In this article from BleacherReport.com, Randy Couture - a title-sweeping champion accredited with making Mixed Martial Arts a pop-culture explosion in the last 15 years - says hypnosis is one of his training tools. He credits his mental toughness and strength to a regimen of mental training and hypnosis. From the article:

“I’ve learned to listen to my body more. I rest more and train smarter. Beyond the physical, the mental is critical. I started mental training skills back when I was a wrestler. Visualization, positive thinking and hypnosis are all tools that I have used.

Learning that your mind controls everything, your body does what the mind tells it to. Athletes in particular have a voice in their head that can turn negative...questioning their training and questioning themselves. Learning that you can shut that off and control it is something that I’ve focused on over the years.

Read the BleacherReport article on Randy Couture
Article date: Feb 2, 2010

Though there are no details in the article, it implies a technique of a "virtual gastric band", which seems to be a hypnosis session with post-hypnotic suggestions of a surgically implanted band around the stomach.

The article in the Times of India:
Slim trance, the best for weight loss

It does name Sheila Granger as the hypnotherapist reporting the experiment, and a Google search turned up her blog, complete with a blog post explaining the treatment and the results of her 5-week group trial.

If you are new to using hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis as a tool for improving your life and health, you may be wondering why the core of it all seems to revolve around relaxing and relieving stress and tension.

Most of the inductions (hypnosis sessions) that you can download online or on CD uses a progressive relaxation process to reach a deep state of trance. Many free downloadable sessions are only focused on deep relaxation and releasing stress and tension from around the body - and nothing else.

Why is that? In today's modern world we expect direct, efficient, cause-and-effect, software-controlled, exact science and results-driven approaches and methods. You may have a dozen issues you would like to address directly with hypnosis, why waste time on this basic relaxation stuff?

A good quote is from Dale Carnegie's book, "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living":

“Seventy per cent of all patients who come to physicians could cure themselves if they got rid of
their fears and worries.”

The impact of a direct suggestion can heavily depend on its meaning to the individual being hypnotized. When offering suggestions, it’s essential to consider the language being used. A good example of this would be a particular case involving an individual from a different country where a common implication (as opposed to their dictionary definition) of the word “fat” would mean healthy, whereas calling someone “fat” in English would commonly be used offensively. In other words we benefit from considering cultural connotations, before we rush to decide that our own language is what works for the person being hypnotized. Rapport building and conversation is key to knowing the best approach. We are not the same, but the same in that we are all different.
Cultural environment plays a factor when indirectly influenced. Since studies have shown that indirect and direct language can equally be effective, it makes sense to consider the cultural desires and dislikes of the client when using indirect suggestion before putting the person into a deep trance.

Single parenthood is extraordinary and unparalleled. There is an assumption, however that in order for single parents to live their dreams, they must wait until a child grows independent. At this time, the parent’s mind grows weary and physical capabilities can diminish if a healthy diet and exercise is not part of their routine. Sometimes a typecast is mentioned as the reason for seeking help. “I’m a single mother” is mentioned as a stigma and not a simple statement of fact. To think independently may seem more difficult than to simply accept how many in society, family, and friends believe a single parent should live. Independence equals creativity. Assuming a role everyone else feels you should play impedes on your overall growth & individuality so that seeking a holistic health practitioner, a life coach or therapist offers little help if the individual is not willing to let go of those belief systems holding them back from reaching desired results.

http://www.drcutler.com/stress/study-explains-why-antidepressants-are-in...
Story date: Nov 3, 2009

Gene research finds no connection between stress and depression, mentions this article, and that many anti-depressants are focused on calming stress-chemicals in the body.

The article also says:

According to WebMD, alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage therapy, hypnosis and relaxation techniques are believed to be helpful in treating depression.

Author: Mark Vavoulis
Source: drcutler.com. Study is by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

RE: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypnosis/SA00084

Every professional hypnotherapist should know what the Mayo Clinic is telling consumers about hypnosis. Chances are that savvy consumers that are researching hypnosis will have read it. You might even link to it from your web site or profile as a resource for your potential clients to learn about the myths and truths about hypnosis.

Covered in the article are these topics:

• What is hypnosis?
• Who is hypnosis for?
• Types of hypnosis
• Myths about hypnosis
• How to choose a qualified professional
• Risks of hypnosis

It is, overall, a good article. The weakest section by far is the last section, "Risks of hypnosis," where it states that hypnosis can cause "headache, dizziness and nausea", though such side effects "are uncommon". We all know those aren't risks of hypnosis, in fact, those are often the symptoms hypnosis is used to reduce and eliminate, especially in conjunction with medications and medical procedures.

Hypnotherapists everywhere are discovering the extra business income available from selling MP3 hypnosis (recorded audio sessions) online. A few hypnotherapists are really making a lot of money this way.

I certainly recommend getting as many of your own MP3 audio sessions as possible up on the Internet for sale, and there dozens of ways to do that. You have all kinds of options, from services like Amazon that will take care of everything for you (and take 60% of the sale) to operating your own shopping cart (where you keep 100% of the revenue) and every combination in between.

Be sure to mention at the beginning of each session that the suggestions and imagery included in the MP3 sessions are generic, and that the advantages of seeing a hypnotherapist in person include personalized suggestions and world-model as well as customized imagery of your preference, and that these things do make a significant difference. This helps potential clients understand why they would want to call you and book an appointment.

I have found a method quite by accident that works with the special needs child to promote independence and increased ability to achieve self control. This method utilizes stories with both familiar and unfamiliar characters. These stories promote independent play by providing coaching by cd. The cd’s help the child to play more independently and also to learn new coping strategies. Relaxing music with familiar nature sounds seems to help the children to learn better. It also increases creativity in the children by helping them to compose their own fantasy people to introduce to the therapist. Children both benefit and enjoy it because they are in trance easily and naturally and they enjoy cds with their name and familiar people in the stories. The children that I have helped by this method have gotten increased self esteem and self efficacy.
One child could not be alone and play for more than two minutes. Now, he comfortably plays for fifteen minutes. Both the coached play and the blend of both the familiar and the unfamiliar seem to help.