We take a lot of enquiries about the use of hypnosis to recall past events, find lost items, or uncover details of things that happened. 

Can hypnosis recover lost memories? 

Yes, though with some important qualifications.

Sometimes a person will enquire with us about using hypnosis to go over past events because they (or someone else) wants to have certainty about the truth of something that has occurred. 

There are lots of reasons why a hypnotherapist might be careful about someone wanting to uncover a memory, including: 

• Memory is not a fixed thing, and it changes over time; our emotions and experiences affect the content of our memories; 
• Sometimes memories are not created at all, such as where a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or where some kinds of brain injuries have been sustained;
• When a traumatic event has occurred, not remembering can be serving a useful purpose; we want to ensure that someone is not re-traumatised by the process of recall;
• Where someone is looking for the ‘truth’ of a memory, this cannot be offered with certainty. People are capable of lying when they are hypnotised, and as mentioned before, memories can become altered as time passes.

So although hypnotherapy can be effective for accurate recall, it’s important to understand the process of memory, and work within that scope. This is part of our training. Sessions focus on reliable techniques with ethical safeguards to protect against false memory creation. 

Can hypnosis be used to improve recall? 

Yes, hypnosis can be utilised to enhance our memory. This has benefits for things like study, and may also be beneficial when someone has experienced an illness or injury that has led to a deterioration in the ability to recall. 

Memory and hypnosis is something that is studied frequently. A recent (2025) peer-reviewed study on hypnosis and memory discusses the benefits from hypnosis showed improved recall in patients, including those with brain injury and also dementia. Importantly, it acknowledges the ‘false’ memory phenomena that requires hypnotherapists take a cautious approach. The article in full may be found here:

Leo, D. G., Bruno, D., & Proietti, R. (2025). Remembering what did not happen: The role of hypnosis in memory recall and false memories formation. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1433762. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.143376

Can hypnosis be used to help me find things that I’ve hidden?

Sometimes, yes! But the same conditions apply as with any memory, and it’s not usually a matter of simply using hypnotic regression to find where you hid that cash! There are helpful ways that we can improve the likelihood of you remembering where you’ve hidden something, but it requires care. 

You can read more of what we have to say about using hypnotherapy for memories and improving recall here: 

REGRESSION HYPNOSIS – What TV gets right and wrong about hypnotic regression

MEMORY AND CHANGE – Looking forward, not back, when we want to resolve our issues from the past

MEMORY RECOVERY  – Why that’s not always the best way forward

MEMORY & CONCENTRATION – Improving our recall so we can learn more effectively