ISH Monthly Masterclass : Covert Hypnosis: How does social influence work?
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Covert Hypnosis: How does social influence work?
Mehdi Fathi, MD
Alireza Fathi, Psychology Student
Hypnosis is traditionally presented as a distinct clinical intervention involving focused attention, suggestion, and altered responsiveness. However, the mechanisms that make hypnosis effective are not exclusive to the hypnotic setting. They continuously operate in everyday life through social interaction, culture, authority, language, media, education, religion, marketing, and interpersonal relationships.This masterclass introduces a conceptual framework that views clinical hypnosis as the intentional, ethical, and therapeutic application of naturally occurring social influence mechanisms. Rather than focusing primarily on hypnotic techniques, participants will explore the cognitive and neuropsychological processes underlying influence, including expectation, predictive processing, attention modulation, framing, meaning construction, social learning, and contextual perception.
Through evidence from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and clinical medicine, the workshop demonstrates how these mechanisms shape perception, behavior, pain, emotion, and physiological responses. Real clinical examples from surgery, obstetrics, pain management, dentistry, and trauma care will illustrate how structured social influence can be transformed into safe and effective therapeutic hypnosis.
Participants will be encouraged to reconsider the relationship between hypnosis and everyday influence, moving beyond the traditional distinction between “formal hypnosis” and ordinary human communication.
By the end of this masterclass, attendees will be able to:
* Explain hypnosis within the broader context of social influence and predictive brain function.
* Identify the principal mechanisms of covert influence in everyday communication.
* Differentiate ethical therapeutic influence from manipulation.
* Integrate principles of social influence into clinical hypnosis practice.
* Apply a neuroscience-informed model of covert hypnosis across diverse healthcare settings.
This workshop proposes a shift in perspective: every hypnosis involves social influence, although not every social influence constitutes hypnosis. Understanding this relationship provides a broader scientific foundation for modern clinical hypnosis and opens new opportunities for research, education, and clinical practice.
Clinical hypnosis is not an isolated phenomenon; it represents the most organized, ethical, and therapeutic expression of the social influence mechanisms that continuously shape human cognition and behavior.
Alireza Fathi, psychology & kinesiology, department, SFU, Canada
Speaker at the ISH World Congress, 2024, on hypnosis in rehabilitation and physiotherapy
Speaker at the Asian Society of Hypnosis, entitled “Emotionship.”
Speaker at the Asian Society of Hypnosis, entitled “Placebo Effect”
Will the Webinar be recorded?
Yes, the link to re-watch the session will be shared to all people who registered for the meeting.
How long will the recording be available?
After sharing the link, the recording will be available for at least 30days to re-watch the session.
When will the room be opened?
The room will be opened 15min prior to the workshop. (4.45pm)