Research

Keep up to date on the latest in Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis research with our Research Director's monthly research snippet

Hypnosis & Applied Relaxation (AR) – January Research Snippet

The January Research Snippet, for a change, provides a complete outline of an evidence-based protocol for modern behaviour therapy for anxiety (Öst’s Applied Relaxation). It’s suggested that this method could be easily adapted for use as a cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy treatment for anxiety, and that its standardised and simple nature (and the comparison with established methods) make it well-suited for use in treatment outcome studies on hypnotherapy for anxiety.

Hypnotherapy versus CBT: October Research Snippet

October’s snippet briefly summarises an important treatment outcome study by Schoenberger, Kirsch, et al., examining the additive value of hypnosis combined with CBT for public speaking anxiety. Prof. Kirsch will be a speaker at this year’s NCH Extravaganza event.

August Research Snippet: Hypnosis, Pain, Expectation & Placebo

This snippet discusses a recent experimental study which attempted to quantify (as a percentage) the extent to which expectation contributed to the pain-reducing effects of hypnosis, imagination, and a placebo medication. Strong evidence was derived from statistical analysis suggesting that the effect of hypnotism is “partially-mediated” by expectation, albeit to a lesser degree than the placebo effect.

July Research Snippet: Competing Theories of Hypnosis

A recent series of articles compared the influential “sociocognitive” and “response expectancy” theories of hypnosis with Alfred Barrios’ “conditioning and inhibition” theory, which reprises elements of Pavlov’s theory of hypnotic suggestion. This snippet outlines the opposing theories and research findings cited in favour of the sociocognitive position.