Quebec hypnotherapists' social representations of hypnosis and power

Hypnosis appears as a practice that features practitioners who deliberately display their power and the power of their technique. During a therapeutic interaction, the actors involved will mobilize representations and knowledge related to their membership groups. The aim of this research was to highlight the hypnotherapist’s social representations of hypnosis and power. A qualitative research was carried out based on semi-structured interviews with hypnotherapist (n = 21) in private practice in Quebec (Canada). According to our data, we observed and interpreted hypnosis as a staging, where power games take place between the practitioner and client. A common hypnotic dialectic is articulated including words, representations and a narrative discourse of the hypnotic experience, definition and categorization of the hypnotic phenomenon. Also the results revealed three conceptions of power: a) power-resource; b) power-substance; and c) egalitarian power. Legitimacy is a prerequisite for the exercise of power by individuals and appeared as a central element of the research study on power. The search for legitimacy is carried out through strategies, games of power, that take place in the interaction at several levels of interaction. Legitimacy appears not as an objective fact, but rather as a feeling. In fact, not feeling legitimate fits into the intersubjective space and could be thought of in terms of an absence of recognition. The discourses of practitioners have proved relevant in the development of themes and have allowed for an original interpretation of hypnosis and power relations. This study can serve as a starting point for expanding and animating discussions on power, hypnosis, and on psychotherapeutic practices in general.