“You are walking down a long dark hallway with a door at the end with light streaming from the brightly lit space on the other side.”
Thus might begin a hypnosis session. It is all very simple–you have to be willing to be guided down that hallway and to go through that door to what lies beyond. No one can force you to do anything that you don’t want to do. It is a cooperative effort from beginning to end. You’ll be asked to use the powers of your imagination, to visualize a scene that renders emotions of calm and openness. The suggestions made to you are just that–suggestions. They are suggestions consistent with the goals that you have identified.
The objective of hypnosis training is not to make you dependent on another but to teach you how to create a hypnotic state for yourself in which you can realize the goals you have for your life.
A recent article in the Globe and Mail lays out the scientific basis for hypnosis.