Studies on the Effectiveness of Hypnotherapy

Here are the results of some studies showing the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for weight loss, smoking cessation and stress management. (The links to the studies are for reference only. If you wish to read the studies you may have to pay for access to them.)

 
Hypnotherapy in Weight Loss Treatment
 
Results: This study found that those who received hypnosis lost an average of 17 lbs. compared to an average of 0.5 lbs. in the control group (there was no difference between the hypnosis only and the hypnosis and audiotapes group).
 
Notes: This study examined how effective hypnosis was in helping women to lose weight. It recruited 60 women who were not dieting or involved in any other program and who were at least 20% overweight. It randomly assigned the women to a control group, to a group that only received hypnosis and to a group that received hypnosis along with audiotapes.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol 54(4), Aug 1986, 489-492
By: G. Cochrane, J. Friesen, University of British Columbia
 
 
 
Clinical Hypnosis for Smoking Cessation: Preliminary Results of a Three-Session Intervention
 
Results: At the end of the program 17 subjects (81%) reported that they had stopped smoking. A 12-month follow-up revealed that 10 of them (48%) remained smoke-free.
 
Notes: Twenty-one smokers who were referred to this study by their physicians for medical reasons, received three smoking cessation hypnosis sessions. All patients reported having failed in previous unassisted attempts to stop smoking. The clinical-treatment protocol included three sessions. The first session was the initial consultation and did not include a hypnotic induction. Sessions 2 and 3 involved individually adapted hypnotic suggestions and an individual therapeutic relationship with each patient. Each patient was also provided with a cassette tape recording of a hypnotic induction with direct suggestions for relaxation and a feeling of comfort. The patients were seen biweekly for treatment.
 
Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 , Jan;52(1):73-81
By: G. R. Elkins, M. H. Rajab, Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center
 
 
Hypnotherapy and test anxiety: Two cognitive-behavioral constructs: The effects of hypnosis in reducing test anxiety and improving academic achievement in college students
 
Results: There was a decrease in test anxiety and improvements in achievement for the hypnosis group. The treatment gains were maintained at 6-wk follow-up.
 
Notes: Investigated the effects of cognitive-behavioral hypnosis in reducing test anxiety and improving academic performance. 44 introductory psychology students received 4 sessions of hypnosis and 50 Hawthorne controls received no treatment over the same time period. Subjects’ midterm test grades and scores on the Test Anxiety Inventory were examined.
Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis, Vol 12(1), Mar 1991, 25-31
By: Marty Sapp, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Hypnotherapy is also very effective for many other issues. Just about any area of life can be improved with hypnosis. Call me at (707) 498-4897 for more information.
 
 
 
 
Hypnosis Reduces Preoperative Anxiety in Adult Patients
 
 
Results: Patients in the hypnosis group were significantly less anxious postintervention as compared with patients in the attention-control group and the control group. Moreover, on entrance to the operating rooms, the hypnosis group reported a significant decrease of 56% in their anxiety level whereas the attention-control group reported an increase of 10% in anxiety and the control group reported an increase of 47% in their anxiety. The study authors conclude that hypnosis significantly alleviates preoperative anxiety.
 
Notes: This study examined the effect of hypnosis on preoperative anxiety. Subjects were randomized into 3 groups, a hypnosis group (n 26) who received suggestions of well-being; an attention-control group (n26) who received attentive listening and support without any specific hypnotic suggestions and a “standard of care” control group (n 24). Anxiety was measured pre- and postintervention as well as on entrance to the operating rooms.
 
Anesth Analg, 2006, Vol. 102, No 5, pp. 1394-1396
By: H. Saadat, J. Drummond-Lewis, I. Maranets, D. Kaplan, A. Saadat, S. M. Wang, Z. N. Kain, Center for the Advancement of Perioperative Health, Departments of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Child Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA