Q/What_are_the_statistics_on_the_effectiveness_of_hypnosis?
In: Statistics, Alternative Treatments for Conditions or Diseases.
Answer. Here is a brief review of some
of the research evidence on the effectiveness of hypnosis:
90.6% Success Rate for Smoking Cessation Using Hypnosis.
Of 43 consecutive
patients undergoing this treatment protocol, 39 reported remaining abstinent from tobacco use at follow-up (6 months to 3
years post-treatment). This represents a 90.6% success rate using hypnosis. University of Washington School of Medicine, Depts. of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Int J Clin Exp Hypn.
2001 Jul;49(3):257-66. Barber J.
87% Reported Abstinence From Tobacco. Use With Hypnosis.
A field study of 93 male and 93 female CMHC outpatients examined the facilitation of smoking cessation
by using hypnosis. At 3-month follow-up, 86% of the men and 87% of the women reported continued abstinence from the use of
tobacco 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 After Hypnosis.
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, College Station, TX 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 Remain Smoke-Free After Two Years.
Study of 71 smokers showed that after a two-year follow up, patients that quit with hypnosis were
twice as likely to remain 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.
Hypnosis More Effective Than Drug Interventions For Smoking Cessation.
Group hypnosis sessions, evaluated at a less effective success rate (22% success) than individualized
hypnosis sessions. However, group hypnosis sessions were still demonstrated here as being more effective than drug interventions.
Ohio State University, College of Nursing, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Descriptive 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 as Effective as Patch and 15 Times as Effective as 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.)
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: an average of
17 lbs lost by the hypnosis group vs. an average of 0.5 lbs lost by the control group, on follow-up.
Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.
Two 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% of 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 those not receiving 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 two 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.
Johnson DL, 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.
J Stradling, D Roberts, A Wilson and F Lovelock, Chest 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).
Hypnosis Reduces Frequency and Intensity of Migraine.
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 of people who suffered blinding attacks were significantly lower for the group receiving
hypnotherapy than for the group receiving prochlorperazine. For the group on hypnotherapy, these two measures were significantly
lower when on hypnotherapy than when on the 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 with 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] 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, WA USA 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 post traumatic 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, Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Sciences, Menninger Clinic, Topeka, KS, USA. peeblemj@menninger.edu
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. Potter, Greg,
American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Jul 2004.
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, OH USA 45804.
American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1993 Oct;36(2):120-3.
Healed
41% faster from fracture, significantly faster from surgery.
Two studies from Harvard Medical School
show hypnosis significantly reduces the time it takes to heal.
Study One: Six weeks after an ankle fracture, those in the hypnosis group showed the equivalent
of eight and a half weeks of healing.
Study Two: 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 Ginandes and Union Institute
in Cincinnati, Patricia Brooks, Harvard University Gazette Online.
