Hypnotherapy: As with imagery work, hypnotherapy has been growing in popularity in recent years, and there has been extensive research done on its potential value. The following lists conditions for which it has been found to be therapeutic, and a summary of the research.

Anxiety: A study of 241 patients undergoing percutaneous vascular and renal procedures found that those receiving hypnosis maintained pain levels, while 2 control groups experienced increased pain over time. Anxiety reductions were also highest in the hypnotherapy group.       http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, published 2008

Cancer: Comprehensive searches were made of CINAHL, CENTRAL, DARE, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases through March 2005. Six randomized controlled clinical trials were found; children were the subjects in 5 of the trials. Statistically significant reductions were found for the use of hypnotherapy for anticipatory and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in children with cancer. Cancer (nausea, vomiting) & Hypnotherapy, Research Council for Complementary Medicine, publ. on April 27, 2011; 19:21.       A 1983 study showed women with metastatic breast cancer that received group therapy with hypnosis over a year reduced pain levels by 50% compared to a control group. A 10-year follow-up showed a mean survival rate of 36.6 months compared to 18.9 months for the controls. Two studies (1984, 1985) showed fewer symptoms of anticipatory nausea and vomiting with adolescent and adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who received hypnosis. A 1988 study found hypnosis that emphasized storytelling and imagery was significantly more effective than behavioral techniques or standard medical practice in decreasing distress during bone marrow aspirations in young children with leukemia. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Cardiovascular Conditions: Two studies (1982, 1986) found hypnosis helpful at reducing hypertension or increasing low blood pressure. A 1979 study found significant improvement in aerobic performance in individuals receiving post-hypnotic suggestions. A 1982 study found hypertensive subjects had more cerebral blood flow in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere, and hypnosis reduced it more dramatically and in a control group. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Childbirth: Several studies (1963, 1986, 1987) showed success with hypnotherapy in prolonging pregnancy to prevent premature delivery. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, 2008.

Dental Procedures/Pain: 24 patients, 14 males and 10 females, were provided with hypnosis or local anesthesia. Of those who received hypnosis, only 2 subjects reported pain compared to 8 subjects in the anesthetic group; the hypnosis group also had less pain during the first few hours post-operatively. Anxiety levels were the same for both groups. Abdeshah, SK; Hashemipour, MA; Mesgarzadeh, V; Shahidi Payam, A.; and Halaj Monfared, A.; Effect of hypnosis on induction of local anesthesia, pain perception, control of hemorrhage and anxiety during extraction of third molars: a case-control study; J. Craniomaxillofac Surg., 2013 Jun; 41(4): 310-5; Epub 2012 Dec. 14; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23253486.

Depression: A 1985 study found statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety and pain, and increases in beta endorphin-like substances among patients suffering arthritic pain. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

GI Issues: A research review found that the hypnotic state seems to slow down the gut. One study found that when healthy volunteers were hypnotized and asked to relax, the transit time in the GI tract from mouth to the first part of the colon lengthened from 93 to 133 minutes. A second study found that the hypnotic state decreases muscle movements in the stomach, with happiness suppressing gastric muscle activity and anger and excitement increasing muscle movement. Two studies found that subjects who used imagery to enjoy a delicious meal while under hypnosis showed an 89% increase in gastric acid secretion, while hypnotic instruction was successful in deliberately decreasing stomach acid. Nearly 50 studies have reported therapeutic benefits of hypnosis on nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy, post-surgery, and during pregnancy. In another study of thirty patients with relapsing duodenal ulcers, 53% had a relapse within a year, compared with 100% relapse rate in a comparison group.       A 1984 study in Manchester, England showed hypnosis dramatically improved IBS symptoms with patients who failed to benefit from other treatment compared to a control group that received psychotherapy and placebo pills. This led to a dozen more studies, with the conclusion of most of the studies that hypnosis seems to improve the symptoms of 80% or more of all patients with classic IBS problems, especially if they do not have complicating factors such as psychiatric disorders. In many cases, the improvement is maintained for at least one year after the end of treatment. Palsson, Olafur S., Psy.D., Effects of Hypnosis on GI Problems, School of Medicine, UNC-Chapel Hill; https://www.med.unc.edu/ibs/files/educational-gi-handouts/IBS%20and%20Hypnosis.pdf. Three studies (1984, 1987, 1989) found hypnosis significantly reduced pain and distension, and increased sense of well-being in patients who had not responded to conventional therapies; both a hypnotherapy and a control group that provided psychotherapy showed these results, but the hypnotherapy group also showed improvement in bowel habits that persisted at a 2-year follow-up; hypnotherapy showed enhanced benefits in GI function and pain reduction over hypnosis. A 1988 randomized trial of 30 patients with frequently relapsing duodenal ulcer disease found, at a 12-month follow-up, that 100% of drug-only versus 50% of drug-plus-hypnotherapy patients had relapsed. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Headaches: A meta-analysis found hypnosis to provide moderate treatment benefit for chronic headache pain, compared to other psychological interventions. (2014) http://hypnosis.tools/pain-research.html. A 1975 study of migraine sufferers found a significant reduction in the number of attacks and their severity using hypnosis 6-12 months post-treatment, compared to a control group treated with traditional medications; the number of hypnosis group patients who had no headaches over a 3 month period was also significantly higher. A controlled trial in 1987 found self-hypnosis more effective than propranolol or placebo in reducing frequency of migraine headaches in children aged 6-12 years. A 1980 study found hypnosis effective in dealing with tension headaches. A 1992 study of 42 patients who suffered from chronic headaches and responded poorly to conventional treatments found a 30% decrease in headache intensity compared to a control group. A 1988 literature review of hypnosis studies found that hypnotic methods that emphasize relaxation, hand warming, and direct hypnotic suggestions of symptom removal are the most effective in reducing duration, intensity and frequency of migraine attacks during a 10-week treatment course and at 13-month follow-up, compared to controls. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Hemophelia: Over an 18-week follow-up, hemophiliac patients who were taught self-hypnosis significantly reduced level of self-reported distress and amount of factor concentrate needed to control bleeding, compared to a control group (1986).       A 30-month follow-up with hemophiliac patients showed similar effects (1975). http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Hypertension & Stress: Two studies (1977, 1978) showed hypnosis patients or those receiving a combination of biofeedback and hypnosis maintained significant reduction in blood pressure 6 months later, compared to a biofeedback-only group. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm.

