Hypnotherapy Training for FND: Understanding Functional Neurological Disorder and the Promising Research

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a condition that affects how the brain and nervous system function, sometimes causing severe symptoms including seizures, limb weakness and speech difficulties. Research into hypnotherapy for FND has produced promising results, particularly in studies published in 2024. As demand for treatment grows, specialist hypnotherapy training for FND can help qualified practitioners understand the condition and develop effective, individualised therapeutic approaches.

During my years as a hypnotherapist, FND has become one of the conditions for which I've seen the most rapidly growing demand for treatment. Increasing numbers of people are looking for support, often after exploring several other treatment options, and it's this growing interest that has been the catalyst for developing my new FND Hypnotherapy Practitioner course.

FND affects a substantial number of people. UK estimates suggest that tens of thousands of people are living with the condition, although the exact figure varies depending on how FND is defined and measured.

For some people, FND causes symptoms that come and go. For others, the consequences can be life-changing, affecting their ability to walk, speak, work or manage everyday activities. Understandably, people living with such unpredictable and sometimes disabling symptoms may explore a range of treatment options, including complementary approaches such as hypnotherapy.

And there are some particularly exciting reasons to consider hypnosis. Two important pieces of research published in 2024 have added to our understanding of its potential in treating FND, with findings that deserve attention from hypnotherapists and other healthcare professionals.

A Personal Experience That Makes More Sense to Me Now

About 25 years ago, my mum suddenly found herself unable to walk without a frame. It happened almost overnight, and the consequences were enormous. She could barely get to the toilet without assistance and spent most of the following several months confined to bed.

At the time, she was going through an enormously stressful period in her life. After 40 years of marriage, she was trying to leave my dad, and the family home she'd lived in for around 20 years was being sold. There was a great deal of uncertainty, upheaval and emotional pressure.

Mum underwent numerous medical tests, but the doctors couldn't identify a structural or other physical explanation for her difficulties. Eventually, they concluded that her symptoms were related to stress and that the problem was psychological.

And that was really where the explanation ended. There was no particular name given to what she was experiencing. The term Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder wasn't introduced into the DSM-5 classification until 2013, many years after Mum's experience.

After several months, and around the time the house sale finally went through, she began walking normally again. Her difficulties resolved, and she was able to return to her usual activities.

Looking back, I can see similarities between her experience and what we now recognise as functional neurological symptoms. Of course, I can't retrospectively diagnose my mum with FND, but the experience has stayed with me, particularly as I've learned more about the condition.

It's also a useful reminder of how differently functional neurological symptoms can develop and resolve. Some people experience symptoms that improve significantly or disappear, sometimes after a relatively short period. Others experience recurring episodes, while for some, FND becomes a chronic condition that affects their lives over many years.

In Mum's case, the difficulties were focused on her legs and her ability to walk. For other people, functional seizures are among the most distressing aspects of the condition. Others may experience tremors, weakness, speech difficulties, sensory changes or several different symptoms together.

The experience also highlights how much our understanding has changed. Twenty-five years ago, someone could undergo extensive investigations, be told that nothing physically wrong had been found, and be left with an explanation that their symptoms were psychological or stress-related. Today, we have a much more developed understanding of FND as a neurological condition involving changes in how the nervous system functions.

And that understanding opens up far more possibilities for treatment.

What Is Functional Neurological Disorder?

FND is a neurological condition in which the processes involved in movement, sensation and other bodily functions are not working as they ordinarily would.

One of the most important things to understand is that FND is a functional condition. This means that the difficulties arise primarily from how the nervous system is working, rather than from damage to its physical structure.

We're generally used to thinking about physical symptoms as evidence that something within the body has been damaged or has developed a disease. A broken bone, for example, can be seen on an X-ray, while conditions such as multiple sclerosis can involve identifiable changes to the structure of the nervous system.

But not every physical condition works in this way.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is another example of a functional condition. Someone with IBS may experience severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation and bloating, sometimes to the extent that their everyday life is significantly affected. Yet investigations may not reveal the structural damage or inflammation associated with other digestive conditions.

The symptoms are very real. The problem involves how the digestive system is functioning, including communication between the gut and brain.

