Peer-reviewed Articles

While conventional medicine and dentistry save and improve lives daily, the use of complementary hypnotherapy can relieve suffering, speed recovery from injury, regain health from disease and prevent illness.  Hypnotherapy reduces immunosuppressive stress, helps to transform subconscious limiting beliefs, alters attitudes that hinder healing, supports a person emotionally and empowers them to take an active role in their own healing process.  Evidence-based data to support the use of hypnosis in healing is on the rise.  A few researched areas include:

Hypnotherapy as a Mind-Body Complement to Medicine

“ Long-standing empirical evidence demonstrates that hypnosis impacts perception, symptoms, and
habits, which have recently been explained by advanced
diagnostic modalities like functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI)”
— J. Kittle, MD & D. Spiegel, MD

Hypnotherapy for Surgery Support

  • Pre-Operative Use of Hypnosis:  Using hypnosis to prepare patients for surgery has been found to significantly reduce pain/discomfort and reduce the amount of pain medication required, which in turn reduces the overall recovery time.

  • A major study of preoperative hypnosis for breast cancer surgery patients was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, (JNCI Vol. 99, No 17), September 2007. This study used only a 15-minute pre-operative hypnosis session. The results showed:

  • Post-Operative Use of Hypnosis:  Using hypnosis to assist patients in recovering from surgery appears to reduce immunosuppressive anxiety and depression, improve sleep and reduce hot flashes. One study, done on hot flashes in breast cancer surgery patients, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, (Vol 26, No 31), November 1, 2008: 5008-5010, found that: "Hypnosis appears to reduce perceived hot flashes in breast cancer survivors and may have additional benefits such as reduced anxiety and depression, and improved sleep.”

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Hypnotherapy for Procedural Pain Control & Stress Reduction

  • Pain Control During Procedures: Hypnosis has profound positive effects on pain and reduces anxiety during invasive procedures. One randomized trial conducted on “Adjunctive non-pharmacological analgesia for invasive medical procedures” was studied by Harvard Medical School, Department of Radiology, PMID: 10801169 (PubMed); Lancet, 2000 Apr 29; 355 (9214): 1486-90, and revealed that hypnosis “is superior” to intraoperatively standard care and structured attention.  “Hypnosis had more pronounced effects on pain and anxiety reduction.”

  • Reduction of Stress, Distress and Duration during Procedures: During invasive procedures hypnosis can be useful in reducing emotional trauma, lowering distress levels, support the ease of conducting the procedure and significantly reduce procedural time. One study conducted on children by the Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, concluded that “Hypnotic relaxation may provide a systematic method for improving overall medical care of children…these findings augment the accumulating literature demonstrating the benefits of using hypnosis to reduce distress in the pediatric setting.”  The findings concluded to “have immediate implications for pediatric care” and “were consistently supportive of the beneficial effects of hypnosis – a noninvasive intervention with minimal risk.” PEDIATRICS Vol. 115 No 1 (1 January 2005)

“Both groups improved with treatment. Hypnotherapy resulted in superior Patient Global Impression of Improvement scores compared to behavioral therapy. Voiding and OAB-q Short Form results trended toward greater improvement with hypnotherapy. ”
— Komesu, Y.M. et al (2011)

Hypnotherapy for Treatment of Overactive Bladder

  • Hypnotherapy for Treatment of Overactive Bladder: A Pilot Study

For the full study, go to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4575591/