International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis

Multicomponent mind-body interventions are increasingly studied in oncology to improve patients' quality of life (QOL). However, the respective usefulness of each of their components or their long-term use by the participants are rarely assessed. In this study, 95 women with different cancer diagnoses participated in a self-hypnosis and self-care group. Different questionnaires were administrated before (T1), right after (T2), 3 to 4 months after (T3), and 1 year after (T4) the intervention. After the intervention, 97...

The aim of the present study is to examine beliefs about hypnosis in a Polish sample, with a focus on possible misconceptions. The research included groups with different backgrounds regarding hypnosis: 1st- and 5th-year psychology students, psychotherapists using hypnosis, people interested in paranormal phenomena, and people from the general population. The results demonstrated mild misconceptions about hypnosis and significant differences in beliefs about hypnosis between the aforementioned groups. Additionally, within a Polish sample, psychotherapists using hypnosis and 5th-year students' views were most similar in their current scientific knowledge about hypnosis, while the groups targeting individuals unexposed to hypnosis and followers of paranormal beliefs showed significantly more misconceptions...

Approximately two out of three college students report experiencing suboptimal sleep quality. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of a self-administered hypnosis intervention to improve sleep in college students. Twenty-two college students who self-reported poor sleep quality were enrolled in a 4-week study comprising 1 baseline week and a 3-week self-administered hypnosis intervention. Sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency as measured by wrist actigraphy were significantly improved. The mean average nightly sleep duration during the baseline week was 398...

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a multifaceted and incapacitating functional pain syndrome characterized by continuous, severe, widespread musculoskeletal pain. FMS is associated with other symptoms such as fatigue, nonrestorative sleep, cognitive/emotional dysfunction, and diminished health-related quality of life. The pathogenesis of FMS is still not fully understood, but an increasing amount of evidence supports the link between childhood/adulthood emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect and the development of FMS...

Test anxiety comprises cognitive, physiological, and behavioral reactions due to anxiety about failure or a lower academic performance score on an exam or evaluation. This study examined the effect of self-hypnosis on reducing test anxiety among upper secondary school students using a quantitative methodology with a pre-experimental design. The prevalence of test anxiety was measured using the Friedben Test Anxiety Scale (FTAS) and students' demographic data were collected. Twenty-two 16-year-old students with moderate to high test anxiety were selected for a self-hypnosis intervention over a period of 5 weeks...

Hypnotherapy is used in clinical settings to treat mental and physical health-related conditions. Hypnotic response can be measured through hypnotizability scales to help interventionists personalize treatment plans to suit the patients' individualized hypnotic abilities. Examples of these scales are the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C). According to the previous literature, these scales have good discriminating ability and internal consistency (α = 0...

State and nonstate theories of hypnosis have dominated the field for decades and helped advance hypnosis clinically and scientifically. However, they fall short in various ways including insufficient consideration of unconscious/experiential processes. The authors' new theory is predicated on Epstein's cognitive-experiential self-theory, a dual-process model that provides a comprehensive understanding of the rational system and the experiential system and highlights that, although they interact synergistically, their features and modes of operation differ greatly...

Hypnotherapy has been gaining recognition as an alternative treatment for excess weight problems. This qualitative study aims to explore individuals' experiences of losing weight through hypnotherapy and their perceived barriers and facilitators for healthy lifestyle changes. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 participants (11 women and 4 men; mean age of 23 years) who recorded having lost ≥5% weight after undergoing 3 hypnotherapy sessions previously at a public university in Terengganu, Malaysia...

The present scoping review reports the reciprocal relations between hypnotizability, interoception, and emotion. Brain morpho-functional differences may account for the lower interoceptive accuracy, higher interoceptive sensitivity, and different emotional strategies observed in highly hypnotizable participants with respect to medium-to-low hypnotizables. Since interoception is relevant to both physical and mental health and hypnotizability can predict both interoceptive abilities and the efficacy of interoception-based mental training, this allows for the development of new forms of treatment and rehabilitation...

This blinded study evaluated the relative efficacy of three hypnosis sessions in 60 patients with chronic nociplastic pain allocated randomly to one of two conditions: hypnosis with analgesic suggestions, or hypnosis with nonspecific suggestions. Pain intensity, pain quality, and pain interference as outcome measures were assessed before and after treatment. A mixed-design analysis of the variance model showed no significant differences between groups. According to the adjusted model, large effect size improvements in pain intensity and pain quality emerged for both conditions but were only meaningful for patients not taking pain medications...

