An abreaction is a strong emotional response that occurs when a person recalls, imagines, or reexperiences a distressing event. The response may include crying, fear, anger, shaking, grief, or other intense feelings. Abreaction can happen during hypnosis, but it can also occur in ordinary conversation, psychotherapy, or when a person encounters a reminder of something upsetting.
In hypnotherapy, the term is sometimes used for an emotional reaction that emerges while a client is exploring a difficult memory or experience. However, an abreaction is not automatically evidence that the memory is accurate, that the event was previously “repressed,” or that expressing intense emotion has resolved the problem. Memory is reconstructive, and hypnosis can increase a person’s confidence in memories without reliably improving their accuracy.¹ ²
Why can an abreaction happen during hypnosis?
Hypnosis commonly involves focused attention, absorption, and reduced attention to distractions. Some people also experience increased imagery and a stronger sense of responding to suggestions.³ These features may make an emotional memory, image, bodily sensation, or meaning feel especially vivid.
An abreaction may be triggered by:
recalling a genuinely distressing event;
imagining a feared or painful situation;
discussing grief, shame, anger, or loss;
experiencing a sensation associated with an earlier event;
responding to a therapist’s question or suggestion;
interpreting a present-day problem through the lens of the past.
The experience can feel spontaneous, but it is still influenced by the person’s expectations, the therapist’s language, the surrounding context, and the meaning the person assigns to it. For that reason, a therapist should not assume that an intense reaction identifies the original cause of a current symptom.
Is an abreaction the same as catharsis?
No. The terms are related but not identical.
Abreaction refers primarily to the emotional reaction itself. Catharsis generally refers to the idea that expressing strong emotion produces psychological relief or therapeutic change. Although some people feel temporary relief after an intense emotional experience, research does not support the general assumption that a more dramatic emotional release is necessarily more therapeutic. In some circumstances, repeatedly reliving distress without adequate regulation or integration may increase distress rather than reduce it.⁴
Effective therapy does not depend on making a client cry, relive trauma, or produce a dramatic emotional display. The central questions are whether the work is safe, appropriate, collaborative, and helpful over time.
What should a hypnotherapist do if an abreaction occurs?
A responsible practitioner should prioritize stabilization rather than intensifying the reaction. Depending on the situation, that may include:
Remaining calm and present. The therapist should use a steady tone and avoid treating the reaction as a performance or breakthrough.
Checking consent and safety. The client should be able to pause or stop the exercise. The therapist should assess whether the client feels oriented and physically safe.
Reducing stimulation. The therapist may stop regression imagery or other evocative suggestions and guide attention toward the present.
Supporting regulation. Grounding, paced breathing, orientation to the room, and noticing present-day sensory information may help the person regain stability.
Avoiding leading questions. Questions such as “Who hurt you?” or “What happened next?” can encourage speculation and may contribute to memory distortion.²
Allowing the client to regain choice. The client should not be pressured to continue, explain the reaction, or disclose details.
Planning appropriate follow-up. If the reaction is severe, persistent, or connected with significant trauma symptoms, referral to a suitably licensed mental-health professional may be appropriate.
A therapist should not promise that an abreaction will remove a symptom, uncover a hidden memory, or complete trauma recovery in a single session.
Is regression necessary to process difficult emotions?
No. Regression—guiding someone to focus on an earlier period of life—is only one possible technique, and it is not required for emotional change. In many cases, therapy can work with present-day thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, relationships, behavior patterns, coping skills, and personal meaning without attempting to identify a single original event.
This is particularly important when a client is seeking help for trauma-related symptoms. Contemporary trauma treatment often emphasizes safety, stabilization, emotional regulation, and careful processing rather than deliberately provoking overwhelming reactions.⁵ The appropriate method depends on the person’s needs, clinical history, goals, and the practitioner’s training and legal scope of practice.
Can an abreaction recover a repressed memory?
An intense reaction does not establish that a memory has been recovered accurately. People can remember real events, misremember events, combine details from different experiences, or develop beliefs about events that did not happen. Hypnosis does not provide a reliable way to separate these possibilities.² ⁶
A client’s feelings should be taken seriously without treating every image, impression, or narrative that appears during hypnosis as verified history. A careful practitioner can acknowledge the emotional experience while using language such as:
“Something upsetting is coming up for you. We can work with how you feel now without assuming that every detail is a literal or complete record of the past.”
If a possible memory concerns abuse, criminal conduct, or danger to a child or vulnerable adult, the situation requires particular care. The practitioner should follow applicable safeguarding and reporting requirements and should avoid conducting an investigative interview.
Does an abreaction treat trauma, anxiety, or a phobia?
An abreaction by itself is not a treatment for any diagnosis. It may be part of an emotional experience during therapy, but its occurrence does not show that the underlying problem has been resolved.
For trauma-related symptoms, evidence-based care may include trauma-focused psychotherapies delivered by appropriately trained clinicians. The treatment should be selected through a careful assessment rather than based on the expectation that a client must relive an event.⁵ For phobias and anxiety problems, treatment may involve approaches such as gradual exposure, cognitive and behavioral methods, skills for managing arousal, and—where appropriate—hypnosis as an adjunct. The plan should be individualized and should not depend on discovering a hidden cause.
What might a helpful session look like afterward?
After an intense emotional reaction, the practitioner may help the client:
orient to the present and leave the hypnotic experience;
describe what was felt without insisting on a literal interpretation;
identify what the client needs now;
use grounding or self-regulation skills;
consider whether the session affected sleep, mood, or daily functioning;
make a plan for support and follow-up.
The client should leave with a clear understanding of what happened, what to do if distress continues, and how to seek additional help if needed. If someone experiences ongoing panic, dissociation, thoughts of self-harm, inability to function, or a sense of being unsafe, they should contact a licensed mental-health professional or emergency service promptly.
The short answer
An abreaction is an intense emotional response that may occur while a person is recalling or imagining distressing material. It can feel meaningful, but it is not proof of a hidden or accurate memory, and emotional intensity is not the same as therapeutic progress. Safe hypnotherapy should not aim to provoke dramatic reactions. When difficult emotions arise, the practitioner should slow down, support the client’s sense of control, avoid leading questions, and focus on careful integration and appropriate follow-up.
For related explanations of hypnosis and hypnotherapy, see the Hypnotechs FAQ.
Notes
American Psychological Association, Division 30, “Definition of Hypnosis,” American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 48, no. 2–3 (2005): 111–126.
Elizabeth F. Loftus and Katherine Ketcham, The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994).
Gary R. Elkins et al., “Advancing Research and Practice: The Revised APA Division 30 Definition of Hypnosis,” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 63, no. 1 (2015): 1–9.
Brad J. Bushman, “Does Venting Anger Feed or Extinguish the Flame? Catharsis, Rumination, Distraction, Anger, and Aggressive Responding,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28, no. 6 (2002): 724–731.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense, VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder, 2023.
Irving Kirsch, “Hypnosis as a Tool in Psychological Research,” in Contemporary Hypnosis Research, edited by Erika Fromm and Michael R. Nash, 3–26 (New York: Guilford Press, 1992).