As a practicing hypnotist, I too am glad that you mentioned it. The profession is much overlooked or discounted--people simply don't realize that hypnotism has been repeatedly shown in clinical studies to be effective (and such studies, for consistency and repeatability of results, use outmoded, non-individualized techniques.) No other "alternative" method has been shown to be as effective, as consistently, or for such a wide range of applications.

I agree that just "getting over it" doesn't work for all people. But I disagree that you should be let off the hook because you're unwilling to try other methods that might, and probably would, work. Can anyone guarantee success? Only if they're foolish. Hypnosis requires the will and cooperation of the client to be effective. Many people come to hypnosis wanting it to fail, because then they can avoid changing, saying "Everything I tried, failed," when in reality they weren't sincere in their efforts.

And as with psychotherapy, success or failure may hinge on how well you "click" with the practitioner and what approach he or she uses. Hypnosis should not be dismissed wholesale because you picked the wrong hypnotist. There are, sadly, a number of charlatans and flakes in the profession (as in psychotherapy.)

For instance, for stage fright, my general first choice would be to regress the client to cause, using things like NLP, EMDR or EFT--if at all--only as reinforcing techniques after the cause was dealt with. This is not as quick an approach, but it is far more likely to produce permanent results with the average client.

A side-note to Susan-Marie's post: An added benefit of using hypnosis to prepare for surgery is that the hypnotist can not only help you deal with the fear of the surgery, but implant suggestions to reduce the risk of complications during surgery and to help you heal more surely and rapidly afterwards--the mind has far more influence over the body's functions than we generally acknowledge or exploit. At one hospital, they tried an experimental program where nurses hypnotically prepped patients before surgeries. The program was discontinued when it became apparent patients were going home days earlier, causing significant shortfalls in the hospital's revenues!