Trust issues can feel like carrying an invisible shield everywhere you go. That constant vigilance, the endless analysis of every word and gesture, the exhausting mental loops questioning everyone’s motives.

What if you could walk into relationships with a lighter heart? Imagine being able to take people at face value sometimes, without that familiar knot of suspicion tightening in your chest.

Hypnotherapy works with the unconscious patterns that keep you guarded and hypervigilant. It’s not about becoming naive or dropping all your boundaries. Instead, it’s about developing the ability to assess situations from a calmer, clearer place rather than from that old familiar fortress of self-protection.

What Is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation and focused attention to create what’s called a trance state. Think of it as that dreamy feeling just before you fall asleep, when your conscious mind quietens and becomes more receptive to positive suggestions.

During this relaxed state, your hypnotherapist can help you access and gently reshape the unconscious beliefs driving your trust difficulties. It’s a bit like having a conversation with the part of your mind that’s been working overtime to keep you safe.

You remain completely aware and in control throughout the session. You can’t be made to do anything against your will, and you’ll remember the experience afterwards. Many people describe it as feeling deeply relaxed yet mentally alert.

The process works by bypassing the critical, analytical part of your mind that might resist change. When you’re relaxed, your unconscious becomes more open to new perspectives about safety, relationships, and trust. It’s gentle work that honours your protective mechanisms whilst helping them become less rigid.

How Effective Is Hypnotherapy for Trust Issues?

Trust issues often develop when your nervous system learns to stay in a heightened state of alertness. Your brain becomes exceptionally skilled at scanning for potential threats or signs of betrayal. This hypervigilance served a purpose once, but now it’s like having a smoke alarm that goes off when you toast bread.

Hypnotherapy works by helping to recalibrate this oversensitive threat-detection system. Research published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis shows that hypnotherapy can effectively reduce hypervigilance and help regulate the nervous system’s response to perceived threats.

The process feels like slowly turning down the volume on that internal alarm system. Instead of every interaction feeling like it carries the weight of potential betrayal, you begin to notice more nuance. That tight feeling in your chest when someone doesn’t text back immediately starts to soften.

Sarah, a teacher in her thirties, found herself constantly questioning her partner’s motives after a previous relationship ended badly. After several hypnotherapy sessions, she began to notice she could enjoy their conversations without mentally filing away every comment for later analysis. The change felt gradual but significant.

Studies from Stanford University’s research on hypnotic susceptibility suggest that people who struggle with relationship anxiety often respond well to hypnotherapy because their heightened sensitivity actually makes them more responsive to hypnotic intervention.

Results vary significantly between individuals. Some people notice shifts in their internal landscape within a few sessions, whilst others need more time to feel substantial change.

What Happens in a Session for Trust Issues?

Your first session typically begins with a conversation about your specific trust concerns. Your hypnotherapist will want to understand what trust issues look like in your daily life, without needing you to delve into painful details of past experiences.

The hypnotic work itself usually starts with progressive relaxation. You might be guided to notice the weight of your body in the chair, the rhythm of your breathing, the sounds in the room gradually fading to background noise.

Once you’re in that calm, receptive state, your therapist might use imagery to help you explore different ways of being in relationships. You might visualise yourself feeling genuinely at ease with a friend, or imagine what it would feel like to give someone the benefit of the doubt without that familiar anxiety spike.

Some therapists work with inner dialogue, helping you notice the difference between your wise, intuitive voice and the anxious chatter of old protective patterns. Others might use metaphorical work, perhaps imagining your heart as having healthy boundaries rather than impenetrable walls.

The session typically ends with positive suggestions being offered to your unconscious mind. These aren’t affirmations you have to believe, but gentle possibilities planted like seeds. You’ll be gradually brought back to normal awareness feeling relaxed and often surprisingly refreshed.

Common Misconceptions About Hypnotherapy

Many people worry that hypnotherapy will make them vulnerable or expose painful memories they’re not ready to handle. Actually, hypnotherapy tends to work the opposite way with trust issues, helping you feel more grounded and secure within yourself.

Some people expect hypnotherapy to make them completely trusting, which understandably feels unsafe. Good hypnotherapy for trust issues doesn’t aim to remove your discernment. Instead, it helps you distinguish between genuine red flags and the false alarms created by past hurt.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy notes that professional hypnotherapy is a collaborative process where you remain an active participant, not a passive recipient.

There’s also a misconception that you need to believe in hypnosis for it to work. Healthy scepticism is actually quite normal and doesn’t prevent the process from being effective.

How Many Sessions Are Needed for Trust Issues?

Trust patterns often developed over years, so expecting overnight transformation isn’t realistic. Most people begin to notice subtle shifts in their internal responses within three to five sessions.

The initial changes might be small. Perhaps you catch yourself assuming positive intent once or twice, or notice that knot of suspicion loosening slightly when a friend cancels plans. These early shifts can feel surprisingly significant when you’re used to constant vigilance.

A typical course might involve six to ten sessions, though some people find they want to continue longer to really solidify the changes. Others feel ready to stop sooner if they’re achieving their goals.

Your progress will likely be gradual rather than dramatic. Trust issues often involve fear of abandonment and other complex emotional patterns that take time to unravel gently.

Regular sessions initially, perhaps weekly, then spacing them out as you integrate the changes, tends to work well for most people.

Is Hypnotherapy Right for Me?

If you’re tired of feeling like a detective in your own relationships, constantly gathering evidence and building cases against people you care about, hypnotherapy might offer a different approach. It’s particularly helpful if you recognise that your trust issues are impacting your wellbeing but feel stuck in old patterns.

You don’t need to be highly suggestible or have dramatic visualisation abilities. Simple willingness to explore new ways of being in relationships is usually enough. Some people who also experience jealousy find the combination of issues responds well to hypnotherapeutic work.

Consider whether you’re ready to potentially feel more vulnerable as old defences soften. This isn’t about dropping your guard entirely, but about developing more flexibility in how you navigate relationships.

If you’re currently in crisis or dealing with fresh betrayal, it might be worth waiting until you feel more stabilised. Hypnotherapy works best when you have some emotional space to explore new possibilities.

Explore more about hypnotherapy for Relationships & Intimacy.

Is Hypnotherapy as Effective Online?

This session can be conducted online from anywhere in the world—research published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare has demonstrated that online hypnotherapy is equally effective as in-person sessions for anxiety, with the added benefits of convenience and accessibility from your own comfortable environment. 

Many clients find that being in their own space actually helps them relax more deeply. 

If after that initial session you feel hypnotherapy isn’t right for you, there’s no obligation to continue. 

Book your introductory session and discover whether this approach resonates with you.