “campus promotion,” we featured our internal stress management team—Firefighters vs. Administrators—during the school TV station’s morning assembly broadcast. We explained that when facing stress, we actually have two inner helpers: “Firefighters” immediately extinguish the flames with quick fixes like gaming or snacking, temporarily easing unease; while ‘Administrators’ prompt us to pause, take deep breaths, and rationally consider, “Is this behavior beneficial for me?” Understanding the protective intent behind each behavior, we learn to collaborate with ourselves rather than fight against ourselves, because every inner voice carries goodwill. Everyone possesses the capacity for self-healing. By learning to listen to our inner voices and treat ourselves kindly, inner chaos will eventually give way to clarity and order. Let’s learn together the wisdom of peacefully coexisting with stress! Therefore, we introduced students to some stress management techniques.

School: SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School
Advocates: Au Bik Sum, Chau Ka Ying, Fong Wing Yin

Promotional Services:
We are Secondary School Mental Health Ambassadors. Through participating in the “Secondary School Students Mental Health Ambassador Program 2025,” we received professional mental health training, learning how to manage emotions, reduce stress, and improve sleep quality. To share our knowledge with our school community, we designed a special campus outreach event centered on the theme of “sleep debt.” We introduced our peers to the relationship between sleep and stress, the principles of biological clock function, and the impact of sleep deprivation on physical and mental health.
The event featured interactive lectures, case studies, calculation exercises, and self-assessment tools to help students understand their sleep patterns and learn how to calculate their daily sleep debt. We also shared five key strategies for improving sleep quality: avoiding electronic devices, creating a comfortable sleep environment, choosing sleep-promoting foods, reducing caffeine intake, and practicing meditation for relaxation.
Through this initiative, we aim to raise awareness about sleep health, encouraging students to establish regular routines and enhance their quality of life. We believe that by prioritizing sleep starting tonight, everyone can gradually repay their “sleep debt” and move toward a healthier, happier campus life.

We are proud to announce that 30 secondary school students (Grades 8–11) from Hong Kong have been selected as 2025 Youth Hypnosis Mental Health Ambassadors!

These young leaders will be promoting evidence-based techniques and knowledge in stress reduction and sleep psychology among their peers, contributing to a healthier and more resilient school community.

The list of ambassadors is shown below (in alphabetical order by first name):

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Happiful Magazine
03-06-2025
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New studies suggest hypnotherapy may help with surgery pain and offer ‘best treatment’ for children’s stomach pain
What if there were a simple way to help combat pain, without any side effects? Two new studies suggest that hypnotherapy could help do just that.

Results from a new trial in Somerset suggest that using hypnotherapy could help patients manage pain after colorectal surgery. As part of a year-long study, 40 patients received medical hypnotherapy, also known as clinical hypnotherapy. The data, yet to be verified, shows early indications that those who received therapy recorded lower pain scores after surgery. Doctors hope that the study may be able to help lead to improvements in patient care in the future. Patients taking part in the study received medical hypnosis while in hospital.

Speaking with BBC Radio Somerset, clinical nurse researcher leading the study, Ana-Marie Toth, said, “Hypnosis is being used in a safe and controlled environment in acute hospitals. It is evidence-based and, potentially, it could improve patient care.”

Further new research into hypnotherapy for pain has revealed that it may be the ‘best treatment’ for children’s stomach pain, according to findings by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Findings suggest that hypnotherapy may offer the ‘best’ treatment for children experiencing long-term stomach pain.

UCLan researchers analysed different treatments for children with chronic stomach pain, including IBS, abdominal migraines, and unexplained pain – conditions that affect as many as one in eight children. Analysing 91 studies, totalling over 7,200 children aged four to 18, researchers looked at the effectiveness of different treatments including medicines, dietary changes, probiotics, hypnotherapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Hypnotherapy and CBT were found to be the most effective methods of relieving pain and improving symptoms.

Researchers found that hypnotherapy was 68% more successful than taking no action, while CBT was 35% more effective. Prof Morris Gordon, from the University of Central Lancashire’s School of Medicine, commented, “We have found that hypnotherapy and CBT have the best evidence of providing successful treatment and to reduce pain.”

What is clinical hypnotherapy?
Clinical hypnotherapy, also known as medical hypnotherapy, generally refers to the use of hypnosis to help alleviate physical and psychological symptoms. Helping people to achieve a deep level of relaxation, hypnotherapy has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety levels, both of which can have significant impacts on how individuals perceive pain.

Research into hypnotherapy for pain relief suggests that hypnosis can be an effective way of managing pain, chronic pain, and surgery-related pain and anxiety. A professional clinical hypnotherapist can help guide an individual into a state of deep relaxation, allowing them to let go of distracting conscious thoughts and opening them up to the power of suggestion.