An online survey of 691 clinicians who use hypnosis was conducted in 31 countries to gain a broad real-world picture of current practices, views, and experiences in clinical hypnosis. Among 36 common clinical uses, stress reduction, wellbeing and self-esteem-enhancement, surgery preparations, anxiety interventions, mindfulness facilitation, and labor and childbirth applications were the most frequently rated as highly effective (each by ≥70% of raters) in the clinicians' own experience. Adverse hypnosis-associated effects had been encountered by 55% of clinicians but were generally short-lived and very rarely judged as serious...

This issue of the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis addresses the efficacy and feasibility of hypnosis interventions for several medical problems and issues. The lead article provides a narrative review of the efficacy of hypnosis interventions for Fibromyalgia. This is followed by a feasibility study of self-administered hypnosis for sleep disturbances in college students and an article on self-hypnosis for self-care in oncology patients. The effect of self-hypnosis on test anxiety is added in a study of secondary school students in Malaysia...

Sleep disturbance can negatively affect physical and psychological health. Hypnotherapy may be effective for improving sleep with fewer side effects than other treatments. The purpose of this systematic review is to comprehensively identify studies and evidence regarding hypnotherapy for sleep disturbances. Four databases were searched to identify studies examining the use of hypnotherapy for sleep in adult populations. The search yielded 416 articles, of which 44 were included. Qualitative data analysis revealed that 47...

A recent survey conducted by the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Task Force for Efficacy Standards in Hypnosis Research found that clinicians reported using one or more of several different styles of hypnosis in their work. The most common of these was Ericksonian, used by over 2/3rds of clinicians, followed by hypnotic relaxation therapy and traditional hypnosis. Surprisingly, a little less than a 3rd of respondents indicated using the evidence-based practice of hypnotherapy. The present paper discusses these findings from the perspective of optimal survey methodology, examines areas of differences and overlap among response options, and considers the question of the evidence base for the practice of clinical hypnosis...

Findings from the Task Force for Efficacy Standards in Hypnosis Research hypnosis clinician survey provide new insight into current practice trends in clinical hypnosis internationally. The clinician-focused survey highlighted several interesting imbalances between hypnosis research evidence and its practice applications. Inconsistencies arose in clinician experiences of adverse events in treatment, reported conditions treated using hypnosis, and for what conditions hypnosis is considered most effective. This commentary aims to better elucidate the differences noted and offers recommendations for training and teaching hypnosis...

Remote hypnotherapy is a treatment that is increasingly being utilized internationally. Its adoption has been accelerated following the COVID-19 pandemic when infection control measures mandated its implementation. Remote hypnotherapy via video, rather than telephone therapy, appears to be more popular and effective, which appears to be acceptable to patients and - compared to face-to-face therapy - has the potential to improve access. In this state-of-the-art article, the authors therefore review the latest literature in this exciting field of remote teletherapy, discussing adoption of video hypnotherapy; its evidence, including efficacy compared to face-to-face therapy; patient satisfaction; advantages and disadvantages of teletherapy; as well as practical considerations and factors that should be considered when deciding on the mode of delivery...

This issue of the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis provides a landmark international survey of clinicians across 31 countries regarding current practices and views of clinical hypnosis. Thirty-six common uses of hypnosis were identified including stress reduction, wellbeing, and other applications. The most common approaches to hypnotherapy were Ericksonian, Hypnotic Relaxation Therapy, and Traditional Hypnosis. Commentaries are provided by leading experts in the field of clinical and experimental hypnosis...

The effectiveness of the novel intervention mindful hypnotherapy on depression, self-compassion, and psychological inflexibility in females with major depressive disorder was examined in a randomized, clinical trial. Thirty-four participants were randomly allocated into mindful hypnotherapy and waitlist control groups. The intervention group was treated in 8 face-to-face, 60-minute weekly therapy sessions along with mindful hypnosis audio tapes to be used daily. The results of analysis of covariance indicated that there were significant differences between the mindful hypnotherapy and waitlist control groups after intervention and at 2-month follow-up ( p < ...

Rumination is a clinical phenomenon that causes significant distress in clients who suffer from various psychological and physical disorders. It also has a deleterious impact on both therapeutic process and outcome. One approach that holds promise to manage rumination is mindfulness meditation in combination with clinical hypnosis. This article: (1) reviews the concept of and techniques to manage rumination in the Buddhist psychological framework, (2) introduces 2 simple mindfulness-based techniques to deal with rumination, i...

The insertion of a nasogastric (NG) tube is often a difficult experience for both patients and caregivers. This often results in a high failure rate of NG insertion. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness, tolerance, and acceptability of hypnoanalgesia to assist self-insertion of an NG tube. Patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy for autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or acute leukemia and with high risk of aplasia were included in the study. A total of 38 patients were included during 6 consecutive months...