Research into Hypnosis
New directions in hypnosis research: strategies for advancing the cognitive and clinical neuroscience of hypnosis
April 2017
What you need to know:
- Research now supports the understanding in which the divisions between the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices activate differently when a person is in hypnotic responding. We have now identify when and where hypnosis occurs in the brain.
- Clinical trials demonstrated proven efficacy for a variety of issues such as pain relief, irritable bowel disorder, anxiety relief, and smoking cessation.
- A move away from a “non-state” model of hypnosis supports the techniques of conversational hypnosis for change.
The effectiveness of hypnosis as an intervention for obesity: A meta-analytic review.
March 2018
What you need to know:
- Various research studies were combined specifically tracking long term efficacy of hypnosis for weight loss.
- “The average participant receiving some form of hypnosis lost more weight than about 94% of control participants at the end of treatment and about 81% of controls at follow-up.”
- Researched confirmed hypnosis as “a promising treatment option for obesity” based on their study.
Hypnosis for the Management of Anticipatory Nausea and Vomiting
May 2015
What you need to know:
- Cancer patients found relief of fears and physical symptoms through hypnotic suggestion.
- Client-directed posthypnotic suggestion proved to have long-term efficacy well after live sessions were performed.
- This study helps to establish the appropriate positioning of hypnosis as in integrative part of medical care. Rather than a potentially dangerous claim to cure a disease, it demonstrated how a hypnotist may support someone already seeking appropriate medical care.
Freedom from smoking: Integrating hypnotic methods and rapid smoking to facilitate smoking cessation
June 1999
What you need to know:
- A rapid approach was tested through hypnosis rather than an extended multiple session program.
- Of the 43 people hypnotized to quit smoking, 39 remained free of hypnosis at the conclusion of the study.
- While many people who try to stop smoking on their own crash and backslide after a week or two, 90.7% of those who were hypnotized were still smoke-free during checkpoints ranging from six months to three years later.
Guided Health Imagery for Smoking Cessation and Long‐Term Abstinence
August 2005
What you need to know:
- An extensive blind study was performed in which 71 people were given the task to quit smoking. 38 were hypnotized to quit, and 33 were in the control group.
- All of the participants received educational coaching to assist in their stop smoking, while the hypnosis group practiced hypnotic imagery to support their goal.
- After a two-year period, the hypnosis group was twice as likely to have remained free of cigarettes, and hypnosis was proven to be “an effective intervention for long‐term smoking cessation and abstinence in adult smokers.”
Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments—Another meta-reanalysis.
1996
What you need to know:
- A meta-analysis was performed of existing studies of hypnosis vs. control groups measuring total average weight loss.
- In the combined studies, participants in the control groups lost on average 6.00 lbs, while the hypnotized participants lost around 11.83lbs.
- Research suggests a person may lose twice as much weight by using hypnotism as a motivational resource versus the results of attempting weight loss on their own.
Using hypnosis to accelerate the healing of bone fractures: A randomized controlled pilot
March 1999
What you need to know:
- People were studied with bone fractures. They all received standard care, though a randomized segment were given hypnotic suggestion describing fracture healing.
- Six weeks into the healing process, the hypnosis group showed reliable signs of the bones fusing back together at a rate similar to eight-and-a-half weeks.
- Research suggests the body is capable of accelerated physical healing through hypnotic suggestion.
