Evidence wiki · Norwest Wellbeing
Research
We summarise published trials and guidelines on hypnosis and hypnotherapy. This is an evidence library — not a booking page, and not our articles magazine.
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Featured cluster
Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS: the evidenceStrong evidence
5+ RCTs, about 700 pooled participants, 2 meta-analyses, 12-month follow-up, and independent replication across 3+ research groups.Gut-directed hypnotherapy is one of the best-evidenced non-drug treatments for IBS. Independent trials over four decades show that roughly 50–70% of patients get clinically meaningful symptom relief, often lasting 6–12 months after treatment.Read the evidenceBrowse by type
Topic hubs
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS: the evidenceStrong evidenceGut-directed hypnotherapy is one of the best-evidenced non-drug treatments for IBS. Independent trials over four decades show that roughly 50–70% of patients get clinically meaningful symptom relief, often lasting 6–12 months after treatment.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- History of hypnosis: a research chronicleMethods / mechanismFrom Mesmer’s animal magnetism through Braid’s naming of hypnosis to laboratory scales and clinical research. This is a history library, not a booking page.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis methods: definition, induction, and measurementMethods / mechanismHow hypnosis is named, induced, and measured. This is a methods library, not a booking page and not a condition evidence table.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for generalised anxiety: the evidenceModerate evidenceGrade B for generalised anxiety. That is the adult presentation this cluster grades. Valentine’s 0.79 is not a GAD cure rate, and it is not a 79% success figure.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation: the evidenceModerate evidenceGrade B: hypnotherapy is a studied behavioural option for quitting smoking. Cochrane 2019 found insufficient evidence that it beats other support or unassisted quitting. If a benefit exists, it is small at most.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Studies
- Carmody 2008: hypnosis plus nicotine patchesModerate evidenceCarmody and colleagues randomised 286 smokers to hypnosis plus nicotine patches or counselling plus patches. Differences at 6 and 12 months were not statistically conclusive.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Cochrane 2019: hypnotherapy for smoking cessationModerate evidenceBarnes and colleagues (2019) reviewed 14 RCTs of hypnotherapy for smoking cessation. Insufficient evidence of a greater long-term benefit than other support or no treatment.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Lang 2000: self-hypnosis during invasive proceduresStrong evidenceLang and colleagues showed that self-hypnotic relaxation during invasive radiology flattened pain, reduced drug use, and shortened procedures versus standard care.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Valentine 2019: hypnosis for anxiety meta-analysisModerate evidenceValentine and colleagues pooled 17 controlled trials of hypnosis for anxiety symptoms. The headline effect is real and easy to misread.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Viswesvaran and Schmidt 1992: smoking-cessation meta-analysisMixed / preliminaryViswesvaran and Schmidt (1992) compared quit rates across many smoking-cessation methods. It is historically influential and not the current evidence filter for hypnotherapy.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Whorwell 1984: landmark gut-hypnosis RCT for refractory IBSModerate evidenceWhorwell, Prior and Faragher (1984) randomised refractory IBS to gut-focused hypnosis versus psychotherapy and reported large symptom gains. It is the founding RCT, not the whole evidence base.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Evidence reviews
- Does hypnotherapy work for generalised anxiety?Moderate evidenceFor GAD: Grade B. Studied as an adjunct. Not a proven stand-alone replacement for CBT or medication.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for IBS? Meta-analytic evidenceStrong evidenceGut-directed hypnotherapy has Grade A evidence for IBS: consistent benefit across independent trial groups, pooled analyses, and follow-up data. Blinding is impossible.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for smoking cessation?Moderate evidenceThe short answer from Cochrane 2019: we cannot say hypnotherapy beats other stop-smoking support or no help. If it helps, the extra benefit looks small.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-C: evidence reviewMixed / preliminaryGDH evidence is thinner for constipation-predominant IBS than for the mixed/diarrhoea-heavy trial samples.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-D: evidence reviewModerate evidenceGDH trials include many people with diarrhoea-predominant IBS. Global improvement is clearer than a dedicated IBS-D meta-analysis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-M: evidence reviewModerate evidenceMixed IBS is well represented in GDH trials as part of the global-symptom evidence. Dedicated IBS-M endpoints are scarce.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy long-term results: follow-up evidenceModerate evidenceGDH trials report benefit at 12 months. Longer Manchester follow-up is encouraging but observational. Data beyond five years are thin.