Does hypnotherapy work for fear of flying?
Written and clinically reviewed by Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC
Psychotherapist · EMDR Certified · Certified Hypnotherapist · Author of Anxiety Annihilated · Practicing since 1997
For specific phobias like fear of flying, clinical hypnotherapy is one of the more effective approaches available, because it works on the automatic alarm response rather than trying to argue with it. Most uncomplicated cases of aviophobia are addressed in around five sessions. Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC — a licensed psychotherapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist in Newport Beach — has treated fear of flying since 1997, in person in Corona del Mar and virtually across California.
Why safety statistics don't fix the fear
Nearly everyone with a flying phobia already knows air travel is statistically safe. The knowledge sits in the reasoning part of the brain; the fear sits in the alarm system, which learned its response from an event, a family member's anxiety, a period of high stress, or one bad flight. Cues like the cabin door closing or the first bump of turbulence fire that alarm before reasoning gets a turn.
This is also why reassurance from other passengers, breathing apps, or a pre-flight drink tend to manage the fear at best. They do not retrain what produces it.
What hypnotherapy actually does
Clinical hypnosis is a state of focused, relaxed attention — closer to being absorbed in a film than to being asleep. You stay aware, in control, and able to stop at any point. In that state, the automatic layer of the mind is more accessible, so new responses to the trigger cues can be installed and rehearsed.
A typical course assesses the specific fear pattern first: turbulence, enclosure, loss of control, panic in front of others, or a past incident. Hypnotic work then targets that pattern, and the whole journey — packing, security, boarding, take-off, turbulence, landing — is rehearsed in imagery until it stops producing alarm.
Where a specific flight or accident is driving the fear, EMDR is used alongside hypnotherapy to process that memory so it stops feeding the present-day reaction.
What it does not do
- It does not make you unconscious or take away your control.
- It does not implant beliefs you disagree with.
- It does not replace treatment for an underlying panic disorder — that is treated alongside.
- It does not guarantee a comfortable flight the same week. Timelines are planned around your travel date.
If you have a flight coming up
When the timeline allows, sessions are sequenced so the final one falls close to departure. If your flight is only a week or two away, the work focuses on functional coping — getting you on the plane with usable tools — and deeper reprocessing continues afterwards, without deadline pressure.
Frequently asked questions
About the author
Arolyn Burns, LMFT, LPCC is a Newport Beach psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, phobias, trauma and chronic pain. She provides EMDR therapy and clinical hypnotherapy and has been practicing since 1997. CA LMFT #MFC40173, LPCC #LPC54. Office: 2333 E Coast Highway #C, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625. Phone (833) 426-0303.