This article summarises the research studies on hypnotherapy identified in a recent review as meeting the criteria for empirically-supported treatments (ESTs).
hypnotherapy
By donaldrobertson Member News News
This is a short article published in the Autumn 2009 edition of the NCH’s publication The Hypnotherapy Journal. It outlines proposed improvements to the Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) award. Comments are invited from any interested parties, especially NCH members and accredited training schools.
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.
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.
By donaldrobertson News
The NCH have just published the book The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid, the Father of Hypnotherapy, edited by Donald Robertson, which is now available from Amazon online.