Mind and Emotions · Online across Australia
Trauma and PTSD Treatment: Where Hypnotherapy Fits
Something that’s over keeps happening in your body, your sleep and the way you watch a room. You want to know what actually helps. Good PTSD treatment starts with trauma-focused therapy. Hypnotherapy for trauma can sit alongside it, at your pace.
At a glance: usually 6 to 12 sessions, agreed together in your first session. $1,500 to $3,000 in total paid upfront, or $1,800 to $3,600 session by session.
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- 14 yearsin clinical practice
- FellowAustralian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists
- AHA approvedCPD courses I teach other hypnotherapists
- 1 to 1with Ernest, by video from home
Ernest McLeod, clinical hypnotherapistAn Adelaide practice, seeing clients across Australia by video. Fourteen years in practice.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Something happened, and part of you still hasn’t accepted that it’s over.
- Memories arrive uninvited, as pictures or as a feeling that grips your body.
- Nightmares, or a dread of going to sleep in case they come.
- You avoid certain roads, places, sounds or people because they bring it back.
- You’re on edge, quick to startle, quick to snap.
- You’ve leaned on sleeping tablets or a drink to get through the nights.
If these began after a frightening event and haven’t eased, please talk to your GP. Effective treatments exist, and you don’t have to earn them by coping alone first.
Why trauma keeps its hold
Trauma keeps its hold because your body’s alarm can stay switched on after a traumatic event has passed. Knowing it’s over doesn’t reach that part of you straight away. So you scan rooms, startle at sounds, and sleep badly, even when you’re safe. The physical symptoms are real: a racing heart, tight muscles, insomnia.
It’s more common than many people realise. The ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing ran from 2020 to 2022. It found 5.6% of Australians aged 16 to 85 had PTSD in the previous 12 months. Post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t a weakness. It’s a recognised condition, and PTSD symptoms have recognised treatment options.
How hypnosis helps with trauma and PTSD
Hypnosis can help alongside the therapies that come first, not instead of them. But here’s the part I won’t skip. Australia’s PTSD guidelines come from Phoenix Australia and are approved by the NHMRC. They recommend trauma-focused psychological therapies as the first-line treatment. These are trauma-focused CBT, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive therapy, prolonged exposure and EMDR. Medication is a second-line option. Hypnotherapy isn’t on that list. If you haven’t yet had one of those therapies with a psychologist, that’s where I’d point you first.
Clinical hypnosis is focused attention in a relaxed state. Some call it trance, but you stay aware and in charge. Like mindfulness, it lets you notice thoughts and feelings without being swept along. We use relaxation to lower the constant alertness, ease the anxiety and work on sleep. Trauma recovery can take more than one kind of help, and this is one.
We go at your pace, and you can stop at any time. That’s how hypnotherapy can help you feel a sense of agency again.
We don’t go digging for traumatic memories or past trauma. Hypnosis can occasionally produce false memories, so I never use it to “recover” anything.
In my practice, I ask who else is supporting you before we begin. At the start of each session, I check in about pace, and you set the limits.
How hypnotherapy for trauma works online
This virtual hypnotherapy runs as a plan of 6 to 12 video sessions, after a free 15-minute call.
- A free 15-minute call
You tell me as much or as little as you like about what happened, and who’s already supporting you. I tell you honestly whether I think I can help. No obligation, and no hard sell. Ask me anything you like about hypnosis too, such as how it feels or whether you stay in charge.
- Your first session: the treatment plan
We map what sets off your symptoms, how your nights are going, and what support you already have. You leave with a plan and the number of sessions I recommend. The $300 for this session comes off the plan.
- Sessions by video and an audio to take home
Most plans run 6 to 12 sessions. You join each hypnotherapy session from home. All you need is a quiet room, a reliable connection and a pair of headphones. You receive an audio recording to listen to between appointments, and you learn simple self-hypnosis too. Progress doesn’t have to wait for the next session.
In your own familiar space, you choose the room, and you can stop whenever you need to.
Not sure yet whether this is for you?That’s what the free call is for. Fifteen minutes, by phone, at a time that suits you.
What the research actually says
The research on hypnosis for PTSD is limited. In 1989 Brom, Kleber and Defares tested three brief therapies, one of them hypnotherapy. They worked with 112 people after bereavement, violence or traffic accidents. All three treated groups did better than a waiting list.
A 2026 review in L’Encéphale by Thellier-Francois and colleagues found 12 studies of hypnosis for PTSD. Most reported some benefit, but they were too varied to combine. The authors left the place of hypnosis among trauma therapies an open question.
So I see hypnotherapy as a supporting player here, not the lead.
Is hypnosis for trauma safe?
For most adults, yes, when it’s done with care and at your pace. Hypnosis doesn’t involve medicine. You might feel a little drowsy or emotional after a session. It isn’t the right place to start if you live with psychosis. The same goes for a severe mental health condition that isn’t being treated. Please keep seeing your GP, psychologist or other treating clinician. If you’re having thoughts of suicide, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 if you’re in danger.
What hypnotherapy for trauma costs
Your first session: $300
This is where we build your treatment plan. The $300 is credited towards the plan.
- Most plans run 6 to 12 sessions. We agree the number together in your first session.
- Paid upfront: $250 a session. 6 sessions: $1,500 in total. 12 sessions: $3,000 in total.
- Session by session: $300 each. 6 sessions: $1,800. 12 sessions: $3,600.
- Session length: your first session runs up to 90 minutes, and follow-up sessions up to 60 minutes.
