**1. Introduction**

The origin of "hypnosis" is from the Greek word "hypnos," which means "sleep" [1]. Hypnosis is a state of mind that is characterized by focused attention and heightened receptivity for suggestions. It is either established by compliance with instructions or achieved naturally; the critical nature of the mind is bypassed during hypnosis and acceptable suggestions are delivered [2]. It is a trance mental state that is later followed by giving suggestion. During hypnosis, suggestions are used to cure a lot of psychological health problems, such as stress, addiction, and phobia. It can as well assist in managing physical problems like pain reduction, such as the pain caused by chemotherapy in cancer patients [3].

In a trance, the normal state of the mind occurs regularly as when watching an engrossing movie, reading an absorbing book, or performing monotonous activity; thus hypnosis is also described as an "attentive, receptive focal concentration" [4]. It is commonly assumed that during hypnosis, the subconscious mind is in a suggestible state while the conscious mind is distracted or guided to become dormant [5].

Misperceptions about hypnosis by clinical practitioners and their clients have been shaped through years of inaccurate but interesting portrayals of hypnosis in books, plays, and movies. Part of the misperceptions is that individuals with seemingly magical powers to manipulate the unsuspecting innocent with their authoritative voice commands and penetrating eyes are depicted as hypnotists. For these reasons, witch doctors, evil scientists, space aliens, and vampires have all been portrayed as using hypnosis to achieve their dubious ends [6]. Hypnosis is introduced to others as a form of entertainment on television talk shows or at comedy clubs. Volunteers from the audience act out of fantasies to make the audience laugh from the hypnotist's simple commands for sleep and snaps of the fingers. The individuals hypnotized appear to apparently behave in ways that are contrary to normal behavior or out of character. However, some clinical practitioners themselves have contributed to further exacerbate this denigrative image of hypnosis [6]. This chapter will review the traditional and conventional approaches used in hypnosis, their advantages and disadvantages as well as where hypnosis is used as a complementary or alternative therapy to the modern day orthodox medicine.