Rather than trying to convince the individual that there is no pain, hypnotherapy aims to help reduce your fear, stress and anxiety, relax your nervous system, helping it to become less reactive to pain while giving you something else more pleasant to focus on.

Hypnotherapy Directory Member and trauma-informed therapist, Juliet Hollingsworth, MSc, explains more about hypnotherapy for chronic pain relief and management.

“Research shows a correlation between emotional states and feelings of pain. When you feel angry, anxious, or depressed, your sensitivity to pain is stronger. When you feel happy and positive, pain is easier to manage. There is a vicious circle here because pain can increase feelings of anger, anxiety and depression, thus increasing the feelings of pain. Using hypnosis to stabilise your emotional state will help with chronic pain relief.

“Some research indicates that hypnosis as a tool to manage chronic pain relief is sometimes better than other recognised pain management treatments and consistently superior to no treatment.”

Financial Times
18-04-2025
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A Financial Times report explores the emerging use of clinical hypnotherapy to address financial disorders, including compulsive gambling and overspending

The story centers on “Sunny”, a former gambling addict in London, who turned to hypnosis as a last resort after trying other treatments. He recalls:
“I came out and it left me [with] a feeling of ‘I don’t even know what it’s like to gamble’.”

Hypnotherapists featured in the article help clients reshape subconscious drivers of harmful behaviors through techniques like visualization and conversational hypnosis. The narrative acknowledges that skepticism remains due to hypnosis’s public portrayal and lack of standard regulation

A 2014 clinical trial is cited, showing hypnosis to be at least as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating gambling addiction, with over 50% of participants remaining relapse-free at six months

Medical experts, including King’s College neuroscientist Devin Terhune, emphasize the growing legitimacy of hypnosis in therapeutic contexts:
“a small, but growing, army of respected doctors … argue that hypnosis has been unfairly dismissed in the medical field.”

The report notes that in countries like France and the Netherlands, hypnosis is already used in hospitals to relieve pain—a sign of increasing clinical acceptance.

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Medical Xpress
10-12-2024
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Hypnosis is not just a parlor trick or TV act: Science shows it helps with anxiety, depression, pain

We’ve all seen it, typically on television or on stage: A hypnotist selects a few members from the audience, and with what seems to be little more than a steely stare or a few choice words, they’re suddenly “under the spell.” Depending on what the hypnotist suggests, the participants laugh, dance and perform without inhibition.

Or perhaps you’ve experienced hypnosis another way—with a trip to a hypnotherapist for a series of sessions to help you stop smoking, lose weight, manage pain or deal with depression. This is no longer unusual; thousands of Americans have done the same thing. And many were helped.

Hypnosis has been found to be effective for treating irritable bowel syndrome, and it may be beneficial for weight reduction, sleep disorders and anxiety. For mild to moderate depression in adults, hypnotherapy is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy, and it can help with depression in children. Hypnosis is also used to treat phobias, PTSD and to control pain during surgery and dental procedures in both adults and children.

Yet despite the evidence, its widespread use and its growing popularity, hypnosis is still viewed with skepticism by some scientists, and with curiosity by much of the public. As a researcher studying altered states from a cognitive and neuroscientific perspective, I’m happy to help pull back the curtain to show you how hypnosis works.

A hypnotherapy session
In simple terms, hypnosis is a procedure that helps people imagine different experiences that feel very real. When that occurs, the person can be said to be in a state of hypnosis.

Little is known about what characterizes a hypnotic state in terms of brain activity, but neuroimaging studies indicate a decrease in activity in the parts of the brain responsible for self-referential thought and daydreaming, and increased links between the parts responsible for attention and action.

These results are consistent with the idea that people who are hypnotized are in a state that inhibits internal thoughts and other distractions, such as bodily sensations or noises, that may interfere with the hypnosis.

A therapist’s first set of suggestions typically includes the “hypnotic induction,” which helps the subject increase their responsiveness to other suggestions. An induction may be like this: “I will now count from 5 to 1. At every count, you will feel even more relaxed, and that you are going deeper and deeper into hypnosis.”

When responding to suggestions, the subject’s experience feels involuntary. That is, it’s happening to them, rather than generated by them. This is known as the classical suggestion effect. Following a suggestion to move their arm, the subject may feel as though their arm rises on its own, rather than being raised of their own volition.

For perceptual suggestions, the experience can feel quite real and distinct from voluntary imagination. If I ask you to imagine hearing a dog barking outside, it requires an effort, and the experience does not feel like there’s really a dog barking outside. But through hypnotic suggestion, responsive subjects will feel like they hear a dog barking, and they won’t be cognizant of any effort to make it happen.

