Studies Proving the Effectiveness of Hypnosis
There has been a great deal of research accomplished over
the last century regarding the efficacy of hypnosis for many
issues ranging from pain to enuresis. Below is a
compilation of some of the results. If you have any
questions concerning your particular situation please do not
hesitate to contact me so we can discuss the reliant
empirical data.
In 1970, Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. conducted a survey of
scientific literature to compare recovery rates for various
modalities of therapy:
- Psychoanalysis can be expected to have a 38% recovery rate after approximately 600 sessions.
- Behavior therapy (Wolpian) can be expected to have a 72% recovery rate after an average of 22 sessions.
- Hypnotherapy can be expected to have a 93% recovery rate after an average of 6 sessions
Barrios, Alfred A. "Hypnotherapy: A Reappraisal,"
Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (1970)
Asthma
Hypnosis has been shown to alleviate the subjective distress
of patients with asthma: there were less frequent attacks,
and less medication was required.
1
In another study comparing Hypnosis and relaxation therapy
the improvement with the Hypnotherapy group was much
greater. And only Hypnosis subjects showed an improvement in
physiologic measures of respiration.
2
References:
1
Maher-Loughnan, G.P. (1970). "Hypnosis and AutoHypnosis
for the Treatment of Asthma." International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 18, 1- 14.
2
Maher-Loughnan, G.P., MacDonald, N., Mason, A.A. &
Fry, L. (1962). "Controlled Trial of Hypnosis in the
Symptomatic Treatment of Asthma." British Medical Journal,
2, 371-376.
Arthritis
Following Hypnotherapy, patients with arthritis achieved
significant decreases in pain, anxiety, and depression, and
an increases in beta-endorphin-like immunoreactive material.
References:
Domangue, B.B., Margolis, C.G., Lieberman, D. & Kaji,
H. (1985). "Biochemical Correlates of Hypnoanalgesia in
Arthritic Pain Patients." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry,
46, 235-238.
Bone Fracture
The Harvard Medical School conducted research on the use of
hypnosis to enhance physical healing. Twelve people with a
recent bone fracture were divided into two groups. One group
received hypnosis and the other group served as control.
Both groups received standard orthopedic treatment. The
hypnosis group had individual hypnotic sessions and listened
to audio tapes designed to increase bone healing. X-ray and
orthopedic evaluations were made during the 12 weeks of the
experiment.
The results showed a faster healing for the hypnosis group
at week 9 of the experiment. X-rays revealed a notable
difference at the edge of the fracture at week 6 of the
experiment. The hypnosis group also had better mobility and
used less pain killers. The researchers conclude by saying
that "despite a small sample size.... these data suggest
that hypnosis may be capable of enhancing both anatomical
and functional fracture healing, and that further
investigation of hypnosis to accelerate healing is
warranted.
References:
Ginandes, CS, Rosenthal, DI.1999, "Using hypnosis to
accelerate the healing of bone fractures: a randomized
controlled pilot study", Therapy Health Medicine, May,
5(2), pp.67-75.
Cancer
Women with metastatic breast cancer who received group
Hypnosis therapy were able to reduce their pain experience
by 50% compared to a control group.
1
At a 10-year follow-up of these same women, the Hypnosis
treatment group had double the survival rate of the control
group. 2
Both adolescent and adult cancer patients undergoing
chemotherapy have fewer symptoms of anticipatory nausea and
vomiting following Hypnotic interventions.
3
References:
1
Spiegel, D. & Bloom, J.R. (1983b)."Group therapy and
Hypnosis Reduce Metastatic Breast Carcinoma Pain."
Psychosomatic Medicine, 45, 333-339.
2
Spiegel, D., Bloom, J.R., Kraemer, H.,C. & Gottheil,
E. (1989a) "Effect of Psychosocial Treatment on Survival
of Patients with Metatastic Breast Cancer." Lancet pp.
888-891.
