Although Hopkins had no formal psychological training, he watched other professionals over an eight-year period and developed his own techniques.
In his opinion, these professionals, notably Robert Naiman, Aphrodite Clamar and Girard Franklin were quite skeptical of the reality of abduction claims, yet all uncovered detailed abduction scenarios from their patients.

According to Hopkins, any feeling of uneasiness about a place, or any sense of lost time (that is often accounted for by daydreaming), could be attributed to alien abduction.
He believed aliens were capable of blocking or submerging memories in the people they abducted.
Despite critics' warnings that practices such as the ones in which Hopkins engaged may cause serious psychological damage to the alleged abductees, Hopkins insisted that regressive hypnosis could unlock the experiences of his clients.
 He gave little credence to experts such as psychologist Robert A. Baker, University of Kentucky, whose scientific inquiries into the subject revealed that hypnosis can "transform a dream, a hallucination or fantasy into a seemingly-real event."
This transformation is known as the fabrication of spurious memories and is particularly common under hypnosis.

By 1995, Hopkins had worked with hundreds of abductees, It was during these hypnosis sessions that Hopkins' belief in UFO abduction deepened.
To him, the purported similarities among client stories lent credibility to the abductees' stories.
In actuality, the details of abductee stories varied greatly.

The idea of repressed memories has, largely, been dismissed by the scientific community.
Psychological research demonstrates that, rather than forget what has happened in a traumatic event, most people find they are unable to stop thinking about it.
What concerns critics is that the details of UFO abduction stories, such as the ones Hopkins describes in his work, usually occur only after consultation with some sort of UFO investigator who already has an inclination to believe in alien abduction scenarios.
UFO critic Philip J. Klass characterizes these practices as a dangerous game.

UFO abductee stories are well-documented in the psychological literature and are considered culturally based.
In other parts of the world, fairies, leprechauns, and other creatures replace aliens as abductors.
Some liken extraterrestrial abduction to a secular version of the religious dream.
According to Baker, "These people are literally talked into believing they've been abducted."

The hypnotist can also, knowingly or unknowingly, create "memories" of an event that never occurred in their patients.
In May 1987, psychologist and hypnotist Martin Reiser appeared on ABC's 20/20 with host Lynn Sherr, an episode that also featured Hopkins and alleged UFO abductees, asserting that there are reasonable explanations for UFO sightings.
His belief was that Hopkins pressured his subjects into believing UFOs exist.

Elizabeth Loftus, on NOVA's Kidnapped by UFOs?,
which aired on April 1, 1997 and included a taped hypnosis session conducted by Hopkins, identified "subtle but powerful suggestive cues" as Hopkins worked with two children as part of the investigative portion of the show.
She cautioned that someone convinced of a false memory, can react emotionally to it and elaborate on the story as if it were real.
Social psychologist Richard Ofshe concurred that suggestive influence may be a factor in Hopkins' support groups.

Of Hopkins' book, Intruders, Bettyann Kevles of The New York Times wrote: "I am willing to believe that he believes everything he has written.
I am also willing to believe that Kathie and the others experienced inexplicable time losses and strange dreams that may have not been dreams.
But I am wary of the accuracy of the information he gathered through hypnosis.
This kind of testimony is disallowed in most courts because hypnosis is not thoroughly understood and has proved unreliable as a source of evidence.
Witnesses recall events that never occurred, but that they are later, on being brought out of hypnosis, convinced really ha
Although Hopkins had no formal psychological training, he watched other professionals over an eight-year period and developed his own techniques. In his opinion, these professionals, notably Robert Naiman, Aphrodite Clamar and Girard Franklin were quite skeptical of the reality of abduction claims, yet all uncovered detailed abduction scenarios from their patients.
According to Hopkins, any feeling of uneasiness about a place, or any sense of lost time (that is often accounted for by daydreaming), could be attributed to alien abduction. He believed aliens were capable of blocking or submerging memories in the people they abducted. Despite critics' warnings that practices such as the ones in which Hopkins engaged may cause serious psychological damage to the alleged abductees, Hopkins insisted that regressive hypnosis could unlock the experiences of his clients.  He gave little credence to experts such as psychologist Robert A. Baker, University of Kentucky, whose scientific inquiries into the subject revealed that hypnosis can "transform a dream, a hallucination or fantasy into a seemingly-real event." This transformation is known as the fabrication of spurious memories and is particularly common under hypnosis.
By 1995, Hopkins had worked with hundreds of abductees, It was during these hypnosis sessions that Hopkins' belief in UFO abduction deepened. To him, the purported similarities among client stories lent credibility to the abductees' stories. In actuality, the details of abductee stories varied greatly.
The idea of repressed memories has, largely, been dismissed by the scientific community. Psychological research demonstrates that, rather than forget what has happened in a traumatic event, most people find they are unable to stop thinking about it. What concerns critics is that the details of UFO abduction stories, such as the ones Hopkins describes in his work, usually occur only after consultation with some sort of UFO investigator who already has an inclination to believe in alien abduction scenarios. UFO critic Philip J. Klass characterizes these practices as a dangerous game.
UFO abductee stories are well-documented in the psychological literature and are considered culturally based. In other parts of the world, fairies, leprechauns, and other creatures replace aliens as abductors. Some liken extraterrestrial abduction to a secular version of the religious dream. According to Baker, "These people are literally talked into believing they've been abducted."
The hypnotist can also, knowingly or unknowingly, create "memories" of an event that never occurred in their patients. In May 1987, psychologist and hypnotist Martin Reiser appeared on ABC's 20/20 with host Lynn Sherr, an episode that also featured Hopkins and alleged UFO abductees, asserting that there are reasonable explanations for UFO sightings. His belief was that Hopkins pressured his subjects into believing UFOs exist.
Elizabeth Loftus, on NOVA's Kidnapped by UFOs?, which aired on April 1, 1997 and included a taped hypnosis session conducted by Hopkins, identified "subtle but powerful suggestive cues" as Hopkins worked with two children as part of the investigative portion of the show. She cautioned that someone convinced of a false memory, can react emotionally to it and elaborate on the story as if it were real. Social psychologist Richard Ofshe concurred that suggestive influence may be a factor in Hopkins' support groups.
Of Hopkins' book, Intruders, Bettyann Kevles of The New York Times wrote: "I am willing to believe that he believes everything he has written. I am also willing to believe that Kathie and the others experienced inexplicable time losses and strange dreams that may have not been dreams. But I am wary of the accuracy of the information he gathered through hypnosis. This kind of testimony is disallowed in most courts because hypnosis is not thoroughly understood and has proved unreliable as a source of evidence. Witnesses recall events that never occurred, but that they are later, on being brought out of hypnosis, convinced really ha
Budd Hopkins