Hypnosis Research
The research quoted on this page demonstrates that hypnosis is an effective treatment for a number of issues!
Research On Hypnosis To Lose Weight
Reference
Hypnosis Over 30 Times as Effective for Weight Loss
Investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females, at least 20% overweight. Treatment included group hypnosis with metaphors for ego- strengthening, decision-making and motivation, ideomotor exploration in individual hypnosis, and group hypnosis with maintenance suggestions.
Hypnosis was more effective than a control group 17lbs vs. 0.5 lbs on follow-up.
Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.
2 Years Later Hypnosis Subjects Continued To Lose Significant Weight
109 people completed a behavioral treatment for weight management either with or without the addition of hypnosis. At the end of the 9-week program, both interventions resulted in
significant weight reduction. At 8-month and 2-year follow-ups, the hypnosis subjects were found to have continued to lose significant weight, while those in the behavioral-treatment-only group showed little further change.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1985)
Hypnosis Subjects Lost More Weight Than 90% of1 Others and Kept it Off
Researchers analyzed 18 studies comparing a cognitive behavioral therapy, such as relaxation training, guided imagery, self monitoring or goal setting with the same therapy supplemented by hypnosis.
Those who received the hypnosis lost more weight than 90 percent of the non-hypnosis, and maintained the weight loss two years after treatment ended.
University of Connecticut, Storrs Allison DB, Faith MS. Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for obesity: a meta-analytic reappraisal. J
Consult Clin Psychol. 1996;64(3):513-516.
Hypnosis More Than Doubled Average Weight Loss
Study of the effect of adding hypnosis to cognitive- behavioral treatments for weight reduction, additional data were obtained from authors of 2 studies. Analyses indicated that the benefits of hypnosis increased substantially over time.
Kirsch, Irving (1996).
Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss
treatments–Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.
Hypnosis Showed Significantly Lower Post-Treatment Weights
Two studies compared overweight smoking and non-smoking adult women in an hypnosis-based, weight-loss program. Both achieved significant weight losses and decreases in Body Mass Index. Follow-up study replicated significant weight losses and declines in Body Mass Index. The overt aversion and hypnosis program yielded significantly lower post-treatment weights and a greater average number of pounds lost.
Weight loss for women: studies of smokers and nonsmokers using hypnosis and multi-component treatments with and without overt aversion.Psychology Reprints. 1997 Jun;80(3 Pt 1):931-3.
Hypnotherapy group with stress reduction achieved
significantly more weight loss than the other two
treatments.
Randomised, controlled, parallel study of two forms of hypnotherapy (directed at stress reduction or energy intake reduction), vs dietary advice alone in 60 obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea on nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment.
Stradlinga, D Roberts, A Wilson and F LovelockChest Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7LJ, UK
Hypnosis can more than double the effects of traditional weight loss approaches
… An analysis of five weight loss studies reported in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1996 showed that the ” … weight loss reported in the five studies indicates that hypnosis can more than double the effects” of traditional weight loss approaches.
University of Connecticut
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1996 (Vol. 64, No. 3, pgs 517-519)
Weight loss is greater where hypnosis is utilized
Research into cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments established that weight loss is greater where hypnosis is utilized. It was also established that the benefits of hypnosis increase over time.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1996)
Showed Hypnosis As “An Effective Way To Lose Weight”
A study of 60 females who were at least 20% overweight and not involved in other treatment showed hypnosis is an effective way to lose weight.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1986)
Research on Hypnosis for Pain Management
Theory: Research using positron emission tomography (PET) scans, shows that hypnosis might alleviate pain by decreasing the activity of brain areas involved in the experience of suffering. Scientists have found that hypnosis reduced the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex, an area known to be involved in pain, but did not affect the activity of the somatosensory cortex, where the sensations of pain are processed.
Summary
Reference
Hypnosis Reduces Frequency and Intensity of Migraines
Compared the treatment of migraine by hypnosis and autohypnosis with the treatment of migraine by the drug prochlorperazine (Stemetil)
Results show that the number of attacks and the number who suffered blinding attacks were significantly lower for the group receiving hypnotherapy than for the group receiving prochlorperazine. For the group on hypnotherapy, these 2 measures were significantly lower when on hypnotherapy than when on previous treatment. It is concluded that further trials of hypnotherapy are justified against some other treatment not solely associated with the ingestion of tablets.
Anderson JA, Basker MA, Dalton R Migraine and hypnotherapy International Journal of Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis 1975; 23(1): 48-58.
Hypnosis Reduces Pain and Speeds up Recovery from Surgery
Since 1992, we have used hypnosis routinely in more than 1400 patients undergoing surgery. We found that hypnosis used in patients as an adjunct to conscious sedation and local anesthesia was associated with improved intraoperative patient comfort, and with reduced anxiety, pain, intraoperative requirements for anxiolytic and analgesic drugs, optimal surgical conditions and a faster recovery of the patient. We reported our clinical experience and our fundamental research.