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for dental anxietyModerate evidenceGrade B: a few controlled dental trials sit inside Valentine 2019. That is not a withdrawn-Cochrane-sized synthesis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for IBS abdominal pain: evidence reviewStrong evidenceAbdominal pain is one of the clearer GDH signals in IBS trials and in the Flik 2014 pain analysis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for IBS bloating: evidence reviewModerate evidenceGDH often improves bloating as part of global IBS scores. Dedicated bloating-primary trials are uncommon.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for procedural and medical-procedure anxietyStrong evidenceGrade A for adjunctive hypnosis around invasive or medical procedures. That grade does not transfer automatically to weekly clinic GAD work.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- NICE IBS guidance and hypnotherapy (CG61)Moderate evidenceNICE CG61 is the IBS guideline that discusses psychological treatments including hypnotherapy. NG116 is not an IBS guideline.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Online and app-delivered gut-directed hypnotherapy: evidence and gapsMixed / preliminaryApp and online GDH programmes have encouraging trials. They are not yet the same evidence base as therapist-led 7–12 session courses.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The 90% smoking-hypnotherapy success claimModerate evidence“Quit in one session with 90% success” is a marketing line. Cochrane’s 14 RCTs do not support it. Uncontrolled clinic reports are not that evidence.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about gut-directed hypnotherapyModerate evidenceBlinding, dose, digital equivalence, subtype splits, and Australian cost-effectiveness remain open even with Grade A GDH evidence.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about hypnotherapy for anxietyModerate evidenceOpen questions: GAD-only trials, add-on to full CBT, panic and social anxiety, and transfer from the procedure suite to the clinic chair.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about hypnotherapy for smokingModerate evidenceOpen questions after Cochrane 2019: a large independent verified trial, safety reporting, who responds, dose, and remote delivery.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Comparisons
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy versus low-FODMAP: head-to-head evidenceModerate evidenceHead-to-head work suggests GDH and a low-FODMAP diet can produce comparable IBS improvement. Neither dominates for everyone.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy plus CBT for anxiety: adjunct, not replacementModerate evidenceThe defensible comparison is add-on, not instead-of. Valentine’s combined packages beat stand-alone hypnosis. That is not licence to drop CBT.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Methods
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy sessions: week-by-week Manchester protocolMethods / mechanismThe Manchester-model trials used a 7–12 session gut-focused protocol plus daily home practice. This page describes that research protocol.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- How gut-directed hypnotherapy works: mechanismsMethods / mechanismGDH is a protocolised gut–brain intervention. Proposed mechanisms include reduced visceral hypersensitivity, autonomic rebalancing, and less catastrophic attention to gut sensation.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- How we evaluate evidenceMethods / mechanismHow this research wiki assigns evidence grades A, B, C, D, and M; conservative, citation-first, and honest about blinding and conflicts.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic induction: from Braid’s fixation to verbal suggestionMethods / mechanismAn induction is the procedure that starts a hypnotic session. Braid described prolonged visual fixation; Nancy later emphasised speech.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- IBS red flags: see a doctor firstMethods / mechanismGut-directed hypnotherapy is for diagnosed or likely IBS after medical assessment. Unexplained weight loss, bleeding, anaemia, and related features need a doctor first.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Single-session versus multi-session smoking hypnotherapyMethods / mechanismSmoking-hypnotherapy trials are not one dose. Protocols range from a single visit to multi-session packages. Cochrane could not pool them as one method.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Your first gut-directed hypnotherapy session: protocol and assessmentMethods / mechanismWhat published GDH protocols do in session one: consent, symptom measures, induction, and homework. Magazine prep lives on the articles site.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Concepts
