About Hypnosis

The Science Behind Hypnotherapy For Weight Loss

The Studies

Hypnosis Subjects Lost More Weight Than 90% of Others and Kept it Off
University of Connecticut, Storrs Allison DB, Faith MS. Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for obesity: a meta-analytic reappraisal. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1996;64(3):513-516.

Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41 (1), 35-41

Seventeen to sixty-seven year olds took part in a treatment for weight management either with or without the addition of hypnosis. In total 107 people participated. Following the end of the nine week study, both groups achieved significant weight reduction. However, at the eight month and two year follow up, only  the hypnosis group showed significant additional weight loss.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Volume: 54 489-492

Investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females, at least 20% overweight and not involved in other treatment….hypnosis was more effective than a control group (17 vs. .5 pounds on follow-up).

Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.

A study of 60 women separated into hypnosis versus non-hypnosis groups, the groups using hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds, while the non-hypnosis group lost an average of only .5 pounds

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1996

A meta-analysis, compared the results of  hypnosis weight loss treatments across a number of studies and showed that with the addition of  hypnosis weight loss increased by an average of 97% during treatment, and even more importantly increased the effectiveness after treatment by 146%.

Hypnosis Over 30 Times as Effective for Weight Loss
Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.

Our Hypnotherapy Weight Loss Programs

 

  1. What is Hypnosis?
  2. Does Hypnosis Work?
  3. Is Hypnosis Dangerous?
  4. What Does Hypnosis Feel Like?
  5. How Do You Hypnotize Me? 
  6. Celebrities Using Hypnosis

 

 Hypnosis Studies Other Than Weight Loss

81% Reported They Had Stopped Smoking After Hypnosis
Texas A&M University, System Health Science Center, College of Medicine, College Station, TX USA. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 Jan;52(1):73-81.

90.6% Success Rate for Smoking Cessation Using Hypnosis University of Washington School of Medicine, Depts. of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2001 Jul;49(3):257-66. Barber J. 87% Reported Abstinence From Tobacco Use With HypnosisPerformance by gender in a stop-smoking program combining hypnosis and aversion. Johnson DL, Karkut RT. Adkar Associates, Inc., Bloomington, Indiana. Psychol Rep. 1994 Oct;75(2):851-7. PMID: 7862796 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Hypnosis More Effective Than Drug Interventions For Smoking Cessation
Ohio State University, College of Nursing, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Descriptive outcomes of the American Lung Association of Ohio hypnotherapy smoking cessation program. Ahijevych K, Yerardi R, Nedilsky N.

Hypnosis Patients Twice As Likely To Remain Smoke-Free After Two Years
Guided health imagery for smoking cessation and long-term abstinence. Wynd, CA. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2005; 37:3, pages 245-250.

Hypnosis Most Effective Says Largest Study Ever: 3 Times as Effective as Patch and 15 Times as Effective as Willpower.

Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit.
University of Iowa, Journal of Applied Psychology, How One in Five Give Up Smoking. October 1992.
(Also New Scientist, October 10, 1992.)

Hypnosis More Than Doubled Average Weight Loss

Kirsch, Irving (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments–Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.

 

Hypnotherapy group with stress reduction achieved significantly more weight loss than the other two treatments.
J Stradling, D Roberts, A Wilson and F Lovelock, Chest Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7LJ, UK

Hypnosis can more than double the effects of traditional weight loss approaches
University of Connecticut, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1996 (Vol. 64, No. 3, pgs 517-519).

Weight loss is greater where hypnosis is utilized
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1996)

Hypnosis Reduces Frequency and Intensity of Migraines
Anderson JA, Basker MA, Dalton R, Migraine and hypnotherapy, International Journal of Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis 1975; 23(1): 48-58.

Hypnosis Reduces Pain and Speeds up Recovery from Surgery
[Hypnosis and its application in surgery] Faymonville ME, Defechereux T, Joris J, Adant JP, Hamoir E, Meurisse M, Service d’Anesthesie-Reanimation, Universite de Liege, Rev Med Liege. 1998 Jul;53(7):414-8.

Hypnosis Reduces Pain Intensity
Dahlgren LA, Kurtz RM, Strube MJ, Malone MD, Differential effects of hypnotic suggestion on multiple dimensions of pain. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management. 1995; 10(6): 464-70.

Hypnosis Reduces Pain of Headaches and Anxiety
Melis PM, Rooimans W, Spierings EL, Hoogduin CA, Treatment of chronic tension-type headache with hypnotherapy: a single-blind time controlled study. Headache 1991; 31(10): 686-9.

Hypnosis Lowered Post-treatment Pain in Burn Injuries
Patterson DR, Ptacek JT, Baseline pain as a moderator of hypnotic analgesia for burn injury treatment. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology 1997; 65(1): 60-7.

 

Celebrities Using Hypnosis

What Does Hypnosis Feel Like?

In a Hypnotherapy Session Hypnosis Feels Like Relaxation.

Hypnosis expands upon what you are already feeling or what you want to feel. It is like turning up the volume to what you are already listening to on the stereo.

