The impact of group hypnotic and self-hypnotic training on the academic performance and self-esteem of learning disabled children was explored. Three hypnotic training sessions and instructions for six weeks of daily self-hypnotic practice containing suggestions for imagery related to improvement in these areas were given to 15 children, their reading teacher, and both their parents, and their responses were compared to a similar but untreated control group of 18. No overall differences were observed between groups. Given the large variations in hypnotic susceptibility and self-hypnotic practice, a multiple regression analysis revealed important predictors of self-esteem improvement for the experimental group. The child's hypnotic susceptibility score and self-hypnotic practice by children and parents were the most relevant. These LD children were significantly more hypnotically susceptible than a normative sample. Hypnotherapy is seen as feasible in group administration by persons only moderately trained in hypnosis and of potential benefit to self-esteem improvement in LD children, depending on individual difference factors. (Author)