Scientology and hypnosis

Practices in Scientology make extensive use of techniques drawn from hypnosis. They are used in 'auditing' and in the Training Routines widely practiced within the Scientology organization. The techniques are employed to seek to create dependency, obedience, and heightened suggestibility in the subjects. During this period, he worked in Hollywood posing as a swami. He used nitrous oxide and amphetamines alongside hypnosis. He credited hypnosis techniques with shaping his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In a document that Hubbard refers to as a technical bulletin, he writes that "we can brainwash faster than the Russians. 20 secs to total amnesia". The Scientology organization says that Hubbard's experience with hypnosis led him to create Dianetics as an alternative means to solve man's problems.

In the book Dianetics, Hubbard advocates light trance or reverie techniques in Dianetic practice. As he incorporated Dianetics in to Scientology, he added a wide range of other hypnotic techniques, with the aim to create dependency and obedience in followers. In a book titled The Research & Discovery Series Volume 1, Hubbard writes that the 'auditor' "must be prepared to use hypnotism, he must know how it works, what he should do to make it function, how to regress a person in hypnotism and so on". However, most Scientology 'auditors' lack training in hypnosis and are ignorant of its techniques. Therefore, despite the presence in 'auditing' practice of techniques taken from hypnosis, most auditors will simply repeat Hubbard's claim that "auditing is not a form of hypnosis" or that "auditing removes hypnosis". The Scientology training routines are used in several introductory courses, including the course most commonly sold to new recruits, 'Communication Course'. The Training Routines make extensive use of hypnotic methods to put the subject in an altered state.

In 2002 a former member sued the Church of Scientology in Ireland for damages for psychological and psychiatric injury, conspiracy, misrepresentation and breach of constitutional rights. The case was heard at the High Court starting in February 2003. The case was expected to continue until May. Although the court had heard 31 days of testimony, just as Naish was about to resume his evidence, the Church of Scientology agreed to settle case.

The Church of Scientology's official position on hypnosis is that it is a dangerous and undesirable practice. Whereas hypnotism's goal is to place a person in "a state of lessened awareness (i. e. trance)", Scientology's stated goal is to put people into the opposite state one of higher awareness. In his book The Creation of Human Ability, Hubbard denied the hypnotic nature of the processes and drills. He stated: "(They) induce no trances. People who think so simply don't know much about hypnotism."