Hypnosis and Clinical Applications

Hypnosis has long been recognised as a therapeutic technique that employs focused attention, relaxation and structured suggestion to alter perception, emotion and behaviour. In clinical settings, it serves as an adjunct to conventional interventions for the management of pain, anxiety and stress. Typical hypnotic protocols begin with an induction to deepen concentration and minimise extraneous awareness, followed by tailored suggestions designed to target specific symptoms or goals. Over the past two decades, evidence from randomised trials and meta-analyses has supported its efficacy in perioperative care, oncology symptom control, dental anxiety and psychosomatic conditions, often demonstrating favourable benefit-to-harm ratios and high patient acceptability. Concurrent neurophysiological research has elucidated how hypnosis modulates brain networks involved in attention, sensory processing and executive control, reinforcing its role as a bridge between mind and body therapies. As variability in individual responsiveness remains a key challenge, current practice emphasises personalised approaches and integration into multidisciplinary care pathways.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work has provided objective neurophysiological evidence for the selective impact of hypnotic suggestion on conscious perception. In one foundational study, participants received a suggestion during hypnotic induction that a visual barrier blocked their ability to perceive target stimuli. Electroencephalography revealed that early sensory components remained intact, whereas the later P3b response—associated with attention allocation and stimulus evaluation—was significantly diminished, concomitant with impaired target detection. These findings illustrate the capacity of top-down processes under hypnosis to modulate higher-order perceptual stages without affecting basic sensory encoding.

Hypnosis and Clinical Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in hypnosis and clinical applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hypnotic induction: A structured procedure designed to establish a state of heightened focus and suggestibility.

Hypnotic susceptibility: An individual’s tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestion, commonly assessed by standard scales.

Hypnotic suggestion: Verbal or non-verbal instructions aimed at eliciting specific changes in perception, cognition or behaviour.

P3b component: A late positive deflection in event-related brain potentials linked to attention allocation and stimulus evaluation under hypnosis.

References

1. Hypnosis for Symptom Management in Adult Cancer Patients: What is the Evidence?. Current Treatment Options in Oncology (2024).
2. Effectiveness of Hypnosis in Combination with Conventional Techniques of Behavior Management in Anxiety/Pain Reduction during Dental Anesthetic Infiltration. Pain Research and Management (2017).
3. Effects of a Hypnosis Session Before General Anesthesia on Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Minor Breast Cancer Surgery: The HYPNOSEIN Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open (2018).
4. Hypnosis in the Perioperative Management of Breast Cancer Surgery: Clinical Benefits and Potential Implications. Anesthesiology Research and Practice (2016).
5. Functional Changes in Brain Activity Using Hypnosis: A Systematic Review. Brain Sciences (2022).
6. The Power of mind: Blocking visual perception by hypnosis. Scientific Reports (2017).
7. Guidelines for the Assessment of Efficacy of Clinical Hypnosis Applications. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (2022).