Research & Resources

Clinical hypnosis is one of the evidence-based complementary and integrative health approaches covered by the Veterans medical benefits package under VA Directive 1137. Based on literature review, it was found to be safe and to have sufficient evidence of benefit to be recommended as an appropriate component of care for the veteran population. Conditions with documented positive effect include anxiety disorders, insomnia, IBS, and PTSD. Research indicates that combat veterans with PTSD are more hypnotically suggestible (meaning more receptive to subconscious improvement and development) than the general population.

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va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/professional-resources/Clinical_Hypnosis.asp

Using functional MRI, Stanford researchers identified specific brain areas with measurably altered activity during hypnosis — including decreased activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate and increased connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula, a brain-body connection that helps the brain process and control what's happening in the body.

Dr. David Spiegel, lead researcher and Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, has over 40 years of clinical and research experience with hypnosis and has published more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles on the subject.

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Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Associated with Hypnosis Jiang, White, Greicius, Waelde & Spiegel — published in Cerebral Cortex pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27469596/

Documented use and investigation of hypnosis spans centuries, and its therapeutic use has received endorsement by multiple medical associations. This 20-year meta-analysis examines efficacy across mental and physical health applications.

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Meta-Analytic Evidence on the Efficacy of Hypnosis for Mental and Somatic Health Issues: A 20-Year Perspective Rosendahl, Alldredge & Haddenhorst — Frontiers in Psychology, 2024 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38268815/

A systematic review of 745 publications found that 66.7% of included studies reported a positive impact of hypnosis intervention for smoking cessation.

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Hypnotherapy for Smoking Cessation — Systematic Review International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2025 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39773364/

Systematic reviews suggest that stand-alone hypnotic suggestions may improve pain outcomes compared with no treatment, waitlist, or usual care.

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​Adjunctive Use of Hypnosis for Clinical Pain Published in Pain, 2024 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11390056/

Harvard researchers demonstrated that hypnosis produces measurable, verifiable changes in brain activity — not placebo effects or imagination. Using brain imaging, the study showed that hypnotized subjects experienced altered perception at the neurological level, leading researchers to conclude that conscious experience can be deliberately changed through hypnosis. The researchers raised the possibility that hypnosis could give people greater control over normally involuntary brain functions including stress responses, hormone regulation, and immune system activity.

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Hypnosis Found to Alter the Brain Harvard Gazette: research conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical School and Stanford University: news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2000/08/hypnosis-found-to-alter-the-brain-subjects-see-color-where-none-exists/

The research above represents a fraction of the available clinical literature. The American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the British Medical Association have each formally recognized hypnotherapy as a legitimate clinical tool.

 

Amanda Heller's high-performer development practice operates within this research base.

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