When to Take Hypnosis Seriously

What hypnosis is—and isn’t.

Hypnosis is an interactional process between two people that often creates fascinating shifts in perception and behavior. Such changes are often highly compelling: Hypnotic subjects may show less bleeding after surgery, show a blister where an imaginary “burning hot” pencil eraser touches their skin, give a stand-up routine despite a history of stage fright, or have amazing bursts of creativity and energy.

The key concept here is that the effects of these suggestions are almost always temporary. Hypnosis is not a form of psychotherapy (I believe the term hypnotherapy is misleading.) or a treatment for mental health disorders. It also is not a method of retrieving repressed memories or accessing past lives. Past-life regression falls into the realm of religion rather than science.

Why the Bad Rap on Hypnosis?

Hypnosis has long been a form of entertainment where subjects on stage captivate audiences by showing some of the temporary changes described above. Often, such subjects “go along with the act” or are subtly selected because the stage hypnotist can tell when they are following suggestions easily. Even though individuals on stage are very often hypnotized, the fact that they are given suggestions to do embarrassing things for the sake of the show does not help the reputation of this technique in healthcare; neither is how hypnosis is often portrayed in the media.

Thus, hypnosis has long had a questionable reputation in healthcare, and often for good reason. In the 1970s and 80s, one of the greatest embarrassments to the field of psychology was the rash of therapists who claimed to recover false memories of child abuse through hypnosis. Questionable claims about the benefits of hypnosis are often made by “hypnotherapists” who have no formal health training or degree. In one famous case, an individual was able to obtain a state license for his cat to practice hypnotherapy.

I had a patient with a neurological complication, severe depression, and daily suicidal thoughts, all of which gradually improved after two years of state-of-the-art treatment (which didn’t involve hypnosis). My patient told me that a hypnotherapist offered to cure this depression for $10,000 up-front and with only eight sessions. Fortunately, this wonderful offer was not pursued.

It is fairly easy to hypnotize someone and create dramatic perceptual changes for a few minutes. However, a talented behavioral specialist must take those transient changes and transform them into meaningful long-term changes in mental or physical health.

When Is Hypnosis Useful?

Here’s why hypnosis can be useful. Every few decades, scientists manage to pull hypnosis out of disrepute. I feel that we are now in a time when science is reestablishing hypnosis as a legitimate healthcare intervention. Three salient examples where hypnosis has shown to be effective include the management of pain and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and as an enhancement to psychotherapy.

Perhaps the most dramatic and enduring role that hypnosis has had in healthcare has been in treating acute pain. Dozens of major surgeries done only with hypnosis have been reported in the literature; hypnosis used to be a primary form of anesthesia until the advent of ether gas.

Chronic pain also responds to hypnosis, though it can often only be managed rather than cured. My colleague Mark Jensen has championed a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrating how hypnosis can reduce the severity and duration of chronic pain. (Patterson and Jensen, 2016). Managing chronic pain involves disciplined work and dedication from both therapists and the people in pain.

Not only is the impact of hypnosis demonstrated in RCTs with patients with pain and IBS, but it has also been shown to have effects in neurophysiological studies of the brain. Hypnosis can reduce pain-related brain activity and can also create pain responses in the brain where none previously existed (Patterson, in press).

Hypnosis as an empirical treatment for acute pain control has been rivaled by its success with IBS. There are now multiple randomized trials demonstrating the efficacy of hypnosis in relieving symptoms of IBS, which has always been a complicated medical problem to treat. Notably, psychologist O.S. Palsson created a protocol for using hypnosis therapy for this issue.

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This brings me to what I think is the most promising application of hypnosis to healthcare: enhancing, rather than replacing, psychotherapy. Hypnosis has long been demonstrated to strengthen the effects of psychotherapy, whether it is based on a cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, or other theoretical approach (Kirsch et al, 1995). The key is to find the best therapist that you can for whatever life challenge you are facing. If you find a qualified therapist who includes hypnosis in their care, the research demonstrates that you will show greater and longer-lasting improvement.

Lay hypnotherapists may be helpful for issues that do not require healthcare professionals (my mother ended a 20-unwanted cigarette habit after seeing a lay hypnotist). However, be careful of any practitioner who would only use hypnosis to treat serious health issues. From a charlatan, hypnosis is often snake oil; when used with knowledge and ethics it can be a powerful source of positive behavior change.

To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.