- Prepaid sessions are valid for 12 months. Any you don’t need can be used for something else, or passed on to someone you know.
- Pay by card or bank transfer. Prices in AUD. No GST applies.
Or call 0427 218 092
Please see your GP as wellYour GP can assess what’s going on and talk through your treatment options. They can refer you to a psychologist trained in trauma-focused therapy, with a Medicare rebate through Better Access. Hypnotherapy sits well alongside that. Please don’t stop sleeping tablets or any other medication without talking to your doctor. If you’re in danger, or the trauma is still happening, call 000.
Who you’ll be working with
I’m Ernest McLeod. I’ve practised as a clinical hypnotherapist for fourteen years. I have an Adelaide practice and see clients right across Australia by video. Before that I spent twenty years as a software engineer and designer. That probably explains why I care more about what works than what sounds impressive.
This topic is personal for me. I was hit by a car. Afterwards I had PTSD, severe anxiety and nightmares, and came to depend on sleeping tablets. I went to a hypnotherapist feeling sceptical. It helped me move on and freed my mind from what had felt like a suffocating prison. That’s why I take this work seriously, and why I’ll always be straight with you about where it fits.
- Time Line Therapy® Practitioner
- Fellow, ASCH
- Trainer: AHA-approved CPD courses
- Certified NLP Practitioner
What I’m not: hypnotherapy isn’t a registered profession in Australia, so I’m not AHPRA-registered and I’m not a psychologist. My ASCH Fellowship is voluntary. I also train other hypnotherapists. My courses on quitting smoking, vaping and gambling count as professional development (CPD), approved by the Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association. More about me
Questions people ask about hypnotherapy for trauma
Does hypnotherapy work for trauma?
The honest answer is that the evidence is limited. A 1989 trial found hypnotherapy did better than a waiting list, as did two other brief therapies. A 2026 review found 12 studies. Most reported some benefit, but they were too varied to combine. That’s why I offer it alongside the main therapies, not instead of them.
What is the success rate of trauma hypnotherapy?
I don’t quote one. The studies are too few and too varied to give a reliable figure. Any advertised rate would tell you very little. The research above gives you the real picture, limits included.
Is EMDR better than hypnosis for trauma?
EMDR is one of the first-line therapies in Australia’s guidelines. Hypnotherapy isn’t on that list. If you haven’t had professional help like EMDR or trauma-focused CBT, I’d start there.
Will I have to relive what happened?
No. You don’t need to describe the event in detail, and I won’t push you to. The focus is on how you’re living now: your body’s alarm, your sleep, your sense of safety.
Can hypnosis make me forget trauma, or recover lost memories?
No, and I won’t try either. As above, false memories are a known risk, so I never try to “recover” anything. We work with how you feel and live today.
Can hypnotherapy help with childhood trauma?
It can support you with the effects you live with now, like alertness, anxiety and poor sleep. We don’t go back looking for painful memories. Australia’s guidelines also cover complex PTSD, so a trauma-trained psychologist is the right lead for that work.
Is there a fast way to release trauma from the body?
Not one I can honestly offer. The therapies with the strongest support take a course of sessions. This work can add a way to calm your body’s alarm. Then the harder work can feel more manageable.
Can hypnosis help with anxiety and overthinking?
It can help you settle a busy, alert mind, and that’s part of trauma work too. If anxiety is your main concern, see hypnotherapy for anxiety.
Can I do this while I’m seeing a psychologist?
Yes, and that’s how I’d prefer it. Let your psychologist know, and keep taking any medication as prescribed. This work is designed to support theirs, not compete with it.
What if it isn’t helping?
Tell me. We review progress as we go and change the approach if something isn’t working. If hypnotherapy isn’t right for you, I’ll say so and point you towards what might be. Prepaid sessions you haven’t used stay yours for 12 months.
Is it covered by Medicare or my health fund?
Hypnotherapy isn’t covered by Medicare, and you don’t need a GP referral. Health fund extras cover varies, so check with your fund before you start.
Ready when you are
Tell me the best time to reach you and I’ll call within 24 hours. Fifteen minutes, no obligation.
Request a free consultationOr call 0427 218 092
Related
- Mind and emotionsAll the mind and emotions issues I work with.
- Nightmares and night terrorsWhen the nights are the hardest part.
- AnxietyWhen your alarm system won’t switch off.
- Sleep and insomniaWhen you’ve come to rely on something to sleep.
- DepressionHypnotherapy as one part of your care, next to your GP and psychologist.
- Anger managementSlowing down the jump from calm to shouting over something small.
Free and confidential, open now. Tap to call.
Where these numbers come from
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2023). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020 to 2022. abs.gov.au. The 5.6% is the share of Australians aged 16 to 85 who had PTSD in the 12 months before the survey.
Phoenix Australia (2020, updated 2021). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex PTSD. Approved by the NHMRC. phoenixaustralia.org. Source of the first-line and second-line treatment positions.
Brom D, Kleber RJ, Defares PB (1989). Brief psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 57(5): 607-612. doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.57.5.607. Source of the 112 participants and the three therapies.
Thellier-Francois J, Binda D, Nicolier M, et al. (2026). Effectiveness of hypnosis in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). L’Encéphale 52(4): 415-422. doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2025.12.002. Source of the 12 studies.
Better Health Channel (Victorian Government). Hypnosis, which lists false memories among rare unwanted effects. betterhealth.vic.gov.au. I’ll always show you where a number came from.
Hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy, not medical treatment, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from your doctor or a psychologist. If your symptoms are severe or persistent, please speak to your GP. Last updated 9 October 2026.