- Absorption: Tellegen and Atkinson’s trait measureMethods / mechanismAbsorption is a personality-scale name for openness to self-altering, immersive experience. Tellegen and Atkinson linked it to hypnotic susceptibility.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Dissociation and neodissociation in laboratory hypnosisMethods / mechanismHilgard used dissociation for splits in cognitive control under suggestion. That is a laboratory account, not a clinic package and not a DSM label.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic analgesia: a laboratory pain suggestionMethods / mechanismHypnotic analgesia is a suggested reduction of pain in the laboratory. Hilgard tested whether it behaved like opioid analgesia.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic catalepsy: suggestive immobility, not Charcot’s three phasesMethods / mechanismCatalepsy in the Nancy sense is a limb or posture held because it was suggested. It is not proof of Charcot’s grand hypnotisme.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic susceptibility: what the laboratory scales measureMethods / mechanismHypnotic susceptibility is a measured tendency to respond to standardised suggestions. It is a laboratory score, not a personality type and not a clinic offer.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Ideomotor response: Carpenter’s 1852 accountMethods / mechanismCarpenter argued that an idea can direct muscular movement independently of volition. That is a nineteenth-century methods claim, not a clinic technique brand.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Response expectancy: Kirsch’s non-state accountMethods / mechanismResponse expectancies are expectations of non-volitional responses. Kirsch argued they shape hypnotic and placebo experience.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Suggestion: Nancy’s working ideaMethods / mechanismSuggestion is the Nancy school’s name for the idea that communicated expectations can change experience and movement. It is a methods concept, not a treatment grade.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The gut–brain axis in IBS: why hypnotherapy targets this pathwayMethods / mechanismIBS is a disorder of gut–brain interaction. That is why a gut-focused psychological therapy is a rational treatment target, not because IBS is “all in the head.”Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Trance: a contested wordMethods / mechanismTrance is everyday and clinical language for looking absorbed or less responsive to the room. Researchers disagree whether it names a unique state.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
History
- Charcot, the Salpêtrière, and hypnosis in late-nineteenth-century medicineMethods / mechanismJean-Martin Charcot used hypnosis in the study of hysteria at the Salpêtrière. The Nancy school disputed his account. The episode shaped medicine, and later scepticism.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Ernest Hilgard and laboratory hypnosisMethods / mechanismErnest R. Hilgard’s Stanford laboratory made hypnotisability a measurable trait and argued for neodissociation. That is the modern lab story.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Freud’s use and abandonment of hypnosisMethods / mechanismSigmund Freud used hypnosis early, then moved to free association. That career turn is often misread as a scientific refutation of all hypnosis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis in Australia: a thinner documentary trailMethods / mechanismAustralia has practising clinicians and no AHPRA ‘hypnotherapy board.’ This page refuses a fake national lineage.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis in Second World War medicineMethods / mechanismHypnosis was used in some Second World War medical and psychiatric settings. That is part of the chronicle, not the modern trial base.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- James Braid and the birth of the word hypnosisMethods / mechanismJames Braid’s 1843 Neurypnology broke with animal magnetism and introduced a nervous-sleep account that gave English its word hypnosis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Mesmer and animal magnetism: what the 1784 commission actually testedMethods / mechanismFranz Anton Mesmer claimed an animal-magnetic fluid. The 1784 commission around Franklin concluded that reported effects were not proof of that fluid.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Milton Erickson: clinical style, cases, and limits of the legendMethods / mechanismMilton H. Erickson shaped twentieth-century clinical hypnosis through cases and indirect suggestion. That is a historical influence, not a Grade A protocol.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Modern clinical hypnosis: from reputation to trial literatureMethods / mechanismAfter stage reputation and hospital theatre, hypnosis gained laboratory scales and, later, condition-specific trials. Those trials are graded elsewhere.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The Nancy school: Liébeault, Bernheim, and suggestionMethods / mechanismLiébeault and Bernheim treated hypnosis as suggestion, not a hysterical neurosis. That is the Nancy side of the Salpêtrière dispute; history, not a treatment grade.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
FAQs
- Anxiety hypnotherapy: frequent questionsModerate evidenceShort answers on Grade B versus Grade A, the 0.79 misreading, CBT, dental anxiety, and sibling diagnoses.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS: frequently asked questionsMethods / mechanismShort answers on GDH for IBS: evidence, session protocols versus clinic care, red flags, diet, and apps. Not a booking form.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Smoking hypnotherapy: frequent questionsModerate evidenceShort answers on whether hypnotherapy helps smokers quit, the 90% claim, session count, patches, and what the trials actually compared.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
