EVIDENCE
Hypnosis/hypnotherapy have been officially reviewed by the British Medical Association in 1892 and 1955, by the British Medical Journal in 1999, by the American Medical Association in 1958, by the US National Institute for Health in 1955 and by the British Psychological Society in 2001.

“… there is good evidence from randomised control trials that both hypnosis and relaxation techniques can reduce anxiety… also effective for panic disorders and insomnia. A systematic review has found that hypnosis enhances the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy for conditions such as phobias, obesity and anxiety.” – British Medical Journal 1999

“Hypnosis and the practice of self-hypnosis may significantly reduce general anxiety, tension and stress in a manner similar to other relaxation and self-regulation procedures” – British Psychological Society 2001

CAUSE
Modern psychology makes the distinction between the “originating cause” and the “maintaining cause” – i.e. what caused to start being anxious in social situations vs why you still are anxious in social situations. Typically the initiating event causes us to adopt a belief about those situations that causes us to experience anxiety. There is no need to dig into the past to find the original cause – the problem is in the here and now and what you are THINKING, FEELING and DOING that is maintaining your anxiety.

METHOD
Rather than regressing you to the original event (although this can work IF you are sufficiently convinced that you adopt a new belief) modern hypnotherapy would focus on:

1/ Teaching you relaxation skills

2/ Having you identify the negative belief or cognition

3/ Agreeing on a new positive thought or cognition

4/ Taking you into hypnosis and rehearsing stressful situations under hypnosis as you
a) relax more deeply (relaxtion and anxiety are opposing and mutually exclusive states)
b) repeat the positive thought very deeply
c) visualise yourself coping well with the situation

5/ Give you suggestions for social confidence and relaxation

6/ Give you a CD to take home so that you can continue the work at home.

Generally this approach would be effective with most cases of social anxiety.
Other hypnotherapists may take a different approach – however the sort of approach I’ve outlined above would be an acceptable approach to modern psychology – rather than a more “new age” approach or outdated psychological approaches that deal with unconscious memories that must be purged etc.

A bit of a long answer… sorry about that!
Hope this helps.
Best regards
Mark Davis

Traditional hypnosis is when the hypnotist helps you into a relaxed state, and then offers you suggestions that are intended to counter the anxiety and nervousness.

Hypnotherapy is a similar process but the goal is to first help you to find some of the root causes of the anxiety. The belief is that the Subconscious Mind holds all the answers.

If the subconscious has a good reason to fear social situations, very often Traditional Hypnosis won’t work. An example of this is when a child had some trauma in front of a group. Let’s say that she was ridiculed or embarrassed during a birthday party.

A Hypnotherapist will first help her to release all the emotions, that she probably doesn’t even consciously remember, and then offer suggestions to deal with social situations and intimacies in a new way.

When it comes to Automatic Reactions, the Subconscious Mind often tries to act in our best interest to protect us from some experience that it has linked up from our past. Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy are often very effective at dealing with this in a gentle way.

In social situations most of us feel nervous.

If you feel very uncomfortable then it is most likely that you are focusing on your feelings rather than focusing on the other person you are talking to.

I have several articles on social situations and public speaking on my website
http://themeaningisyou.com