3
Zeltzer, L.; LeBaron, S. & Zeltzer, P.M. (1984).The
Effectiveness of Behavioral Intervention for Reduction of
Nausea and Vomiting in Children and Adolescents Receiving
Chemotherapy." Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2, 683-690.
Cotanch, P., Hockenberry, M. & Herman, S. (1985).
"Self-Hypnosis Antiemetic Therapy in Children Receiving
Chemotherapy." Oncology Nursing Forum, 12, 41- 46.
Zeltzer, L., LeBaron, S. & Zeltzer, P.M. (1984).
Childbirth
Hypnotherapy has been used successfully to prolong pregnancy
and prevent premature delivery.
1
In Britain 55% of birthing women using hypnosis required no
medication for pain relief, compared with 22% of women in
non-hypnosis groups. In two other reports 58% of women using
hypnotic analgesia required no medication. And five other
reports quoted 60-79% of women using hypnosis required no
medication. Check out
www.easybirthing.com/science_and_research
.
In another study subjects given hypnosis reported reduced
pain, shorter stage 1 labours, less medication, higher Apgar
scores, more frequent spontaneous deliveries than other
group. Some had lower depression scores after birth than the
other groups. 2
References:
1
Schwartz, M. (1963) The Cessation of Labor Using Hypnotic
Techniques." American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 5,
211-213.
2
Harmon, T.M., Hynan, M., & Tyre, T.E. (1990).
"Improved obstetric outcomes using hypnotic analgesia and
skill mastery combined with childbirth education." Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 525, 530, 1990.
Depression
Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Depression: An Empirical Study:
To investigate the effectiveness of cognitive hypnotherapy
(CH), hypnosis combined with cognitive behavior therapy
(CBT), on depression, 84 depressives were randomly assigned
to 16 weeks of treatment of either CH or CBT alone. At the
end of treatment, patients from both groups significantly
improved compared to baseline scores. However, the CH group
produced significantly larger changes in Beck Depression
Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Hopelessness
Scale. Effect size calculations showed that the CH group
produced 6%, 5%, and 8% greater reduction in depression,
anxiety, and hopelessness, respectively, over and above the
CBT group. The effect size was maintained at 6-month and
12-month follow-ups. This study represents the first
controlled comparison of hypnotherapy with a
well-established psychotherapy for depression, meeting the
APA criteria for a “probably efficacious” treatment for
depression. 1
Alternative Treatments for Long-Term Depressed Mood:
Meditation and Hypnosis The purpose of this study is to
examine the effectiveness to two alternative treatments for
long-term depressed mood: mindfulness meditation and
hypnosis. The need to find effective treatments for those
suffering from long-term low-to-moderate level depression
has been known for over a century. Although, there have been
some recent advances in the types of drug and psychotherapy
treatments available for this condition, some people do not
respond to such interventions, have considerable side
effects (from the drugs), or are not satisfied for other
reasons with these treatment options.
The present study represents an innovative investigation
into two alternatives to traditional treatments for
long-term depressed mood: mindfulness meditation (plus
gentle hatha yoga) and hypnosis in a group therapy format.
Although both meditation and hypnosis have shown success in
treating stress, anxiety, and pain in studies of
non-clinical populations, neither has been systematically
investigated as a possible treatment for long-term depressed
mood. 2
References:
1
Assen Alladin and Alisha Alibhai (2000) The International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Volume 55,
Number 2 - May 2000.
2
Spiegel, D. MD; Butler, L.D. Ph.D. Xin-Hua Chen; Abramson,
M. DDS, Waelde, L. Ph.D. Mental Insight Foundation
Dermatitis
Most clinicians and researchers agree that stress affects
the course of dermatitis and eczema, and reducing stress
levels has a positive effect on the course of the disease.
Emotional factors have been shown to have a strong
correlation with onset of the disease and also with
flare-ups. Further more, several documented case studies
have revealed that hypnosis can offer a successful treatment
for sufferers.