Browse by topic
AnxietyGraded evidence on anxiety. The hub grades generalised anxiety (GAD) as Grade B. Procedure-day distress is graded separately. Treatment and booking live on the clinic pages.9 pagesCondition evidenceGraded evidence on specific conditions. Treatment and booking live on the clinic condition pages.19 pagesHabits & BehaviourHabit change. Smoking-cessation evidence is graded here. Treatment and booking live on the clinic pages.9 pagesEvidence baseSystematic reviews, guidelines, and research methodology notes.1 pageMethodsHow hypnosis is defined, induced, and measured. Concepts and laboratory methods, not treatment pages.11 pagesHistoryFigures, eras, and how the word hypnosis entered medicine. Not treatment pages.11 pages
All pages
- Absorption: Tellegen and Atkinson’s trait measureMethods / mechanismAbsorption is a personality-scale name for openness to self-altering, immersive experience. Tellegen and Atkinson linked it to hypnotic susceptibility.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Anxiety hypnotherapy: frequent questionsModerate evidenceShort answers on Grade B versus Grade A, the 0.79 misreading, CBT, dental anxiety, and sibling diagnoses.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Carmody 2008: hypnosis plus nicotine patchesModerate evidenceCarmody and colleagues randomised 286 smokers to hypnosis plus nicotine patches or counselling plus patches. Differences at 6 and 12 months were not statistically conclusive.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Charcot, the Salpêtrière, and hypnosis in late-nineteenth-century medicineMethods / mechanismJean-Martin Charcot used hypnosis in the study of hysteria at the Salpêtrière. The Nancy school disputed his account. The episode shaped medicine, and later scepticism.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Cochrane 2019: hypnotherapy for smoking cessationModerate evidenceBarnes and colleagues (2019) reviewed 14 RCTs of hypnotherapy for smoking cessation. Insufficient evidence of a greater long-term benefit than other support or no treatment.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Dissociation and neodissociation in laboratory hypnosisMethods / mechanismHilgard used dissociation for splits in cognitive control under suggestion. That is a laboratory account, not a clinic package and not a DSM label.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for generalised anxiety?Moderate evidenceFor GAD: Grade B. Studied as an adjunct. Not a proven stand-alone replacement for CBT or medication.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for IBS? Meta-analytic evidenceStrong evidenceGut-directed hypnotherapy has Grade A evidence for IBS: consistent benefit across independent trial groups, pooled analyses, and follow-up data. Blinding is impossible.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for smoking cessation?Moderate evidenceThe short answer from Cochrane 2019: we cannot say hypnotherapy beats other stop-smoking support or no help. If it helps, the extra benefit looks small.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Ernest Hilgard and laboratory hypnosisMethods / mechanismErnest R. Hilgard’s Stanford laboratory made hypnotisability a measurable trait and argued for neodissociation. That is the modern lab story.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Freud’s use and abandonment of hypnosisMethods / mechanismSigmund Freud used hypnosis early, then moved to free association. That career turn is often misread as a scientific refutation of all hypnosis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-C: evidence reviewMixed / preliminaryGDH evidence is thinner for constipation-predominant IBS than for the mixed/diarrhoea-heavy trial samples.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-D: evidence reviewModerate evidenceGDH trials include many people with diarrhoea-predominant IBS. Global improvement is clearer than a dedicated IBS-D meta-analysis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS-M: evidence reviewModerate evidenceMixed IBS is well represented in GDH trials as part of the global-symptom evidence. Dedicated IBS-M endpoints are scarce.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS: frequently asked questionsMethods / mechanismShort answers on GDH for IBS: evidence, session protocols versus clinic care, red flags, diet, and apps. Not a booking form.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS: the evidenceStrong evidenceGut-directed hypnotherapy is one of the best-evidenced non-drug treatments for IBS. Independent trials over four decades show that roughly 50–70% of patients get clinically meaningful symptom relief, often lasting 6–12 months after treatment.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy long-term results: follow-up evidenceModerate evidenceGDH trials report benefit at 12 months. Longer Manchester follow-up is encouraging but observational. Data beyond five years are thin.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy sessions: week-by-week Manchester protocolMethods / mechanismThe Manchester-model trials used a 7–12 session gut-focused protocol plus daily home practice. This page describes that research protocol.