Miscellaneous Pain: Controlled trials indicate hypnosis is effective for reducing chronic pain intensity on average, but there is substantial variation in outcome (2014).       A study of 100 veterans with chronic low back pain who received live only or live and recorded hypnosis as part of their treatment found greatest improvement and maintenance of results for 3 months, compared to a group that received biofeedback only (2014). A meta-analysis of 18 studies found moderate to large hypno-analgesic effects, supporting hypnosis’ benefits for pain management (2000). http://hypnosis.tools/pain-research.html. A 1997 study showed that various types of pain can be reduced by 33% via hypnotically induced analgesia. The more suggestible the person, the greater the response; 66% of the highly susceptible group were successful, compared to 17% of the medium susceptibility group and 13% of the lower susceptibility group. A 1985 study of patients with arthritic pain showed statistically significant decreases in depression, anxiety and pain, and increases in beta endorphin-like substances, which is associated with reduced anxiety and depression. A 1986 study found benefit of hypnosis for pain levels of patients with chronic facial pain. A 1985 study of 19 patients with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders found significant reductions of pain and dysphoria following hypnosis, as well as significant increases in plasma beta endorphin. A 1989 study of 20 patients with various chronic pain syndromes showed significant pain reduction following hypnosis, when compared to a control group. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Respiratory Conditions & Immune System: Hypnosis was shown to alleviate the subjective distress of patients with asthma compared to supportive therapy, with reduced number of attacks and medication needed (1962, 1970, 1986 studies). A 1970 study of asthmatic subjects found benefit with hypnosis and relaxation therapy, but hypnotherapy’s benefits were significantly greater, peaking in weeks 7-12 of treatment. Only the hypnotic subjects showed improvement in forced expiratory volume. A 1985 study showed children trained in self-hypnosis could significantly alter their tissue levels of oxygen, as measured by transcutaneous PO2 measures.       Hypnosis was found to strengthen disease-fighting capacity of two types of immune white blood cells more than subjects receiving relaxation or no treatment. http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008.

Smoking Cessation: A review of 59 studies found mixed quality of research methods. Of the best research, hypnosis was found to be superior to a wait-list control group, for smoking cessation, and about equal to other treatments. A Cochrane Review made in 1998 looked at nine studies that measured abstinence from smoking for at least six months post-treatment, with varied results of using hypnosis and other methods. http://hypnosis.tools/pain-research.html

Surgery: Patients receiving head and neck surgery who learned hypnosis prior to surgery had shorter post-operative hospitalizations than a control group (1988). http://www.counselorsassociated.com/lifechange3b.htm, publ. 2008. A meta-analysis of 20 randomized controlled studies using hypnosis as an adjunct with surgical patients, focused on side effects (e.g., pain, nausea, distress), found that patients in hypnosis treatment groups had better outcomes than 89% of patients in control groups, and helped the majority of patients with reducing side effects of surgery (2002). A randomized controlled trial on 241 patients undergoing invasive surgery to the arteries, veins, or kidneys, under conscious sedation, randomly placed patients into a self-hypnotic relaxation, attention control, or standard care group.   Procedure time was significantly shorter in the hypnosis group, these patients remained relatively pain free throughout the surgery, and required about half the pain medication of patients in the other groups (2000).       A randomized controlled trial of 200 women undergoing breast surgery (biopsy or lumpectomy) found that those who received a 15 minute hypnosis session just prior to the surgery experienced significantly less pain, nausea, fatigue, discomfort and emotional upset than those who received 15 minutes of empathic listening prior to the surgery. There was also less need for two out of six painkilling and sedative medications.       Reduced operating room and drug use costs resulted in a cost savings of $772.61 per patient (2007).       http://hypnosis.tools/pain-research.html

Imagery Work: The particular style of imagery work that I practice, which I learned from The School of Images®, has not been specifically researched; however, imagery work as a whole has been researched a great deal. This website lists the extensive benefits of guided imagery for a wide variety of conditions, looking at research through 2006. Because of the extensiveness of the information found on this website, the reader is directed to go to the website for more specific information that relates to various physical and psychological conditions. The following are conditions for which the website identifies imagery to be a very effective treatment intervention:

 Research Links to articles at The Academy of Guided Imagery website:

• Allergies/Allergic Reactions
• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Back & Neck Pain
• Cancer Pain
• Carpal Tunnel
• Chronic Pain
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Fibromyalgia
• GERD
• Geriatric Insomnia
• Headaches
• Heart Disease
• Herpes
• Hypertension
• Insomnia
• Irritable Bowel
• Medical Procedures (pre-surgery, dental, radiation, chemotherapy, endoscopy, colonoscopy, childbirth, MRI, biopsy, angioplasty, heart surgery, MRI)
• Nerve Pain
• Pediatric Conditions (pediatric allergy, asthma, chemotherapy, surgery)
• PMS
• Sinus Conditions
• Stop Smoking
• Weight Loss