Hypnotherapy Without Hypnosis

Delivering Change Through Story, Safety, and Space

In your practice, you may be seeing clients who do not respond to direct suggestion, formal trance, or insight-led work, not because they are resistant, but because those approaches are not accessible or appropriate for them. This is especially common when working with neurodivergent children, families, and clients who experience heightened sensitivity to demand, pressure, or perceived control.

In this session, I will invite you to step slightly outside the traditional hypnosis model and explore how change can occur without overt induction or direct suggestion. Drawing on clinical work with neurodivergent children and their families, we will look at how hypnosis can operate indirectly, through story, environmental safety, and relational positioning, rather than solely within the therapy chair.

You will be guided through when indirect work is indicated, why safety and predictability often drive outcomes more effectively than technique or depth, and how hypno-stories can function as a precise therapeutic delivery system rather than a creative add-on. Case examples will illustrate how meaningful change can take place without insight, compliance, or conscious engagement.

This talk is designed to expand your thinking, not replace your existing skills. You will leave with a clear conceptual framework for integrating indirect hypnosis into your practice ethically and safely, enabling you to work more confidently with “hard to reach” clients and to do less, while achieving more.

Amy Dalwood-Fairbanks is a multi-award winning paediatric clinical hypnotherapist, author, and speaker specialising in low-demand, neuro-affirming work with neurodivergent children and their families. A former primary school teacher, she is the founder of Magic Minds Family Hypnotherapy. Amy is known for her work with indirect hypnosis and hypno-stories, and is developing training for clinicians and medical professionals in relational, safety-led practice.