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy versus low-FODMAP: head-to-head evidenceModerate evidenceHead-to-head work suggests GDH and a low-FODMAP diet can produce comparable IBS improvement. Neither dominates for everyone.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- History of hypnosis: a research chronicleMethods / mechanismFrom Mesmer’s animal magnetism through Braid’s naming of hypnosis to laboratory scales and clinical research. This is a history library, not a booking page.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- How gut-directed hypnotherapy works: mechanismsMethods / mechanismGDH is a protocolised gut–brain intervention. Proposed mechanisms include reduced visceral hypersensitivity, autonomic rebalancing, and less catastrophic attention to gut sensation.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- How we evaluate evidenceMethods / mechanismHow this research wiki assigns evidence grades A, B, C, D, and M; conservative, citation-first, and honest about blinding and conflicts.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis in Australia: a thinner documentary trailMethods / mechanismAustralia has practising clinicians and no AHPRA ‘hypnotherapy board.’ This page refuses a fake national lineage.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis in Second World War medicineMethods / mechanismHypnosis was used in some Second World War medical and psychiatric settings. That is part of the chronicle, not the modern trial base.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnosis methods: definition, induction, and measurementMethods / mechanismHow hypnosis is named, induced, and measured. This is a methods library, not a booking page and not a condition evidence table.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for dental anxietyModerate evidenceGrade B: a few controlled dental trials sit inside Valentine 2019. That is not a withdrawn-Cochrane-sized synthesis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for generalised anxiety: the evidenceModerate evidenceGrade B for generalised anxiety. That is the adult presentation this cluster grades. Valentine’s 0.79 is not a GAD cure rate, and it is not a 79% success figure.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for IBS abdominal pain: evidence reviewStrong evidenceAbdominal pain is one of the clearer GDH signals in IBS trials and in the Flik 2014 pain analysis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for IBS bloating: evidence reviewModerate evidenceGDH often improves bloating as part of global IBS scores. Dedicated bloating-primary trials are uncommon.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for procedural and medical-procedure anxietyStrong evidenceGrade A for adjunctive hypnosis around invasive or medical procedures. That grade does not transfer automatically to weekly clinic GAD work.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation: the evidenceModerate evidenceGrade B: hypnotherapy is a studied behavioural option for quitting smoking. Cochrane 2019 found insufficient evidence that it beats other support or unassisted quitting. If a benefit exists, it is small at most.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy plus CBT for anxiety: adjunct, not replacementModerate evidenceThe defensible comparison is add-on, not instead-of. Valentine’s combined packages beat stand-alone hypnosis. That is not licence to drop CBT.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic analgesia: a laboratory pain suggestionMethods / mechanismHypnotic analgesia is a suggested reduction of pain in the laboratory. Hilgard tested whether it behaved like opioid analgesia.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic catalepsy: suggestive immobility, not Charcot’s three phasesMethods / mechanismCatalepsy in the Nancy sense is a limb or posture held because it was suggested. It is not proof of Charcot’s grand hypnotisme.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic induction: from Braid’s fixation to verbal suggestionMethods / mechanismAn induction is the procedure that starts a hypnotic session. Braid described prolonged visual fixation; Nancy later emphasised speech.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotic susceptibility: what the laboratory scales measureMethods / mechanismHypnotic susceptibility is a measured tendency to respond to standardised suggestions. It is a laboratory score, not a personality type and not a clinic offer.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- IBS red flags: see a doctor firstMethods / mechanismGut-directed hypnotherapy is for diagnosed or likely IBS after medical assessment. Unexplained weight loss, bleeding, anaemia, and related features need a doctor first.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Ideomotor response: Carpenter’s 1852 accountMethods / mechanismCarpenter argued that an idea can direct muscular movement independently of volition. That is a nineteenth-century methods claim, not a clinic technique brand.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- James Braid and the birth of the word hypnosisMethods / mechanismJames Braid’s 1843 Neurypnology broke with animal magnetism and introduced a nervous-sleep account that gave English its word hypnosis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Lang 2000: self-hypnosis during invasive proceduresStrong evidenceLang and colleagues showed that self-hypnotic relaxation during invasive radiology flattened pain, reduced drug use, and shortened procedures versus standard care.