Clinical Hypnosis
Clinical Hypnosis
What is clinical hypnosis?
Clinical hypnosis is a directed, focused state of attention that helps the mind and body heal.
This approach is provided by trained, licensed professionals. Veterans may also be taught to practice these skills on their own, even when they are not working directly with a health care professional in a clinic setting.
How do I get started?
Ask your healthcare provider if clinical hypnosis is right for you.
You can also reach out to your local Whole Health Point of Contact to learn more about complementary and integrative health care availability.
How can clinical hypnosis help you?
Clinical hypnosis can help with:
- Anxiety, including anxiety from medical treatments
- Pain management
- Trouble sleeping
- Gut related issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Depression
- Habit control
It can also support cancer treatment by managing side effects like nausea and fatigue. When combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), hypnosis can assist with weight loss. Clinical hypnosis is a tool for self-management and coping.
What can I expect during a session?
Conversation: The first clinical hypnosis session will begin with a conversation about your concerns and goals. Based on this discussion, the clinician will help create a personalized plan that fits your needs.
Guided State: During the session, the clinician will guide you into a natural state of focused attention. You may feel deeply relaxed or focused. This state can help you access your inner resources and discover new ways to cope, heal, and grow. You remain in control throughout the session and can stop at any time.
Is clinical hypnosis safe and effective?
An evidence map of Guided Imagery, Biofeedback, and Hypnosis was developed by VA’s Health Services Research & Development. This evidence map limited itself to meta-analysis studies.
Conditions with evidence of positive effect include: anxiety disorders, anxiety related to medical procedures, insomnia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. High-confidence evidence that clinical hypnosis is effective for anxiety in cancer patients, breast cancer care, obesity and weight loss.
A summary of double-blind studies suggests Clinical Hypnosis as a tool to consider as possible efficacious or better for additional areas: pain management, headache and migraine, asthma, sleep disorders, depression, dermatological conditions, anxiety, procedural pain and anxiety, and other areas.
Policy and Research
Clinical Hypnosis (or Hypnotherapy) is one of the evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches covered by the Veterans medical benefits package when deemed clinically necessary by their care team per VA Directive 1137 — Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health (recertified December 2022). Based on literature review these approaches were found to be safe and have sufficient evidence of benefit to be recommended as appropriate components of care for the Veteran population.
Background and Policy on in VA
Clinical Hypnosis is one of the evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches covered by the Veterans medical benefits package when deemed clinically necessary by their care team per VA Directive 1137 — Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health (recertified December 2022). Based on literature review these approaches were found to be safe and have sufficient evidence of benefit to be recommended as appropriate components of care for the Veteran population.
Highlighted Publications
Citation: Freeman, M., Ayers, C., Kondo, K., Noonan, K., O'Neil, M., Morasco, B., & Kansagara, D. (2019). Guided Imagery, Biofeedback, and Hypnosis: A Map of the Evidence (VA ESP Project #05-225). Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research & Development Service.
Summary: This report provides an overview of the effectiveness of guided imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis for various health conditions, based on systematic reviews. Biofeedback was the most studied intervention, showing moderate to high confidence for conditions like urinary incontinence after prostatectomy, fecal incontinence, balance/gait in stroke patients, and headache. Hypnosis showed positive effects for weight loss in obese adults, anxiety in cancer patients, and symptoms during breast cancer treatment, though with low confidence.
Citation: Wofford, N., Snyder, M., Corlett, C. E., & Elkins, G. R. (2023). Systematic Review of Hypnotherapy for Sleep and Sleep Disturbance. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 71(3), 176–215.
Summary: This systematic review aimed to identify and analyze studies regarding hypnotherapy for sleep disturbances in adult populations. Out of 416 initial articles, 44 were included, with 47.7% showing positive results, 22.7% mixed, and 29.5% no impact. For a subset of 11 studies specifically targeting sleep disturbance with sleep-specific suggestions, 54.5% showed positive results, suggesting hypnotherapy is a promising treatment for sleep disturbance.
Citation: Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., & Haddenhorst, A. (2024). Meta-analytic evidence on the efficacy of hypnosis for mental and somatic health issues: a 20-year perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1330238.
Summary: This comprehensive overview of 49 meta-analyses aimed to provide a foundational understanding of hypnosis in evidence-based healthcare. The study found robust evidence for hypnosis in patients undergoing medical procedures and those experiencing pain, with the largest effects observed in children and adolescents. The review also highlighted that almost all outcomes (99.2%) showed positive effects, with over half demonstrating at least a medium effect size, supporting the use of hypnosis in clinical practice.
Citation: Langlois, P., Perrochon, A., David, R., Rainville, P., Wood, C., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., et al. (2022). Hypnosis to manage musculoskeletal and neuropathic chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 135, 104591.
Summary: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of hypnosis for managing chronic musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain, including nine randomized controlled trials with 530 participants. The findings indicate a moderate decrease in pain intensity and pain interference following hypnosis compared to control interventions. Notably, a significant moderate to large effect size was found for hypnosis treatments lasting 8 sessions or more, suggesting a minimum of 8 sessions could be an effective complementary approach.
Citation: Williams, R. M., Day, M. A., Ehde, D. M., Turner, A. P., Ciol, M. A., Gertz, K. J., Patterson, D., Hakimian, S., Suri, P., & Jensen, M. P. (2022). Effects of hypnosis vs mindfulness meditation vs education on chronic pain intensity and secondary outcomes in veterans: a randomized clinical trial. Pain, 163(10), 1905–1918.
Summary: This study looked at how well hypnosis and mindfulness meditation help manage chronic pain for veterans. Chronic pain is common among veterans and can be severe. The researchers compared these methods to an educational program on pain management over several months. Although all three methods reduced pain just after the treatment, hypnosis and mindfulness meditation showed better long-term results. In particular, veterans practicing hypnosis and mindfulness had less pain interference, fewer depression symptoms, and reduced worst pain intensity at later follow-ups. The study suggests that these therapies could be valuable and feasible options for pain management among veterans. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and enhance their implementation.
Learn more
Learn more about other complementary and integrative health care options by visiting the Complementary and Integrative Health overview page or clicking the links below.