References:
Kantor, S.D. (1990).Stress and psoriasis. Psoriasis
Research Institute, Palo Alto, California 94301. Cutis
(USA) Oct 1990, 46 (4) p321-2
Haemophilia
Haemophiliac patients taught self-hypnosis significantly
reduced both their level of self-reported distress and the
amount of the factor concentrate required to control
bleeding when compared with a control group of patients who
did not undergo Hypnosis.
References:
Swirsky-Saccetti, T.; Margolis, C.G. (1986)."The Effects
of a Comprehensive Self- Hypnosis Training Program on the
Use of Factor VIII in Severe Hemophilia." International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 34, 71-83.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Hypnotherapy is one of the most successful treatment
methods, giving 80+% success rate for abdominal pain and
distension. It often results in assisting with other
problems such as migraine and tension headaches. With
patients who have severe chronic IBS, it was Hypnotherapy
patients that showed dramatic improvement in all measures,
and they maintained that improvement at a two year
follow-up.
References:
Whorwell P.J; Prior A; Faragher E.B. (1988 & 1987).
Whorwell, P.J., Prior, A. & Faragher, E.B. (1984).
"Controlled Trial of Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of
Severe Refractory Irritable-Bowel Syndrome." Lancet, pp.
1232-1234. Whorwell, P.J., Prior, A. & Colgan, S.M.
(1987). "Hypnotherapy in Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome:
Further Experience." Gut, 28, 423-425.
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of
Irritable Bowel Syndrome–Induced Agoraphobia
There are a number of clinical studies and a body of
research on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in the
treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Likewise, there
exists research demonstrating the efficacy of
cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in the treatment of IBS.
However, there is little written about the integration of
CBT and hypnotherapy in the treatment of IBS and a lack of
clinical information about IBS-induced agoraphobia. This
paper describes the aetiology and treatment of IBS-induced
agoraphobia. Cognitive, behavioural, and hypnotherapeutic
techniques are integrated to provide an effective
cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy (CBH) treatment for
IBS-induced agoraphobia. This CBH approach for treating
IBS-induced agoraphobia is described and clinical data are
reported. (2)
References:
Golden W.L. (2000) The International Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis; Volume 55, Number 2 - May 2000
Migraine and Headaches
Hypnosis is highly effective in the treatment of chronic
migraine headaches. All Hypnotic methods appear to be
superior to standard treatment relying on pharmacological
approaches alone. Patients treated with Hypnosis had a
significant reduction in severity and the number of attacks
compared to a control group treated with traditional
medications. At the one year follow-up the number of
patients in the Hypnosis group who had no headaches for over
three months was significantly higher.
References:
Anderson, J.A., Basker, M.A, Dalton, R. (1975). "Migraine
and Hypnotherapy." International Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis, 23, 48-58.
Review of the Efficacy of Clinical Hypnosis with Headaches
and Migraines
The 12-member National Institute of Health Technology
Assessment Panel on Integration of Behavioral and Relaxation
Approaches into the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Insomnia
(1996) reviewed outcome studies on hypnosis with cancer pain
and concluded that research evidence was strong and that
other evidence suggested hypnosis may be effective with some
chronic pain, including tension headaches. This paper
provides an updated review of the literature on the
effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of headaches and
migraines, concluding that it meets the clinical psychology
research criteria for being a well-established and
efficacious treatment and is virtually free of the side
effects, risks of adverse reactions, and ongoing expense
associated with medication treatments.
References:
Hammond C. (2000) The International Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis; Volume 55, Number 2 - May 2000
Pain
Hypnosis was found to be effective in reducing pain and
discomfort associated with repeated unpleasant medical
interventions in a study of children with cancer.
1
A significant reduction of pain and dysphoria was found
following Hypnosis in a study of 19 patients with a variety
of musculoskeletal disorders.
2
References:
1
Hilgard, E.R. (1977). "Divided Consciousness: Multiple
Controls in Human Thought and Action". NY: John Wiley. 1977
2
Domangue, B.B., Margolis, C.G., Lieberman, D. & Kaji, H.
