See What Major Institutions Are Saying About Hypnotherapy
Scroll through the list of major institutions below for links to discussions on hypnotherapy from people you trust.
Mayo Clinic
Hypnosis can be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain. It's important to know that although you're more open to suggestion during hypnosis, you don't lose control over your behavior.
Stanford University
“Hypnosis is the oldest Western form of psychotherapy, but it’s been tarred with the brush of dangling watches and purple capes,” says David Spiegel, MD, professor and associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “In fact, it’s a very powerful means of changing the way we use our minds to control perception and our bodies.”
John Hopkins Medical School
Hypnosis is similar to sleep where the mind is in an altered, relaxed state. When under hypnosis, the mind can still access memories, sensations, and other thoughts. It's used for things such as breaking bad habits, controlling pain, managing stress, and many other health conditions.
Harvard Medical School
The term "hypnosis," invented in the 19th century, is derived from the Greek word for sleep, but the derivation is misleading. People undergoing hypnosis are often physically relaxed, and they may be told to close their eyes to enter a hypnotic state, but they remain fully awake and alert. Yet the way that the brain processes information during hypnosis does suggest an alteration in consciousness that researchers are still trying to understand.
Bethesda Medical School
"There is strong scientific evidence of the efficacy of hypnosis for control of pain, anxiety, sleep problems, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy," says Daniel L. Handel, MD, a staff clinician in the pain and palliative care service at NIH.
Pyschology Today
While hypnosis is often associated with sideshow performances, it's not a magical act. Rather, it’s a technique for putting someone into a state of heightened concentration where they are more suggestible. Therapists use hypnosis (also referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnotic suggestion) to help patients break bad habits, such as smoking, or achieve some other positive change, like losing weight. They accomplish this with the help of mental imagery and soothing verbal repetition that eases the patient into a trance-like state; once relaxed, patients’ minds are more open to transformative messages.