Hypnotherapy for Cancer & Palliative Support
Support for the person living through the diagnosis
— not just the diagnosis itself.
Cancer can affect far more than the body.
There may be appointments, procedures, treatment decisions and physical changes. But there can also be fear, uncertainty, disrupted sleep, anxiety before scans or treatments, changes in identity, grief for the life that existed before diagnosis, and the exhaustion of living with a mind that rarely seems to get a break from thinking about cancer.
Professional hypnotherapy and therapeutic imagery can provide a quiet, supportive space within that experience.
At Hypnosis Haven, hypnotherapy is offered as a complementary approach alongside a patient's established medical care. It is not a treatment for cancer and does not replace oncology, palliative care, psychotherapy or other medical treatment.
Instead, the work focuses on the person — supporting comfort, coping, emotional regulation and quality of life during treatment, survivorship or palliative care.
How Hypnotherapy May Support Cancer Patients
Every person's experience with cancer is different, and sessions are individualized accordingly.
Hypnotherapy and therapeutic imagery may be used to support concerns such as:
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Anxiety surrounding diagnosis, appointments, scans or treatment
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Stress and emotional overwhelm
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Difficulty settling the mind or sleeping
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Anticipatory anxiety surrounding procedures or treatment
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Coping with physical discomfort and changes in the body
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Adjustment to changes in appearance, ability, routine or independence
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Fear surrounding recurrence or future medical testing
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Emotional adjustment during survivorship
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Quality-of-life and comfort goals during palliative care
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Smoking cessation and other behavioral changes when medically appropriate
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Reconnecting with a sense of calm, identity and normalcy outside of illness
The goal is not to tell someone how they should feel about cancer.
There may be fear. There may be anger. There may be grief, exhaustion, hope, frustration — sometimes several of those things at once.
Hypnotherapy provides another way of working with those experiences, allowing the mind and body an opportunity to move out of constant vigilance and into periods of greater calm, comfort and internal stability.
What Is Therapeutic Imagery?
Therapeutic imagery is much more than simply imagining a peaceful place.
Imagery can engage attention, emotion, memory and expectation in ways that ordinary conversation may not. Within hypnosis, carefully developed therapeutic imagery can be used to create experiences of safety, comfort, movement, release, adaptation and possibility.
Rather than imposing a predetermined image or meaning, sessions can develop around the individual's own experiences, preferences, memories and internal language.
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A shoreline may mean freedom to one person and discomfort to another.
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A garden may represent restoration.
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A doorway may represent transition.
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A familiar room, a path, a sound, a sensation or an ordinary object may become part of the therapeutic process when it has meaning to the person experiencing it.
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This individualized use of imagery is one of the reasons hypnotherapy can feel very different from listening to a generic relaxation recording.
Hypnotherapy During Palliative Care
Palliative care is about quality of life.
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For people living with serious or advanced illness, hypnotherapy may provide supportive time in which the focus shifts away from appointments, medical conversations and what the body cannot currently do.
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Sessions may instead focus on comfort, rest, anxiety reduction, meaningful memories, emotional processing, sleep, connection, dignity and the experience of being a whole person beyond a diagnosis.
Hypnotherapy does not promise to remove the realities of serious illness.
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It can, however, offer another place in which comfort and psychological ease may be cultivated.
Family members and caregivers may also benefit from therapeutic relaxation and imagery support as they navigate the emotional demands of caring for someone they love.
Cancer Survivorship
Finishing treatment does not always mean that the emotional experience of cancer ends.
Survivors may find themselves wondering why they don't simply feel relieved or why anxiety returns before follow-up appointments and scans. Others struggle with changes in their bodies, routines, relationships or sense of identity.
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The transition from active treatment into survivorship can therefore become its own period of adjustment.
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Hypnotherapy can support the process of moving from constantly responding to illness toward gradually reconnecting with ordinary life, future plans, confidence and a sense of self that is larger than the cancer experience.
Individual Sessions
Individual hypnotherapy allows the work to be tailored to the person's particular circumstances, concerns and goals.
Sessions may incorporate hypnosis, therapeutic imagery, relaxation techniques, metaphor, future-oriented rehearsal and individualized recordings when appropriate.
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Hypnosis Haven maintains a private Connecticut office for in-person appointments and also offers virtual sessions when appropriate.
Therapeutic Imagery & Hypnosis for Groups
Hypnosis Haven is available to collaborate with cancer centers, supportive-care programs, survivorship organizations, palliative-care programs and community organizations interested in offering therapeutic imagery, guided hypnosis and relaxation programming.
Group programs can be developed around topics such as:
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Relaxation during cancer treatment
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Managing anticipatory stress
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Therapeutic imagery for comfort
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Sleep and settling the nervous system
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Coping with uncertainty
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Preparing mentally for procedures or treatment
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Survivorship and moving forward
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Support for caregivers
Programs may be offered as individual workshops or as part of an ongoing supportive-care series.
Collaborative Care
Hypnotherapy is intended to complement—not replace—medical and mental-health care.
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Hypnosis Haven welcomes appropriate referrals and collaboration with oncologists, palliative-care physicians, primary-care providers, therapists, social workers, nurse navigators, rehabilitation professionals and other members of a patient's care team.
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When symptoms or concerns require evaluation or treatment outside the scope of hypnotherapy, clients are encouraged to work directly with the appropriate licensed healthcare professional.
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About Susana Padilla, CHt
Susana Padilla, CHt is a professional hypnotherapist and founder of Hypnosis Haven in Connecticut.
A graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, she has advanced training in therapeutic imagery and works with clients using individualized hypnosis, imagery, metaphor and subconscious behavioral approaches.
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Her practice includes work with anxiety and stress, sleep, smoking cessation, habits and behavioral change, trauma-related concerns, neurological and stroke-recovery support, serious illness and palliative support. She is recognized as one of the 10Best Hypnotherapists in CT and has been in private practice for 10 years.
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Susana is a member of the IMDHA and registered to practice hypnosis with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. She also maintains a private hypnotherapy practice serving clients in person in Western Connecticut and virtually.
Work with Susana
​For Patients & Families
If you or someone you love is living with cancer and would like to explore whether hypnotherapy may be an appropriate addition to existing care, you are welcome to contact Hypnosis Haven.
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For Healthcare Professionals & Organizations
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Hypnosis Haven welcomes conversations regarding:
Patient referrals • Individual adjunctive hypnotherapy • Therapeutic imagery and hypnosis workshops • Cancer-support programming • Survivorship programming • Palliative-care support • Professional collaboration
Please contact Hypnosis Haven to discuss individual referrals, group programming or potential collaborative opportunities.
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