FND is different from IBS, but the distinction between structure and function is helpful. Someone with FND may experience paralysis, seizures or an inability to speak, even though the difficulty isn't necessarily caused by damage to the parts of the nervous system responsible for those functions.

The Computer Analogy: Hardware and Software

One of the simplest ways to understand FND is to think about how a computer works.

A computer has hardware, the physical components that make up the machine, and software, the programmes and instructions that allow those components to work together.

If the hardware is damaged, the computer may stop working properly. But a computer can also experience serious problems when its software isn't functioning as it should. It might freeze, become unresponsive or fail to carry out a particular task, even though the physical components remain intact.

FND can be understood in a similar way.

In conditions involving structural neurological damage, there may be identifiable changes to the physical structures of the nervous system. With FND, the difficulty is more like a problem with the software: the processes that allow the brain and body to communicate and carry out particular functions aren't working as they ordinarily would.

This doesn't make the problem any less real. A computer with a software problem can be completely unable to perform an essential task, just as someone with FND may be unable to move a limb, speak or carry out an everyday activity.

Of course, the brain is far more complex than a computer, and the distinction between hardware and software isn't absolute. FND involves real changes in nervous system functioning, and it can also coexist with conditions involving structural damage. Nevertheless, the analogy offers a useful starting point for understanding why someone can experience profound physical symptoms without the type of damage we might ordinarily expect to find.

FND Isn't a New Condition: How Our Understanding Has Changed

Although awareness of FND has increased considerably in recent years, the condition itself is not new. What has changed is how we describe it, understand it and approach treatment.

Descriptions of symptoms that we would now recognise as functional neurological symptoms go back centuries. Historically, many of these experiences were grouped under the term hysteria, a diagnosis that carried considerable stigma and was frequently associated with women.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, neurologists such as Jean-Martin Charcot studied patients experiencing paralysis, seizures and other neurological symptoms that couldn't be explained by identifiable structural damage. Sigmund Freud subsequently developed the concept of conversion, proposing that psychological conflict could be converted into physical symptoms. This thinking influenced the later diagnostic term conversion disorder.

For many years, explanations of these symptoms focused heavily on psychological distress, trauma or unconscious conflict. While these factors may be relevant for some people, we now recognise that FND is considerably more complex and cannot be explained by a single psychological cause.

An important development came in 2013, with the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The classification included the name Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder, alongside the older term conversion disorder.

Crucially, the revised diagnostic criteria no longer required clinicians to identify a psychological stressor to make the diagnosis. Instead, greater emphasis was placed on positive clinical findings demonstrating characteristic differences in neurological functioning.

This represented an important shift towards understanding FND as a condition involving the functioning of the nervous system, rather than assuming that physical symptoms must be expressions of underlying psychological distress.

What Are the Symptoms of FND?

FND can affect people in very different ways. Some experience one main symptom, while others have several symptoms that change over time.

Common presentations include functional seizures, sometimes called dissociative or non-epileptic seizures; limb weakness or paralysis; tremors and other involuntary movements; difficulties with walking and balance; changes in speech or voice; and sensory symptoms such as numbness or altered vision.

Many people also experience pain, fatigue and difficulties with concentration or memory.

These symptoms can be frightening and unpredictable. Someone might find that they can walk relatively comfortably at one point in the day but struggle to move their legs later. Another person might experience episodes of being unable to speak, while someone else may have seizures that significantly restrict their independence.

One of the recognised characteristics of FND is that symptoms can sometimes vary depending on the circumstances or the type of movement involved.

This doesn't mean that someone is consciously controlling their symptoms. FND symptoms are genuine and involuntary, even when their severity changes.

What's Happening in the Brain?

When we move, speak or respond to sensations, our brains coordinate an extraordinary number of processes, most of which happen automatically.

Think about walking across a room. You don't normally have to consciously decide how to move each muscle or position every joint. Your brain coordinates those movements without requiring you to think about every individual action.

Returning to the computer analogy, it's rather like having a programme that automatically coordinates a series of tasks. You give the instruction, and the system takes care of the individual steps.

With FND, some of the processes involved in coordinating movement, sensation and other neurological functions can become disrupted. The difficulty isn't necessarily that the brain has lost the physical ability to carry out the task, but that the processes involved in producing that response aren't working in their usual way.