In a therapists room, usually you are lying back in a comfortable chair. Because you are relaxed, with hypnosis the relaxation intensifies and so clients often feel profoundly relaxed.

Is Hypnosis Dangerous?

Hypnosis is safe because you are aware of what is happening. You can hear what the hypnotist is saying and if you want to stop the process you can. By being at the therapy office you have said I want to achieve a desired outcome. And as long as what the hypnotist is doing is taking you towards that desired outcome you are happy to go along with it.

Should there come a point in time where the process is no longer moving you towards your desired goal then you can stop  the process.

Hypnosis Reviews By Celebrities

Ellen DegGeneres Show 2006

Quit Smoking Ellen DeGeneres with Paul McKenna hypnotizing her on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
“I feel so good. I feel healthier! It seems ridiculous but my skin looks better, I just feel
like, I feel healthy. I feel really good.”

Paul-So do you feel like a cigarette?
Ellen-No, I don’t.

Hypnotherapy Versus Counseling

When life isn’t going to plan,  seeking some outside help is a great idea. The challenge though is finding out what  service to use.  There are big differences between traditional counseling and hypnotherapy. You most likely have a good understanding of what counseling involves, and probably have  a lot less knowledge about hypnotherapy. There are situations in which you could expect hypnotherapy to achieve faster and more effective results and should be consider as a good option.

Understanding the Differences.

Traditional Talk therapies involve sitting down one on one with a therapist  explaining where you are and the problems you may have, what you want to achieve or change in your life. Hypnotherapy begins the same way usually for the first 20-30 minutes, but at this point, it is where Hypnotherapy diverges from talking about the problem and hypnosis is used to actively change how you feel and respond to it.

In counseling you might discuss stratergies to help you cope in anxious situations. To take some time out, deep breaths.  While in hypnosis we seek to eliminate the feeling altogether. In counceling you may learn techniuqes to control your anger, depression, loneliness. In hypnosis we want to work on changing the emotional reaction itself. Because logical process are difficult to implement when you are already anxious, or anger or sad, or feeling down. And so it can be a lot easier if you didn’t become so emotional in the first place.

In what situations would you consider using hypnotherapy.

Where you experience strong emotional feelings in regards to situations. It could be in the form of anxiety, anger, frustration, sadness, lonilness.

Where you experience behaviors which distract from strong emotions over -eating, drinking gambling,  or any situation that resembles a strong urge or craving to do something.

Where many people see councilors for years hypnosis usually brings about change fast with 4-6 sessions.

In what situation would traditional councelling be approriate.

Where it comes to learning and applying skill based strategies, where advice is needed in dealing with particular situations, where you just  need some to talk for support.

A Quick Journey through the History of Hypnosis

Our Short History on Hypnosis begins with early cultures of  religious practices and cultural sermons . There is evidence that Egyptians, Greeks, Persians and Hindu’s all practiced trance like states.  The Egyptians were thought to have use hypnosis in the use of dream temples, and American Indians in the induction rituals of boys into manhood.  Priests or elders may have induced hypnotic states using rhythmical drumming and chanting and often the trance state was attributed to the possession of the person by demons, ghosts or spirits.

The 1600’s ushered in a time period where hypnotic inductions and beliefs were instilled upon people by healers such as Valintine Greatrakes (1628-1661) known as the Great Irish Stroker who believed himself to have been blessed with the divine gift of healing.  His nickname  was coined because with his hand he would gently stoke his patients body to cure the inflicted aliment.  Belief in himself and the belief of his patients in his healing abilities were all attributors to his phenomenal success. His healing abilities were thought to be the divine gift from god rather than a natural occurring human phenomenon.

In the 1700’s Western scientists began to take an interest in what was termed the trance state. Devils and gods were ruled out as a cause, but the alternative reasons were just as bizarre, with hypnotic induction attributed to metals, magnets and the transference of energies.

Dr. Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) formulated a method of rapidly inducing people into a trance state through the use of, magnets, hand movements and metal rods .   He attributed his ability to hypnotize people due to the stronger animal magnetism that resided inside himself over his subjects.

Mesmer accounts were soon to be discredited by the likes of Abe Faria, a Portuguese monk who put forth that a state of hypnosis was caused not by animal magnetism but by the intense concentration of the mind.  Abbe Faria thought the power of hypnotism worked by the cooperation of the patient and the use of suggestion.   Dr James Braid (1795-1860) from Scotland was the first to use the word hypnosis and put forward that hypnotism was induced by concentration.  He used bright shiny objects to focus the mind and sleep inducing words such as “sleep” to induce a hypnotic sleep. Dr Braid used hypnosis to perform hundreds of surgeries upon people, to diminish pain.

While the skills Dr James Braid developed may have been were tinkering on the brink of bringing a major advance to anesthesia in the medical world, penicillin also came about at the same time, and the use of hypnosis for pain control was sidelined.

As science has progressed so has our understanding of the hypnosis.  No longer do we believe that mystical spirits, magnets or unusual energies cause hypnosis, but that it is a natural state that can be induced by a hypnosis practitioner or by oneself with a little practise. And as the understanding of hypnosis increases so will its application in dealing with pain, self improvement and uses in a therapeutic environment.