A validation study of a short-form hypnotic-experience questionnaire and its relationship to hypnotizability

Association of Thought Impact Scale Scores with Hypnosis Treatment Responses and Hypnotherapy-Seeking: A Confirmation Study

Previous research has indicated that high Thought Impact Scale (TIS) scores are associated with greater therapeutic response to hypnosis treatment and greater tendency to seek such treatment. This study aimed to confirm those findings in a new population-based subject sample and also evaluate hypothesized associations of TIS scores with several hypnotic phenomena. An internet survey of 1,500 U.S. adults identified 80 individuals who had undergone hypnosis treatment. As previously found, high TIS scorers were much more likely than low scorers (median-split) to have undergone hypnosis treatment (7.2% vs. 3.2%, p < .0001), but, in contrast with prior findings, high TIS scorers did not report a significantly higher rate of moderate or greater improvement from hypnosis treatment (58.6% vs. 40.9%, p = .12). TIS scores were positively correlated with greater imagery vividness, sense of automaticity, and altered body perception during hypnosis.

Experimental pain ratings and reactivity of cortisol and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor II following a trial of hypnosis: results of a randomized controlled pilot study

OBJECTIVE

Current evidence supports the efficacy of hypnosis for reducing the pain associated with experimental stimulation and various acute and chronic conditions; however, the mechanisms explaining how hypnosis exerts its effects remain less clear. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and pro-inflammatory cytokines represent potential targets for investigation given their purported roles in the perpetuation of painful conditions; yet, no clinical trials have thus far examined the influence of hypnosis on these mechanisms.

DESIGN

Healthy participants, highly susceptible to the effects of hypnosis, were randomized to either a hypnosis intervention or a no-intervention control. Using a cold pressor task, assessments of pain intensity and pain unpleasantness were collected prior to the intervention (Pre) and following the intervention (Post) along with pain-provoked changes in salivary cortisol and the soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor II (sTNFαRII).

RESULTS

Compared with the no-intervention control, data analyses revealed that hypnosis significantly reduced pain intensity and pain unpleasantness. Hypnosis was not significantly associated with suppression of cortisol or sTNFαRII reactivity to acute pain from Pre to Post; however, the effect sizes for these associations were medium-sized.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the findings from this randomized controlled pilot study support the importance of a future large-scale study on the effects of hypnosis for modulating pain-related changes of the HPA axis and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Assessment of response to clinical hypnosis: development of the Hypnotic State Assessment Questionnaire

This study describes the development and preliminary psychometric properties of a scale for measuring hypnotic response in clinical hypnosis sessions. The Hypnotic State Assessment Questionnaire (HSAQ), a brief, multidimensional measure of hypnotic response during clinical sessions of hypnosis, is intended to facilitate supervision of hypnosis trainees and to document subjects' response in clinical hypnosis sessions. Results indicate that most HSAQ subscales have good interrater and internal consistency reliability. Furthermore, HSAQ observations correlated with post-hypnotic behaviors and subjective experiences of hypnosis. Use of the HSAQ in hypnosis training settings allows supervisors to obtain standardized data describing hypnosis sessions conducted by trainees. This data may also be used to document clinical response for record keeping or research.

The interrupt distraction procedure: a brief hypnotic intervention for belief change and diminishing distress

The Interrupt Distraction Procedure (IDP) is a brief therapeutic technique for cognitive and emotional change. It is comprised of a hypnotic induction, several 20-sec iterations during which the person concentrates on distressing thoughts or imagery or a thought they would like to believe, as well as on a neutral distracting image. It is simple to administer for clinicians familiar with other hypnotic techniques. IDP is useful when a change in beliefs is desired by a client, but some internal process is preventing such a change, and it lessens concomitant distress. It appears to be a simple therapeutic intervention that decreases emotional reactions that accompany certain thoughts or imagery providing some alleviation of symptoms in somatoform, mood and anxiety disorders.