(1985). Biochemical Correlates of Hypnoanalgesia in
Arthritic Pain Patients." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry,
46, 235-238
Phobias
- Student test anxiety : Students taught self-hypnosis showed a significant reduction in anxiety scores (maintained at 6-month follow-up) then a control group. 1
- Public speaking : The group who received hypnosis had a greater expectation for change and that change was achieved, than those who had non-hypnotic treatment. 2
- Fear of flying : 50% of patients afraid of flying were improved or cured after Hypnosis treatment. 3
References:
1
Stanton, H. E. (1994)
2
Schoenberger, N. E.; Kirsch, I.; Gearan, P.; Montgomery,
G.; Pastyrnak, S.L. (1997).
3
Spiegel, D. (1998) Report in the Harvard Mental Health
Letter, September 1998, vol. 15, p. 5-6
Smoking Cessation
In a recent stop smoking study, where smokers attended
individual hypnotherapy for stop smoking over three
sessions, 81% had stopped smoking after the treatment ended,
and at a 12 month follow-up nearly 50% remained smoke free.
And 95% of the people were satisfied with their treatment.
References:
Elkins GR, Rajab MH. (2004) "Clinical hypnosis for Smoking
Cessation: preliminary results of a three session
intervention." International Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis 2004 Jan; 52 (1):73-81
Stress and Hypertension
A trial compared Hypnosis with biofeedback or a combination
of both. All groups had significant reduction in blood
pressure.
1 However, at
six-month follow-up only patients receiving Hypnosis had
maintained the reduction.
2
References:
1
Friedman, H. & Taub, H. (1977). "The Use of Hypnosis
and Biofeedback Procedures for Essential Hypertension."
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental
Hypnosis, 25, 335-347.
2
Friedman, H. & Taub, H. (1978). "A Six Month Follow-up
of the Use of Hypnosis and Biofeedback Procedures in
Essential Hypertension." American Journal of Clinical
Hypnosis, 20, 184-188
Surgery Recovery
Patients trained with Hypnosis before surgery had
significantly shorter stays in hospital. Research shows that
Hypnosis methods have been used successfully for anxiety
associated with medical procedures.
References:
Rapkin, D.A., Straubing, M., Singh, A. & Holroyd, J.C.
(1988). "Guided Imagery and Hypnosis: Effect on Acute
Recovery from Head and Neck Cancer Surgery" Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Asheville, N.C.
Spiegel, D, (1998). Report in the Harvard Mental Health
Letter, September 1998, vol. 15, p. 5-6.
Warts
Prepubertal children respond to Hypnotherapy almost without
exception, although adults sometimes do not. Clinically,
many adults who fail to respond to hypnotherapy will heal
with individual hypnoanalytic (combination of hypnotherapy
and psychotherapy) techniques. By using hypnoanalysis on
those who failed to respond to hypnotherapy, 33 of 41 (80%)
consecutive patients were completely cured. Self-hypnosis
was not used. 1
There was a particularly interesting report of hypnosis used
to treat a 7-year-old girl who had 82 common warts. The
warts had been present for 12-18 months and were not
amenable to any of the routine medical treatments. Hypnotic
suggestions were given for the facial warts to disappear
before warts from the rest of the body. After 2 weeks, eight
of 16 facial warts were gone, with no other changes. After
three additional biweekly sessions, all 82 warts were gone.
This was, to our knowledge, the first reported case of
systematic wart removal in children and the researchers
concluded that there is an intimate relationship between
psychological mechanisms and the immune system.
2
References:
1
Ewin DM Hypnotherapy for warts (verruca vulgaris): 41
consecutive cases with 33 cures. Tulane Medical School,
New Orleans, LA. Am J Clin Hypn (UNITED STATES) Jul 1992,
35(1) p1-10
2
Hypnotherapy of a child with warts.Noll RB Department of
Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State
University,East Lansing 48824.J Dev Behav Pediatr Apr
1988, 9 (2) p89-91