What makes people hypnotizable?
You can’t force anyone to be hypnotized. Willingness to participate, a positive attitude, motivation and expectation are hugely important. So is the ability to set aside the fact that the situation is imaginative. It’s like when you become fully absorbed with the story and characters in a movie—so absorbed you forget you’re in a theater.

Good rapport with the therapist is also critical. If you refuse to cooperate or decide hypnosis won’t work, it won’t. A good comparison may be meditation: You can listen to a meditation recording, but if you’re unwilling to follow the instructions, or if you’re unmotivated or distracted, it won’t have any effect.

Few traits predict whether someone is easily hypnotizable, but people are not equal in their ability to respond to hypnotic suggestions. Some people vividly experience a wide array of suggestions; others, not nearly as much. There are indications that women respond slightly better to hypnotic suggestions than men, and that peak hypnotizability occurs during late childhood and early teenage years.

From a neuroscientific perspective, it appears that hypnotic suggestions do not act directly on our executive functions, but rather on our self-monitoring functions. That is, hypnosis does not directly decide our behaviors for us. Rather, it modifies how the brain monitors what it’s doing. So when the hypnotist suggests that you raise your arm, you’re still the one making that decision—although your experience may seem like the arm is moving by itself.

Exposure therapy, self-hypnosis
The aim of hypnotherapy is to induce changes in negative emotions, perceptions and actions. Suppose you are afraid of public speaking. Through suggestions, the therapist may make you go through the experience of talking in front of an audience. Again, it feels real—your stress level will rise, but ultimately you’ll habituate yourself and learn to cope with the stress, even as the therapist suggests increasingly challenging scenarios.

Hypnosis can also be used as a preparation or replacement for exposure therapy, which is a method to treat phobias or anxiety related to specific situations by progressively exposing the patient to increasingly challenging situations. If you’re afraid of birds, the therapist may suggest you imagine holding a feather; then imagine getting near a bird in a cage; then imagine going to the park and feeding pigeons. This is more effective, and feels more real, than mere visualization.

The hypnotherapist can also teach self-hypnosis techniques. Subjects can learn to induce a state of relaxation that’s associated with a gesture, such as closing the left hand.

Hypnotic suggestions like this decrease anxiety by promoting activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which stimulates bodily functions during times of rest, such as digestion and sexual arousal, and deactivates the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates the fight-or-flight response.

Progress can occur after less than 10 sessions with some disorders, such as insomnia in children. But it may take longer for others, such as depression. And just as hypnosis is not suitable for everyone, it’s also not suitable for everything.

What’s more, not all hypnotherapy products on the market are backed by scientific evidence. It is safer to go to a hypnotherapist who’s licensed in your state. You should ask whether they are affiliated with or certified by a professional association of hypnotherapists. You can then confirm their affiliation on the association’s website. For instance, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis allows you to search members by name.

Although Medicare does not cover hypnotherapy, some private insurance partially covers the costs for some conditions, provided the treatment is performed by a licensed clinical mental health professional. One session will typically cost between US$100 and $250.

AIM’s Headquarters Committee/Board of Directors formally approved a new Logo to be used starting October 5, 2024 and all previous logos will be replaced.

The elements in the AIM Logo:

1. Caduceus in the center:
   This is the double serpent staff held by Hermes, the divine messenger of ancient Greek mythology, symbolizing communication, balance and duality. In the medical field, this symbol is often used to symbolize healing and health, although the more traditional medical symbol would be the single-snake staff. The two snakes are entwined in the center of the staff, which is topped with wings, representing speed and freedom. The combination of the two snakes and the wings also symbolizes the fusion of spirit and matter, the balance between body and soul.
2. The Yin Yang Symbol:
   The Yin Yang Symbol is derived from Taoist philosophy and symbolize the balance between opposing forces, such as light and darkness, yang and yin, male and female. This symbol represents the balance and harmony between all things and echoes the meaning of the double snake staff, emphasizing the concept of health and harmony and suggesting the integration of mind, body and spirit.
3. The letters “I AM”:
   Alphabet I from Caduceus and The Yin Yang Symbol
   These letters are arranged on the top and bottom of the pattern. Literally, “I AM” can represent the concept of self-affirmation and self-realization, and may symbolize the integration of body, mind and spirit. It is a strong statement of being and may be in line with the logo’s theme of health and balance.
4. Rounded frame:
   The entire logo is enclosed in a circular frame. The circle symbolizes wholeness and infinity, and is complemented by the yin and yang symbol, signifying the harmony and continuity of the universe.
5. Related to the U.S.:
   The Logo features several five-pointed stars at the top, and the horizontal lines at the bottom of the image which correspond to the stars and the red and white stripes found in the U.S. flag. The image uses deep blue, gold, and white as its primary colors. The deep blue is similar to the blue in the U.S. flag, representing justice, perseverance, and loyalty. The letters “A” and “M” on either side stand for “AMerican”.