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Mesmer and animal magnetism: what the 1784 commission actually testedMethods / mechanismFranz Anton Mesmer claimed an animal-magnetic fluid. The 1784 commission around Franklin concluded that reported effects were not proof of that fluid.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Milton Erickson: clinical style, cases, and limits of the legendMethods / mechanismMilton H. Erickson shaped twentieth-century clinical hypnosis through cases and indirect suggestion. That is a historical influence, not a Grade A protocol.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Modern clinical hypnosis: from reputation to trial literatureMethods / mechanismAfter stage reputation and hospital theatre, hypnosis gained laboratory scales and, later, condition-specific trials. Those trials are graded elsewhere.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- NICE IBS guidance and hypnotherapy (CG61)Moderate evidenceNICE CG61 is the IBS guideline that discusses psychological treatments including hypnotherapy. NG116 is not an IBS guideline.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Online and app-delivered gut-directed hypnotherapy: evidence and gapsMixed / preliminaryApp and online GDH programmes have encouraging trials. They are not yet the same evidence base as therapist-led 7–12 session courses.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Response expectancy: Kirsch’s non-state accountMethods / mechanismResponse expectancies are expectations of non-volitional responses. Kirsch argued they shape hypnotic and placebo experience.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Single-session versus multi-session smoking hypnotherapyMethods / mechanismSmoking-hypnotherapy trials are not one dose. Protocols range from a single visit to multi-session packages. Cochrane could not pool them as one method.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Smoking hypnotherapy: frequent questionsModerate evidenceShort answers on whether hypnotherapy helps smokers quit, the 90% claim, session count, patches, and what the trials actually compared.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Suggestion: Nancy’s working ideaMethods / mechanismSuggestion is the Nancy school’s name for the idea that communicated expectations can change experience and movement. It is a methods concept, not a treatment grade.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The 90% smoking-hypnotherapy success claimModerate evidence“Quit in one session with 90% success” is a marketing line. Cochrane’s 14 RCTs do not support it. Uncontrolled clinic reports are not that evidence.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The gut–brain axis in IBS: why hypnotherapy targets this pathwayMethods / mechanismIBS is a disorder of gut–brain interaction. That is why a gut-focused psychological therapy is a rational treatment target, not because IBS is “all in the head.”Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- The Nancy school: Liébeault, Bernheim, and suggestionMethods / mechanismLiébeault and Bernheim treated hypnosis as suggestion, not a hysterical neurosis. That is the Nancy side of the Salpêtrière dispute; history, not a treatment grade.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Trance: a contested wordMethods / mechanismTrance is everyday and clinical language for looking absorbed or less responsive to the room. Researchers disagree whether it names a unique state.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Valentine 2019: hypnosis for anxiety meta-analysisModerate evidenceValentine and colleagues pooled 17 controlled trials of hypnosis for anxiety symptoms. The headline effect is real and easy to misread.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Viswesvaran and Schmidt 1992: smoking-cessation meta-analysisMixed / preliminaryViswesvaran and Schmidt (1992) compared quit rates across many smoking-cessation methods. It is historically influential and not the current evidence filter for hypnotherapy.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about gut-directed hypnotherapyModerate evidenceBlinding, dose, digital equivalence, subtype splits, and Australian cost-effectiveness remain open even with Grade A GDH evidence.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about hypnotherapy for anxietyModerate evidenceOpen questions: GAD-only trials, add-on to full CBT, panic and social anxiety, and transfer from the procedure suite to the clinic chair.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about hypnotherapy for smokingModerate evidenceOpen questions after Cochrane 2019: a large independent verified trial, safety reporting, who responds, dose, and remote delivery.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Whorwell 1984: landmark gut-hypnosis RCT for refractory IBSModerate evidenceWhorwell, Prior and Faragher (1984) randomised refractory IBS to gut-focused hypnosis versus psychotherapy and reported large symptom gains. It is the founding RCT, not the whole evidence base.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Your first gut-directed hypnotherapy session: protocol and assessmentMethods / mechanismWhat published GDH protocols do in session one: consent, symptom measures, induction, and homework. Magazine prep lives on the articles site.Last reviewed 27 August 2026