Roy Hunter has continued the valuable groundwork laid by his mentor, Charles Tebbetts, who advocated the practice of guided self-hypnosis, built on a foundation of the client-centred approach to therapeutic intervention, in order to empower the client to self-heal as the unique secret of hypnotherapeutic success. The Art of Hypnotherapy details a valuable multiple-phase hypnotic procedure which encompasses client preparation, regression, abreaction, relearning and reorientation.

The main thrust of therapeutic intervention in The Art of Hypnotherapy is built on four key cornerstone ingredients in order to ensure the client's success in goal-acquisition. These foundations embrace suggestive methodology, root-cause analysis and rehabilitation as an all-encompassing process. Firstly, suggestion and imagery can be utilised to enhance the client's progress towards the specified goal. Roy Hunter, quite rightly, advocates the softly-softly approach whereby the benefits of the client's journey can be highlighted, restrictive obstacles overcome, negative anchors replaced by peaceful imagery and hypnotic progression can allow the client to foresee a brighter future. In The Art of Hypnotherapy Roy Hunter explains that, at the outset of any therapeutic treatment, the initial exploratory session should consist of fostering empathy, spending time allaying any fears the client may hold, building their expectations and empowering them to succeed.

Next the client must unearth the underlying cause of their problem by utilising uncovering techniques, such as regression, parts therapy, affect bridging, dream interpretation and ideomotor questioning. Once a release of any pent-up emotion has occurred, the client may, finally, be encouraged to change their perception of untoward past events and any resultant ongoing situations in order to acquire unconscious relearning which will ensure a satisfactory outcome to the therapeutic journey. The author of The Art of Hypnotherapy explains the way in which parts therapy can allow the client to maintain a dialogue with their ego states, explore sub-personalities, initiate voice dialogue and undertake inner child work as a means of conflict resolution with the practitioner acting merely as a mediator during the process. An extremely useful appraisal of an eleven-step procedure for parts therapy is given to fully instruct the hypnotherapist in this indispensable practice. Roy Hunter also devotes space in his book for considering the psychodynamics of the client's symptomology which lends great strength to the work and will be both enlightening and essential for the practitioner to appreciate. The client, therefore, can traverse a path which entails dealing with their originating distressful imprinting, handling unresolved issues, examining secondary gains, eliminating any identification with wrongdoers, resolving inner conflict, altering inappropriate perceptions and removing the need for self-punishment or the blaming of others.

The Art of Hypnotherapy, in addition, scrutinises various forms of rapid change work for the client which employ imagery, desensitisation, suggestion, reframing and working with inner guidance. A comprehensive chapter also deals specifically with a succinct analysis of phobic conditions and how to treat such problems. The debate about past life therapy is, furthermore, not neglected by the author who discusses both formalised and spontaneous past life regression techniques. This impressive book concludes with guidance for the practitioner with regard to peak performance achievement and unconscious motivation mapping which can lead the client to understand themself more completely as well as provide the practitioner with a clue to the most effective direction of therapy.



The Art of Hypnotherapy provides a thorough appraisal of the client's journey and the way in which the hypnotherapist may assist this process and gain confidence and expertise in this important area. Roy Hunter has provided a contribution to the literature which should be afforded great acclaim and certainly should be an essential component of any practitioner's library.

First understand that this book is ideal for beginners and teachers of hypnotherapy. Hunter's The Art of Hypnotherapy: Mastering Client-Centered Techniques is a very detailed, focused guide; a full hypnotherapy course book. Hunter is straight to the point. He comes in with a backbone not a wishbone. He does not compromise your readers, learners or clients' integrity. So if you are into short courses, avoid this book, it's for professionals. This book is based on thorough in-depth work, it's for someone who wants to pull their weight and be a professional hypnotherapist.

There is enough technical information in here to give you an informed introduction to hypnosis and hypnotherapy. If you are just playing around, let the book go, it's for the disciplined. The things you are not good at are in this book and it helps you to count on yourself in a storm, and to rise when you need to. It is informative, and once you begin working with the clients you least want to, you will find this book even more difficult to put down. It's based on experience.

The Art of Hypnotherapy has everything you need to know, from mastering basic techniques to ethics and potential dangers. The entire book is presented like a college course, enabling you to get the most out of it.

Highly recommended.

The chapter on regression techniques in this book is so complete that it is a mini training course in the art of safe and competent hypnotic regression. And as if that was not enough, the chapter contains a step-by-step guide to take the reader from start to finish of a professional therapy. Chock-full of the sort of wisdom that can only come from a well-spring of clinical experience, this is an eminently must-read chapter in an eminently must-read book.

Roy Hunter took his classic work, The Art of Hypnotherapy, and made it better in this new edition. I will continue to recommend this book to all of my students in the future. It is recommended reading for all hypnotherapists.

I am very proud to say I have been teaching Mr. Hunter's course for several years. I feel this course is one of the best taught in the world, and the book The Art of Hypnotherapy should be a mandatory prerequisite of every student of hypnosis to complete their certification and for the hypnotherapist to use in their practice.

Roy Hunter's text, The Art of Hypnotherapy, is a masterful presentation of the fundamentals as well as advanced techniques of clinical hypnotherapy. I highly recommend it for the beginner as well as the experienced hypnotherapist.

Roy Hunter is well-known in hypnotherapy circles. He is a widely read author and sought-after speaker who diligently continues the work and teaching of the late Charles Tebbetts, considered by many to be a grand master of hypnotherapy. Hunter is also a practising hypnotherapist who, since 1987, has taught Diversified Client-Centered Hypnosis at Tacoma Community College in Washington. His books are required reading at schools of hypnosis around the world. He was inducted into the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame in 2000 and has received honors from national and international hypnotherapy organizations. With Crown House Publishing, he has recently released new editions of The Art of Hypnosis, The Art of Hypnotherapy, and Mastering the Power of Self-Hypnosis. Together, these three volumes form a comprehensive home-study course on hypnosis for both professional hypnotherapists and lay readers.

The Art of Hypnotherapy (Fourth Ed.) is a training manual on advanced methods. At the beginning of the book, Hunter wades into the controversy regarding the credentialing of hypnotherapists, taking the position that training is more important than academic degrees. 

Hunter defines hypnotherapy as the art of facilitating another's self-hypnosis. He explains the four objectives of the pre-induction interview: establish rapport, allay fears, build expectancy, and gather information. He aptly describes listening skills, confidentiality, and tests of suggestibility. He skillfully guides readers through the four cornerstones of successful hypnotherapy: 1) suggestion and guided imagery, 2) discovering subconscious resistance, 3) release of symptoms through regression and parts therapy, and 4) subconscious relearning.

Readers learn how to assess the client's motivation, as well as how to bring about rapid behavioral change through imagery, metaphor, desensitization, past life therapy, and suggestion. The book covers specific applications such as smoking cessation, weight loss, anxiety, grief, phobias, pain management, and peak performance. Scripts provide examples of what to say and how to say it. This book addresses some finer points sometimes missing from books on hypnotherapy, such as ethical considerations and hypnotic voice.