Hypnosis conjures up images of Paul McKenna and people believing they are rabbits or saying strange things spontaneously.

But the tradition is more than just an entertainment gimmick- hypnotherapists use it to treat a range of problems from bad habits to phobias.

The use of trance can be traced back to ancient times but modern hypnotherapy was developed from the work of Anton Mesmer in the 1800s and by psychologists and neurobiologists in the 1900s.

You may chose hypnotherapy if you have a phobia of a type of insect, animal, object or situation or a habit such as smoking or nail-biting. It can be used to deal with anxiety or a lack of confidence, panic attacks, jealousy, guilt or anger.

The hypnotherapist will ask questions about the particular problem and about yourself before the hypnosis begins.

Hypnotherapists use different approaches. The hypnosis technique which we typically imagine with a person in a trance-like state involves the hypnotherapist gently guiding the patient by voice into a state where they are relaxed and nearly asleep but still awake enough to be aware.

They may experience the pleasant feelings associated with what they are going through in their mind. They will remember the details of the sessions.

Simple hypnosis techniques may be used by dentists to relax a person who is nervous. One of these is the dreaming arm in which the dentist can ask a patient to hold their arm out in front of them and let it drop slowly. Story-telling using a tale with a hidden moral linked to the patient's phobia can also be used to calm people.

Hypnotherapy allows the patient to access deeper levels of awareness they would normally be oblivious to.

A problem may only be a surface effect of an underlying mental cause so hypnotherapists can access these deeper levels and help change the way you feel, think and behave.

Four reasons to see a hypnotherapist:

1 Hypnotherapy can help with anything in which the mind has an influence. While it works very well for phobias, smoking and weight control, it can also relieve nausea in chemotherapy patients, prepare people for surgery, relieve insomnia and improve sport performance.

2 Using a very light state of trance, similar to day-dreaming, means change can take place more quickly than simply through talking. This means treatment is often surprisingly brief.

3 If you are stuck with a habit, behaviour, feelings or a condition that you cannot sort out yourself, a hypnotherapist can be your mind mechanic to help you on the right road again. For example, if any raised voice reduces you to a jelly and now you want to work in a pressured environment, where raised voices are the norm, you can unlearn the jelly response and feel more confident.

4 Well-trained hypnotherapists will give you a designer service. They will listen carefully and then tailor the techniques they use.

For more information about hypnotherapy or to find a therapist, contact the National Council for Hypnotherapy on freephone 0800 9520545, email admin@hypnotherapists.org.uk or log on to www.hypnotherapists.org.uk or contact the Hypnotherapy Association on freephone 0800 7318443 or log on to www.thehypnotherapyassociation.co.uk