In the summer of this year, I was given a brilliant handout by Donald Robertson based upon a review published by David M. Wark, as cited in his paper that featured in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, July 2008. The paper, entitled ‘What we can do with hypnosis: a brief note’, reviewed some of the important pieces of research in the field of hypnotherapy.
For those of you that are hypnotherapists, students of hypnotherapy, or have an interestin and are exploring the field of hypnotherapy, this is some truly marvellous information to give you some pointers when seeking out empirically supported evidence in the field of hypnotherapy.
You can track down these pieces of research at the various research websites online to examine them further. The full references can be found in Wark’s paper along with the full criteria of the results shown, but here is it all in a nutshell:
Target Disorder Note Source
Acute pain (adult)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â See Patterson and Jensen, 2003Â Â Â Â Â (Patterson & Jensen, 2003)
for a greater summary of findings
Acute pain (children)                  Hypnosis > distraction for                  (Zeltzer & LaBaron, 1982)
bone marrow aspiration
Anorexia                                          Staged treatment with hypnosis >    (Baker & Nash, 1987)
same without hypnosis
Anxiety about asthma               Hypnosis reduces anxiety about        (Brown, 2007)
attack asthma attacks
Anxiety about public                 Hypnosis reduces fear > CBT               (Schoenberger, Kirsch, Gearan,
speaking                                                                                                                     Montgomery, & Pastyrnak, S.L.,
1997)
Anxiety about taking a test      Self-hypnosis reduces test anxiety >     (Stanton, 1994)
discussion control
Asthma                                              Hypnosis > attention control                  (Ewer & Stewart, 1986)
Bed wetting                                      Suggestion with or without                     (Edwards & Van der Spuy,                                                               hypnosis > wait list control                           1985)
Bulmia                                                 Hypnosis = CBT > wait list control       (Griffiths, Hadzi Pavlovic &
Channon Little, 1996)
Cancer pain                                     Hypnosis reduces cancer pain               (Syrjala, Cummings &
Donaldson, 1992)
Chemotherapy distress             Hypnosis > conversation + antiemetic (Jacknow, Tschann, Link &
medication Boyce, 1994)
Cystic fibrosis                                Self-hypnosis > wait list control                (Belsky & Khanna, 1994)
Depression                                      Hypnosis adds to CBT effect                        (Alladin & Alibhai, 2007)
treating depression
Distress during surgery            Hypnosis reduces anxiety and pain >     (Lang, Berbaum, Faintuck,
controls                                                             Hatsiopoulou, Halsey, Li et al,
2006)
Hemorrhage                            Preoperative suggestion reduces                   (Enqvist, von Konow &
blood flow                                  Bystedt, 1995)
High blood pressure             Hypnosis > wait list control to                          (Gay, 2007)
lower BP long term
Hip or knee osteoarthritis    Hypnosis = relaxation > wait list         (Gay,Philippot &                                                           pain control                                                          Luminet, 2002)
Insomnia without medical    Hypnosis + CBT > medication                  (Graci & Hardie, 2007)
source                                                                   long term
Irritable bowel syndrome       Hypnosis > psychotherapy for  (Whorwell, Prior & Faragher, 1984)
symptom reduction
Nausea and hyperemesis       “Relaxation†(similar to hypnosis) >     (Lyles, Burish, Krozely &
control                                                        Oldham, 1982)
Obstetrics pain                            Hypnosis shortens labor and reduces    (Jenkins & Prichard, 1933)
analgesic use
Surgery pain (Adult)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Self-hypnosis reduces drug use >Â Â Â Â Â Â (Lang, Joyce, Spiegel, Hamilton
attention control                                        & Lee, 1996)
Surgery pain (Child)                      Hypnosis reduces pain and hospital                (Lambert, 1996)
time > control
Trauma recovery                             Desensitization = hypnosis =          (Brom, Kleber & Defares, 1989)
psychodynamic > control
Wart Removal                    Suggestion with or without hypnosis > (Spanos, Williams & Gwynn, 1990)
control or medication
So there are one or two pieces of full-on evidence and research to suggest hypnotherapy really is an empirically-supported treatment, eh?