Research has identified differences in how brain networks communicate, particularly those involved in attention, movement, expectation, emotional processing and our sense of control over our actions.

For example, someone with functional leg weakness may struggle to move their leg when consciously attempting a particular movement, yet demonstrate greater movement during another task.

This can seem puzzling, particularly to someone experiencing the symptoms. But it provides an important insight into how FND works.

The capacity for movement may still be present, even when the usual processes involved in accessing that movement are disrupted.

And just as software can sometimes be updated or retrained to work differently, the processes involved in neurological functioning can also change. This doesn't mean that FND can simply be switched off or that recovery is straightforward, but it helps explain why rehabilitation and other therapeutic approaches can sometimes produce meaningful improvements.

These findings also help explain why treatments that work with attention, expectations, movement and learned responses are attracting increasing interest.

Can Hypnotherapy Help With FND? Two Important Studies From 2024

Hypnotherapy is one of the approaches being investigated for FND, and two significant publications from 2024 provide particularly encouraging findings.

The first was a systematic review by Connors and colleagues, published in General Hospital Psychiatry. The researchers examined 35 studies involving hypnosis and suggestion-based interventions for FND, including five randomised controlled trials.

Across the studies reporting improvement rates, 87% of participants receiving hypnosis or related suggestion-based interventions experienced clinically significant improvements. Many also experienced complete or near-complete resolution of symptoms in the short term.

These are remarkable findings, particularly given the complexity of FND and the significant impact it can have on people's lives. The studies included a range of hypnotic and suggestion-based approaches, and although further research will help establish which methods are most effective, the review provides a compelling picture of the therapeutic potential of hypnosis.

The second publication, by Tibben and colleagues in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, investigated a treatment combining hypnosis with catalepsy induction for people experiencing functional movement symptoms.

The researchers found significant reductions in symptom severity following eight treatment sessions, with improvements maintained at an eight-week follow-up. This was a pilot study, but its findings add to the encouraging evidence that hypnosis-based interventions can help people experiencing functional neurological symptoms.

What makes these studies particularly interesting is the relationship between hypnosis and some of the processes thought to be involved in FND. Attention, expectation, automatic movement and our sense of control over physical experiences are all areas that can be explored through hypnotic techniques.

And this creates some exciting possibilities for practitioners.

How a Holistic Hypnotherapy Approach Can Help With FND

One of the most exciting aspects of working with FND is the opportunity to bring together different hypnotherapy approaches, each addressing a different part of the person's experience.

FND isn't simply about individual symptoms. Living with unpredictable movement, seizures or other neurological difficulties can also affect someone's confidence, expectations, emotional wellbeing and relationship with their own body. A holistic hypnotherapy approach recognises these different experiences and works with them together.

One particularly interesting technique involves changing how someone experiences and directs their attention towards movement. Using a split-screen approach, for example, a client might imagine two versions of a familiar activity. On one side, they can observe how they currently experience a particular movement, while on the other, they can begin imagining that same movement happening differently, perhaps more comfortably, naturally or automatically.

Rather than simply telling someone to move differently, this approach creates an opportunity to experience a different possibility through imagination. It can help clients explore how their expectations and perceptions of movement might change, and begin developing a different relationship with movements that have become difficult or unpredictable.

Hypnotherapy also offers opportunities to work directly with expectation. When someone has repeatedly experienced symptoms in a particular situation, they may understandably begin anticipating those symptoms whenever that situation arises. Over time, the situation itself can become associated with an expectation of difficulty.

Through hypnosis, clients can begin rehearsing alternative experiences, imagining familiar situations unfolding in different ways and developing new expectations about how they might respond.

Post-hypnotic suggestions can build on this work. A client who usually associates a particular situation with tension, fear or physical difficulty might be encouraged to begin recognising that same situation as an opportunity to experience something different. The aim is to help establish new associations, so that familiar triggers can gradually become connected with greater confidence, comfort and a wider range of possible responses.

Another important element is rebuilding a sense of agency. FND can leave people feeling that their bodies are unpredictable or outside their control. Hypnotherapy can help clients reconnect with experiences of choice, influence and confidence, whether through mental rehearsal, attention-based exercises, developing anchors or recognising moments when their body responds differently.

