1. What Role Does Hypnosis Play in
Psychological Treatments?
By: Molly Walker
Section Four, Mrs. Wheeler
AP Psychology Final Project: “Pysch Fair”

2. What is Hypnosis?
•Defined as “a social interaction in which one person
(the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that
certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors
will spontaneously occur”
•Such techniques have been used since antiquity – the
beginning of time!
•First person to gain widespread credit for hypnosis:
Austrian physician Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)
•Known for experiment in which magnets were
passed over the bodies of ill people who were
hypnotized, and would then wake up feeling better Austrian physician Anton
•Later study commissioned by Benjamin Franklin Mesmer, who first gained
found no evidence of this “animal magnetism” name association with
hypnosis.
Anton Mesmer. N.d. Painting. Library
ThinkQuestWeb. 21 May 2012.
<http://elvers.us/hop/index.asp?m=3&a=77&k
ey=49>.

3. •Power of hypnosis depends on the
person’s openness to suggestion – no
magic here!
•Nearly everyone is somewhat
suggestible, although only 20% are
considered “highly hypnotizable” (these
individuals generally possess rich
imaginative activity)
• What can hypnosis NOT do?
•Not admissible in court cases
(“falsified memories”)
•Cannot induce people to act against
their will (only authoritative persons
in a legitimate context can, not
hypnosis itself)

4. How is Hypnosis Used in
Treatments?
Hypnosis is used for treatments, but
they can only help patients try to
harness their own healing powers.
Treatments hypnosis is used for:
•Headaches
•Asthma
•Stress-related skin disorders
•Weight Loss
•Pain alleviation
•Enhanced athletic/entertainment performance

5. Posthypnotic Suggestions = the cornerstone to hypnosis treatment!
- A suggestion made during a session to be carried out after the
subject is not longer hypnotized
- Used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms
or behavior
How does it work? Many theories on the matter…
- Selective Attention: Instead of actually reducing pain, subject
is merely distracted
- Dissociation: Dissociates the sensation of pain stimulus from
emotional suffering
- Social Phenomenon: Subjects are “actors who get caught up
in their roles”; play the “good subject”
The key to remember?
- No one really knows for sure, but the most moderate theory
proposes that hynposis is an extension of both normal social influence
and everyday dissociations.

6. Success Rates of Hypnosis in
Treatment
Recent experiments have found hynposis does affect the brain
- 2003 study by Patterson and Jensen (PhD) finds hypnosis effective in the decreasing of
sensitivity to pain, need for sedation, vomiting, nausea, etc.
-Phrasing of hypnotic suggestion can influence if sensory components of brain respond
-Such findings conclude that hypnotic treatment was superior in results to standard treatment
-Meta-analysis of 18 studies (Montgomery, DuHamel, Redd 2000) showed 75% of participants
received pain relief from hypnotic techniques
-In a 2002 review of 20 studies on hypnosis and surgical pain, "Mount Sinai researchers found
that adding hypnosis to standard post-surgical care sped recovery almost 90% of the time, in
terms of pain, anxiety and need for pain killers.“
-1996 meta-analysis study conducted at the University of Connecticut and published in the
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found people using hypnosis were able to lose, on
average, almost 2.5 times as much weight as those not using hypnosis.
Other experiments tell otherwise
-Labor pain in women is no better relieved by hypnosis than by relaxing or distraction (Chaves
1989, D’Eon 1989)
- PET scans revealed hypnosis reduces brain activity in regions that process pain, but not in the
sensory cortex that receives the raw sensory input (Rainville 1997)

7. Research on Hypnosis Treatment:
The Child Insomnia Case
This study was conducted to determine whether or not hypnosis proved an effective
treatment for insomnia in school-age children as young as seven years old.
The conclusion? “Instruction in hypnosis, and insight derived from its use, appear to
facilitate efficient therapy for insomnia in school-age children as young as 7 years.” (Anbar
and Slothower, 2006)

8. Is it widely accepted in the scientific
community?
Hypnosis has been considered a legitimate
treatment tool by the American Medical Association
since 1958.
The NIH also certified hypnosis as an effective
intervention in 1996.
*Stay tuned, though – not every organization feels the same way!
"The study of hypnotic phenomena is now squarely in the domain of normal cognitive
science, with papers on hypnosis published in some of the most selective scientific and
medical journals." (The Scientific American, "The Truth and the Hype of Hypnosis." Michael
Nash, July 17, 2001)

9. Celebrities who use Hypnosis
Treatment
•Tiger Woods, professional golfer, uses hypnosis
regularly to improve his golfing performance (watch
him closely next time you watch a golf tournament –
he blinks his eyes twice, a hypnosis technique)
•Image citation: Tiger Woods. 2012. Photograph. People MagazineWeb. 21
May 2012. <http://www.people.com/people/tiger_woods/0,,,00.html>.
•Mozart allegedly composed an opera while under
hypnotic influence
•Image citation: Mozart. Painting. Mary Kunz Goldman: Music Critic
BlogWeb. 21 May 2012. <http://goldmanmusic.blogspot.com/2012/02/for-
mozart-fans-trip-back-in-time.html>.
•Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were also loyal
hypnosis patients
•Jacqueline Kennedy used hypnosis to cope with the
assassination of her husband
•Image citation: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. N.d. Photograph. Jackie
Kennedy at BlogspotWeb. 21 May 2012. <http://jackie-
kennedy.blogspot.com/>.
•The LA Lakers coach admits to using hypnosis on
players Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant
•Image citation: Shaquille O'Neal. N.d. Photograph. IMDbWeb. 21 May 2012.
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0641944/>.

10. •Hypnosis, despite its varying effects, is NOT considered a type of
psychotherapy – at least, not according to the American Psychology
Association.
•The APA maintains that hypnosis “is not a treatment in and of itself;
rather, it is a procedure that can be used to facilitate other types of
therapies and treatments.”
•In other words, hypnosis is considered an addition to treatment by the
APA.
•If using hypnosis, ensure that you see only a credited health care
professional that has been trained in the technique and its limitations.
•Be vigilant and make sure that the clinician is working within
the limits of their professional expertise.

11. Works Cited
Anbar, Ran, and Molly Slothower. United States. National Institutes of Health. Hypnosis for
Treatment of Insomnia in School-age children: A Retrospective Chart Review. Syracuse: State
University of New York Upstate Medical University, 2006. Web.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1559690/>.
Gregory, Sean. "Tiger at the Masters: An Ultimate Test of Toughness." TIME Magazine. 05 May 2010:
n. page. Web. 15 May. 2012.
<http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1977581,00.html>.
"Hypnosis for the Relief and Control of Pain." Research in Psychology: Research in Action. American
Psychological Association, 02 July 2004. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.apa.org/research/action/hypnosis.asp&xgt;. > Any image with
this star next to
it came from
"Hypnosis in the Medical Community." Positive Changes. Positive Changes, 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. Microsoft Office
<http://www.positivechanges.com/hypnosis-medical.php>. Clipart
"Hypnosis Today: Looking Beyond the Media Portrayal." Psychology Topics: Hypnosis. American
Psychological Association, 2012. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.apa.org/topics/hypnosis/media.asp&xgt;. >
Meyers, David G. Psychology. Eighth Edition. New York: Worth Publishers, 2007. 290-295. Print.
Winerman, Lea. "From the Stage to the Lab: Neuroimaging studies are helping hypnosis shed its
'occult' connotations by finding that its effects on the brain are real." Monitor on Psychology. 37.3
(2006): n. page. Web. 14 May. 2012. <http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar06/lab.asp&xgt;. >