Does Hypnosis Really Work? – What the Studies Say about Success

It’s one of the first questions we hear when newcomers are exploring the idea of hypnosis: “Does it really even work? Do we know that for sure?”

The answer is – YES. And we have multiple studies as proof!

Most of these studies have found improvements in the measurable quality of comfort, reduced needs for medication, and even positive healing outcomes of patients under medical care. While not a medical treatment in and of itself, the studies show hypnosis has a remarkable beneficial impact on patients as a therapeutic measure in several areas:

• Pain control (1, 2), even in childbirth (3)

• Anxiety relief, especially for use with presurgical anxiety (4) and patients also seeking CBT therapy for anxiety and other mood disorders (5)

• Abdominal Pain (6)

• Headaches (7)

• Post-operative healing (8)

Beyond benefiting medical or psychiatric patients, there have even been some meaningful findings about the benefits of hypnosis on sports performance. The most interesting one for our Indiana-based readers may be the 2002 study by Pates, Cummings, and Maynard that demonstrated that in a small sample team that used hypnosis as an intervention, all the athletic participants increased their mean three-point shot performance and flow scores in basketball (9).

And of course, as we practice here at Anderson Hypnosis Center, hypnosis has had measurable success as a top “alternative” method for smoking cessation. Researchers Tahiri, Mottillo, & Joseph have a metanalysis of multiple research articles finding increased positive outcomes for smokers using hypnosis as support to quit for good (10).

The benefits to hypnosis seem to be endless. It’s interesting to just browse through the long, long lists of studies and articles in the collection that we used to help source this post, 101 Proofs That Hypnosis Helps Heal Faster, Recover Stronger, and Works in Medical Treatment compiled by Dr. Richard K. Nongard (11).

To learn more about how hypnosis can help you, call us today and talk to Wally Post, Certified Consulting Hypnotist, at (765) 442-3210.

FOOTNOTES

1.       Montgomery, G. H., Duhamel, K. N., & Redd, W. H. (2000). A meta-analysis of hypnotically induced analgesia: How effective is hypnosis? International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 48(2), 138-153.

2.       Tan, G., Rintala, D., Jensen, M., Fukui, T., Smith, D., & Williams, W. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of hypnosis compared with biofeedback for adults with chronic low back pain. European Journal of Pain,19(2), 271-280.

3.       Landolt, A. S., & Milling, L. S. (2011). The efficacy of hypnosis as an intervention for labor and delivery pain: A comprehensive methodological review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1022-1031.

4.       Guner, B., Çırak, M., Çelik, D., Hergünsel, O., Bedirhan, S., & Akgul, A. (2016). The Beneficial Effect of Hypnosis in Elective Cardiac Surgery: A Preliminary Study. The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon, 64(07), 581-588.

5.        Bryant, R. A., Moulds, M. L., Guthrie, R. M., & Nixon, R. D. (2005). The Additive Benefit of Hypnosis and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Treating Acute Stress Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(2), 334-340.

6.       Tilburg, M. A., Chitkara, D. K., Palsson, O. S., Turner, M., Blois-Martin, N., Ulshen, M., & Whitehead, W. E. (2009). Audio-Recorded Guided Imagery Treatment Reduces Functional Abdominal Pain in Children: A Pilot Study. Pediatrics, 124(5).

7.       Kohen, D. P., & Zajac, R. (2007). Self-Hypnosis Training for Headaches in Children and Adolescents. The Journal of Pediatrics, 150(6), 635-639.

8.       Potié, A., Roelants, F., Pospiech, A., Momeni, M., & Watremez, C. (2016). Hypnosis in the Perioperative Management of Breast Cancer Surgery: Clinical Benefits and Potential Implications. Anesthesiology Research and Practice, 2016, 1-8.

9.       Pates, J., Cummings, A., & Maynard, I. (2002). The Effects of Hypnosis on Flow States and Three-Point Shooting Performance in Basketball Players. The Sport Psychologist, 16(1), 34-47.

10.  Tahiri, M., Mottillo, S., & Joseph, L. (2012). Alternative Smoking Cessation Aids: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 56(4), 1179.

11.  Nongard, Richard K. ed. (2016). 101 Proofs That Hypnosis Helps Heal Faster, Recover Stronger and Works in Medical Treatment. International Certification Board of Clinical Therapy: Clinical Certification Materials. Accessed 1 Mar 2025 at https://subliminalscience.com/101-proofs/