And because every person experiences FND differently, there is considerable scope for integrating other approaches. CBT-hypnosis can help clients explore patterns of thinking, feeling and responding, while techniques focused on regulation and safety can support people who have become understandably watchful or apprehensive about their physical experiences. Mindfulness-based approaches can also help people develop a different relationship with uncomfortable sensations and uncertainty.

What makes this work particularly interesting is the way these different techniques can complement one another. Changes in attention can create opportunities for different experiences of movement. New experiences can begin to influence expectations. And developing different expectations, alongside growing confidence and a stronger sense of agency, can support further therapeutic change.

Rather than following a rigid script or concentrating exclusively on symptom reduction, a holistic approach allows the hypnotherapist to work creatively and collaboratively with the individual, drawing on different techniques to support meaningful changes in how they experience themselves and their bodies.

Hypnotherapy Training for FND: Developing the Skills to Work With Clients

One of the most encouraging aspects of understanding FND as a functional condition is recognising that neurological functioning can change.

Our brains are continually learning and adapting. The processes involved in movement, sensation, attention and expectation are not entirely fixed, and this creates opportunities for therapeutic approaches that help people develop different patterns of responding.

For me, the increasing number of enquiries about hypnotherapy for Functional Neurological Disorder has highlighted the need for specialist practitioner training. People living with FND may have already spent considerable time seeking answers, accessing different therapies and trying to understand their symptoms. They deserve practitioners who understand the condition, appreciate its complexity and can adapt their therapeutic approach to individual needs.

That's why I've developed Hypnotherapy Training for FND through the Academy of the Inner Mind.

The FND Hypnotherapy Practitioner course brings together an understanding of the neurological and psychological processes involved in FND, the encouraging research into hypnosis, and a practical, flexible approach to working with clients.

Practitioners learn how to integrate techniques including splitting attention, CBT-hypnosis, regulation, expectation, mental rehearsal and post-hypnotic suggestion. The training also includes a structured six-session protocol, hypnosis scripts and practitioner resources, while encouraging practitioners to adapt their work to the individual rather than follow a rigid formula.

With growing interest in hypnosis for FND and increasingly promising research, this is an exciting area for hypnotherapists who want to develop their knowledge and offer thoughtful, evidence-informed support.

Find out more about FND Hypnotherapy Practitioner training: [Insert course link]

Frequently Asked Questions About FND and Hypnotherapy

Can hypnotherapy help Functional Neurological Disorder?

Research into hypnosis and suggestion-based treatments for FND has produced encouraging findings, including a 2024 systematic review reporting clinically significant improvement in a high proportion of participants across the studies reviewed. Hypnotherapy offers ways to work with attention, expectation, movement imagery and confidence, all of which may be relevant to people experiencing functional neurological symptoms.

Is FND a psychological or neurological condition?

FND is a recognised neurological condition involving changes in how the nervous system functions. Psychological factors can influence symptoms for some people, but FND is not necessarily caused by trauma, anxiety or emotional distress. Symptoms are genuine and involuntary.

What does hypnotherapy training for FND involve?

Specialist hypnotherapy training for FND helps qualified practitioners understand the condition, its neurological mechanisms and the research into hypnosis. Practical training may include attention-based techniques, mental rehearsal, CBT-hypnosis, post-hypnotic suggestion and approaches that support confidence and agency.

Can hypnotherapy be used alongside other FND treatments?

Yes. Hypnotherapy may be explored alongside appropriate neurological care, specialist physiotherapy, psychological therapy and other rehabilitation approaches. Treatment should be tailored to the individual's symptoms and circumstances, with communication between professionals where appropriate.

Our next training course is 23rd January 2027 and you can book your place here.

References

Connors, M. H., Quinto, L., Deeley, Q., Halligan, P. W., Oakley, D. A., & Kanaan, R. A. (2024). Hypnosis and suggestion as interventions for functional neurological disorder: A systematic review. General Hospital Psychiatry, 86, 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2023.12.006

Tibben, M. I., van Opdorp, A., Bialek, W., Schaap, J., Tijssen, M. A. J., & Merkx, M. J. M. (2024). Efficacy of hypnosis and catalepsy induction in functional neurological disorders. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 11(2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.13934

Incidence and prevalence of functional neurological disorder: A systematic review. (2025). Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 96(4), 383–392.