The mechanisms of hypnosis
Clinical hypnosis is generally described through three ingredients: absorption (deep involvement in an experience), dissociation (a gentle separation from the surroundings), and focused attention with heightened receptivity.
These are ordinary cognitive capacities, deliberately amplified - not a special or mysterious state.
How immersion produces "presence"
Immersive VR saturates the senses and produces presence: the compelling feeling of being somewhere else. Researchers note that presence is functionally close to hypnotic absorption - the same doorway, reached through the eyes and ears instead of the voice.
Why it helps even low-hypnotisable people
Not everyone responds strongly to a verbal hypnotic induction. Because immersion carries part of the work, it can bring even less hypnotisable people into a workable, settled state - widening who can benefit.
What it means for practitioners
For hypnotherapists, sophrologists and neurofeedback or biofeedback practitioners, immersion is a force multiplier: it primes the state their methods aim for, faster and more reproducibly, while keeping the practitioner's voice and judgement central.