[Hypnosis and its application in surgery][Article in French]
Faymonville ME, Defechereux T, Joris J, Adant JP, Hamoir E, Meurisse M.
Service d’Anesthesie-Reanimation, Universite de Liege.
Rev Med Liege. 1998 Jul;53(7):414-8.
Hypnosis Reduces Pain Intensity
Analysis of the simple-simple main effects, holding both group and condition constant, revealed that application of hypnotic analgesia reduced report of pain intensity significantly more than report of pain unpleasantness.
Dahlgren LA. Kurtz RM. Strube MJ. Malone MD. Differential effects of hypnotic suggestion on multiple dimensions of pain. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management. 1995; 10(6): 464-70.
Hypnosis Reduces Pain of Headaches and Anxiety
The improvement was confirmed by the subjective evaluation data gathered with the use of a questionnaire and by a significant reduction in anxiety scores.
Melis PM. Rooimans W. Spierings EL. Hoogduin CA. Treatment of chronic tension-type headache with hypnotherapy: a single-blind time controlled study. Headache 1991; 31(10): 686-9.
Hypnosis Lowered Post-treatment Pain in Burn Injuries
Patients in the hypnosis group reported less post treatment pain than did patients in the control group. The findings are used to replicate earlier studies of burn pain hypnoanalgesia, explain discrepancies in the literature, and highlight the potential importance of motivation with this population.
Patterson DR. Ptacek JT. Baseline pain as a moderator of hypnotic analgesia for burn injury treatment. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 1997; 65(1): 60-7.
Hypnosis Lowered Phantom Limb Pain
Hypnotic procedures appear to be a useful adjunct to established strategies for the treatment of phantom limb pain and would repay further, more systematic, investigation. Suggestions are provided as to the factors which should be considered for a more systematic research program.
Treatment of phantom limb pain using hypnotic imagery. Oakley DA, Whitman LG, Halligan PW.Department of Psychology, University College London, UK.
Hypnosis Has a Reliable and Significant Impact on Acute and Chronic Pain
Hypnosis has been demonstrated to reduce analogue pain, and studies on the mechanisms of laboratory pain reduction have provided useful applications to clinical populations. Studies showing central nervous system activity during hypnotic procedures offer preliminary information concerning possible physiological mechanisms of hypnotic analgesia. Randomized controlled studies with clinical populations indicate that hypnosis has a reliable and significant impact on acute procedural pain and chronic pain conditions. Methodological issues of this body of research are discussed, as are methods to better integrate hypnosis into comprehensive pain treatment.
Hypnosis and clinical pain.Patterson DR, Jensen MP.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of
Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98104
Psychol Bull. 2003 Jul;129(4):495-521.
Hypnosis is a Powerful Tool in Pain Therapy and is Biological in Addiction to Psychological
Attempting to elucidate cerebral mechanisms behind hypnotic analgesia, we measured regional cerebral blood flow with positron emission tomography in patients with fibromyalgia, during hypnotically-induced analgesia and resting wakefulness. The patients experienced less pain during hypnosis than at rest. The cerebral blood-flow was bilaterally increased in the orbitofrontal and subcallosial cingulate cortices, the right thalamus, and the left inferior parietal cortex, and was decreased bilaterally in the cingulate cortex. The observed blood-flow pattern supports notions of a multifactorial nature of hypnotic analgesia, with an interplay between cortical and subcortical brain dynamics. Copyright 1999 European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Functional anatomy of hypnotic analgesia: a PET study of patients with fibromyalgia.Wik G, Fischer H, Bragee B, Finer B, Fredrikson M.
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institute and Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden Eur J
Pain. 1999 Mar;3(1):7-12.
Hypnosis Useful in Hospital Emergency Rooms
Hypnosis can be a useful adjunct in the emergency department setting. Its efficacy in various clinical applications has been replicated in controlled studies. Application to burns, pain, pediatric procedures, surgery, psychiatric presentations (e.g., coma, somatoform disorder, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress), and obstetric situations (e.g., hyperemesis, labor, and delivery) are described.
Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2000 May;18(2):327-38, x.
The use of hypnosis in emergency medicine.Peebles-Kleiger MJ.
Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health
Sciences, Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas, USA. peeblemj@menninger.edu
Research on Hypnosis to Quit Smoking
Summary
Reference
90.6% Success Rate Using Hypnosis
Of 43 consecutive patients undergoing this treatment protocol, 39 reported remaining abstinent at follow-up (6 months to 3 years post-treatment). This represents a 90.6% success rate using hypnosis
Smoke Free International’s Proprietary Method
Smoke Free International
http://www.smokefreeinternational.com/report.php
90% Success Rate With Hypnosis
Authors report a success rate in smoking abstinence of over 90% with hypnosis.
