Prevalent negative perceptions surrounding hypnosis have considerably eroded the social trust in hypnotherapists, who are professionals expected to offer interpersonal help through hypnosis. This study compared the levels of conscious and non-conscious social trust in hypnotherapists, hypnotists who misuse hypnosis, and psychotherapists (a collective term for professionals offering interpersonal help.) The conscious and non-conscious aspects of social
trust in each professional category were assessed among 47 university students. Utilizing the semantic differential method and Implicit Association Test, the conscious and non-conscious scores of social trust in hypnotherapists, psychotherapists, and hypnotists were obtained. The analysis revealed that both conscious and non-conscious scores of social trust were significantly higher for psychotherapists, followed by hypnotherapists and then hypnotists. However, the non-conscious scores of social trust in hypnotherapists were reversed from negative to positive when compared to psychotherapists or hypnotists. This suggests that it cannot be claimed that the trust in hypnotherapists is neutral. Our findings underscore the importance of disseminating accurate information about hypnosis to increase the social trust in hypnotherapists.
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