The North American Menopause Society
09-09-2024
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Clinical Hypnosis vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What’s Better for Managing Hot Flashes?

New scoping review suggests superior effectiveness of clinical hypnosis in reducing hot flashes and improving associated symptoms and quality of life

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Sept 10, 2024)–Nonhormone options for hot flashes and other menopause symptoms are growing in popularity, especially for women who cannot take hormones due to health complications. Cognitive behavioral therapy and clinical hypnosis are common nonhormone treatment options. According to a new scoping review, however, one is more effective than the other. Results of the scoping review will be presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Chicago September 10-14.

Recognizing that a percentage of menopausal women cannot take hormone therapy either because of health restrictions, such as being a breast cancer survivor, or because of their concerns regarding the potential risks of hormones, in 2023 The Menopause Society published its Nonhormone Therapy Position Statement. Among other things, the Position Statement addressed both cognitive behavioral therapy and clinical hypnosis.

A new scoping review which synthesized the findings from 23 studies spanning from 1996 until 2022, however, was designed to compare the effectiveness of these two treatment options. Of the total studies reviewed, 8 had administered clinical hypnosis and 15 administered cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of hot flashes.

The researchers found that clinical hypnosis interventions consistently demonstrated clinically significant efficacy in reducing hot flash frequency and severity, as well as improving quality of life, sleep quality, and mood. Specifically, clinical hypnosis showed a significant reduction of more than 60%. In contrast, cognitive behavioral therapy interventions showed mixed findings, with minimal impact on hot flash frequency reduction, although they did prove helpful in reducing the daily interference and stress associated with hot flashes.

More detailed results will be discussed at the 2024 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society as part of the abstract presentation entitled “Clinical hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy for hot flashes: a scoping review.”

“Clinical hypnosis is the first behavioral intervention to achieve significant reductions of physiologically recorded hot flashes,” says Vanessa Muniz, lead author from Baylor University. “This suggests that hypnosis may act through mechanisms beyond response expectancy or placebo effects, potentially altering activity in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus.”

Based on the results, the researchers suggest that future research should explore neurophysiological mechanisms of hypnosis and innovative delivery methods such as smartphone apps, and tailor interventions to individual characteristics for optimized outcomes in managing hot flashes.

“Since hot flashes are one of the most common bothersome symptoms of menopause, evaluating the available treatment options, including the nonhormone options, are important so we can provide our patients with the option that will work best for them, says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society.

Both Vanessa Muniz and Dr. Faubion are available for interviews prior to the Annual Meeting.

Reuters
01-07-2024
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Emotional Davis credits hypnotherapy for return to winning form

July 1 (Reuters) – In the doldrums after a barren run of tournaments, Cam Davis said he used hypnotherapy as a circuit-breaker before claiming his second PGA Tour title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Davis also needed a bit of luck, with Akshay Bhatia three-putting on the final hole at the Detroit Golf Club on Sunday to gift-wrap the trophy for the 29-year-old Australian.
Three years after claiming his first PGA Tour win at the same tournament, a relieved Davis struggled to hold back tears and spoke of a “roller-coaster of emotions”.

“I’m working with a hypnotherapist that I only just started working with, just trying to take a different approach to try and get my head back in the right place,” he told reporters.
“I honestly haven’t been in a very good place mentally at all for the last six months or so.
“I felt like all the opportunities have been slipping out of my hands as the year progresses without playing very good golf.
“I felt like a change of direction was definitely needed, something that I was actually going to stick to because I’m definitely someone that will start doing something and if it doesn’t feel like it’s helping straight away, it’s very easy to drop it.”

Davis’s aspirations of representing Australia at the Paris Olympics golf tournament fell by the wayside during his lean start to the year.
The country will be represented by former world number one Jason Day and Min Woo Lee, who finished joint runner-up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Davis, however, will hope his Detroit win might put him on track for a spot on the International team for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal in September.

“I guess I just missed the boat on the Olympics, this win’s come a little bit late for that big goal of the year, but I’ve got two more big goals of finishing high on the FedExCup and also trying to get on that Presidents Cup team,” he said.
“Just to know that the good golf is in there and was able to come out this week, I want to just keep that rolling. I’ve still got plenty to play for this year.”