MMW Fortschr
Med. 2004 May 13;146(20):16. Klager, R. [Article in German]PMID: 15344725 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
87% Reported Abstinence Using Hypnosis
A field study of 93 male and 93 female CMHC outpatients examined the facilitation of smoking cessation by using hypnosis. At 3-mo. follow-up, 86% of the men and 87% of the women reported continued abstinence using hypnosis.
Performance by gender in a stop-smoking program combining hypnosis and aversion.Johnson DL, Karkut RT.
Adkar Associates, Inc., Bloomington, Indiana. Psychol Rep. 1994
Oct;75(2):851-7.PMID: 7862796 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
81% Reported They Had Stopped Smoking
Thirty smokers enrolled in an HMO were referred by their primary physician for treatment. Twenty-one patients returned after an initial consultation and received hypnosis for smoking cessation. At the end of treatment, 81% of those patients reported that they had stopped smoking, and 48% reported abstinence at 12 months post-treatment.
Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine, USA.Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 Jan;52(1):73-81. Clinical hypnosis for smoking cessation: preliminary results of a three-session intervention. Elkins GR, Rajab MH.
Hypnosis Patients Twice As Likely To Quit
Study of 71 smokers showed that after a two-year follow up, patients that quit with hypnosis were twice as likely to still be smoke-free than those who quit on their own.
Guided health imagery for smoking cessation and long-term abstinence. Wynd CA. Journal of Nursing Scholarship,
2005; 37:3, pages 245-250
More Effective Than Drug Interventions
Group hypnosis, evaluated at a less effective success rate than individualized hypnosis (at 22%). However, still demonstrated here as more effective than drug interventions.
Ohio State University, College of Nursing, Columbus 43210, USADescriptive outcomes of the American Lung Association of Ohio hypnotherapy smoking cessation program.
Ahijevych K, Yerardi R, Nedilsky N.
Hypnosis Most Effective Says Largest Study Ever:
3 Times Effectiveness of Patch and 15 Times Willpower.
Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit. A meta-analysis, statistically combining results of more than 600 studies of 72 000 people from America and Europe to compare various methods of quitting. On average – hypnosis was over three times as effective as nicotine replacement methods and 15 times as effective as trying to quit alone.
University of Iowa
Journal of Applied Psychology
How One in Five Give Up Smoking
October 1992.(Also New Scientist October 10, 1992) Schmidt, Chockalingam
Research on Hypnosis for Alcohol & Drug Addiction
Summary
Reference
Significantly More Methadone Addicts Quit with Hypnosis. 94% Remained Narcotic Free
Significant differences were found on all measures. The experimental group had significantly less discomfort and illicit drug use, and a significantly greater amount of cessation. At six month follow up, 94% of the subjects in the experimental group who had achieved cessation remained narcotic free.
A comparative study of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy in the treatment of methadone addicts. Manganiello AJ.American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 1984; 26(4): 273-9.
Hypnosis Shows 77 Percent Success Rate for Drug Addiction
Treatment has been used with 18 clients over the last 7 years and has shown a 77 percent success rate for at least a 1-year follow-up. 15 were being seen for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, 2 clients were being seen for cocaine addiction, and 1 client had a marijuana addiction
Intensive Therapy:
Utilizing Hypnosis in the Treatment of Substance
Abuse Disorders
American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Jul 2004 by Potter, Greg
Raised Self-esteem & Serenity. Lowered Impulsivity and Anger
In a research study on Self-hypnosis for relapse prevention training with chronic drug/alcohol users.
Participants were 261 veterans admitted to Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (SARRTPs). Individuals who used repeated self-hypnosis “at least 3 to 5 times a week,” at 7-week follow-up, reported the highest levels of self-esteem and serenity, and the least anger/impulsivity, in comparison to the minimal-practice and control groups.
American Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy(a publication of the American Psychological Association)
2004 Apr;46(4):281-97)
Hypnosis For Cocaine Addiction Documented Case Study
Hypnosis was successfully used to overcome a $500 (five grams) per day cocaine addiction. The subject was a female in her twenties. After approximately 8 months of addiction, she decided to use hypnosis in an attempt to overcome the addiction itself. Over the next 4 months, she used hypnosis three times a day and at the end of this period, her addiction was broken, and she has been drug free for the past 9 years. Hypnosis was the only intervention, and no support network of any kind was available.
The use of hypnosis in cocaine addiction.Page RA, Handley GW.
Ohio State University, Lima
45804. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis1993 Oct;36(2):120-3.
Healing Faster After Surgery
Healed 41% faster from fracture Healed significantly faster from surgery
Two studies from Harvard Medical School show hypnosis significantly reduces the time it takes to heal.
Study 1: Six weeks after an ankle fracture, those in the hypnosis group showed the equivalent of eight and a half weeks of healing.
Study 2: Three groups of people studied after breast reduction surgery. Hypnosis group healed “significantly faster” than supportive attention group and control group.
Harvard Medical School, Carol Ginandesand Union Institute in Cincinnati, Patricia
Brooks
Harvard University Gazette Online at http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.08/01-hypnosis.html
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