Evidence suggests that responsiveness to hypnosis emerges at a low level around the age of 5 and that a child will be at its peak suggestibility level between 7 and 9 with a gradual decrease in this from adolescence. However, there may be an over-emphasis on the impact of age upon one’s suggestibility. Older people are likely to be less suggestible simply due to ‘life conditioning’ which may led them towards a level of resistance. What is more important is that age is considered as a factor when the hypnotherapist is determining the approach to take with a client so that the hypnotherapy is appropriate and effective.
