On May 20, 2003, Richard A. Blumenthal, MS, NCC was awarded United States patent 6,565,504 for his breakthrough invention of hypnosis software. The official title of the patent is, "Method and apparatus to create and induce a self-created hypnosis". The invention is currently marketed by New York company Thinkwell Corp. under the trademark HypnoSoft, and may be viewed at http://www.hypnosoft.com .

The software enables an end user, regardless of the level of hypnosis expertise, to create a uniquely personal hypnosis, online, without the aid of a hypnotist. The computer is then used to play back the hypnosis. According to Blumenthal, self hypnosis is commonly thought of as a person listening to an audio tape, mp3, or other mass-produced media, intended to induce a willingness to absorb suggestions centered around a specific topic. "Unfortunately, this kind of hypnosis is usually prepared by someone who has never even met the person being hypnotized, and often presents unwanted, possibly unpleasant imagery and suggestions to that person. For example, if you sunburn easily, that last thing you want to hear about is a slow walk on a sunny beach. In this case, the 'self' in self hypnosis simply means that you listen to it by yourself," Blumenthal asserts.

He continues, "A true self hypnosis would have to be designed and created by the very person who will use and benefit from it. Unlike the mass-produced hypnosis, this hypnosis is made for the exact purpose the person wishes, including the precise words and phrases that mean the most to that particular person. The true self hypnosis is thus crafted by the person to suit his or her own needs. Here, the 'self' in self hypnosis really does mean that you are hypnotized by yourself. The invention of hypnosis software became necessary in order to make such a self hypnosis possible.”

Blumenthal's earlier works includes the development of Rational Suggestion Therapy, a form of cognitive-behavioral treatment, incorporating his studies at the then Institute of Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York City, and the Milton Erickson Institute of Hypnosis of New York, where he studied with Dr. Daniel Araoz. Blumenthal's writings have been published worldwide and are cited in Dr. Araoz's landmark work, "The New Hypnosis".