As of December 15, 2004 results from more than 3,000 clinical research studies are available showing positive benefits from hypnosis.  (According to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)

National Institutes of Health

According to studies done at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, suggestions given in a hypnotic state, even once, can produce actions in human beings that are the same type of actions that would have resulted from more long-term conditioning and practice.

Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London

In a research study on Self-hypnosis for relapse prevention training with chronic drug/alcohol users, (Am J Clin Hypn. 2004 Apr;46(4):281-97), individuals who played self-hypnosis audiotapes “at least 3 to 5 times a week,” at 7-week follow-up, reported the highest levels of self-esteem and serenity, and the least anger/impulsivity, in comparison to the minimal-practice and control groups.

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

In a research study done with 60 college student volunteers (Spring of 2004 at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona), using hypnosis with ego-enhancement suggestions showed “significantly dramatic effects” in brain-wave patterns, subjective sense of self-confidence, and test scores.

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona

As reported by NewScientist.com news service: “Hypnosis is more than just a party trick; it measurably changes how the brain works,” says John Gruzelier, a research psychologist at Imperial College in London . “Hypnosis significantly affects the activity in a part of the brain responsible for detecting and responding to errors, an area that controls higher level executive functions.” The finding is one of the first to indicate a biological mechanism underpinning the experience of hypnosis. “This explains why, under hypnosis, help cancer patients deal with painful treatments.

New Scientist

Clinical trials of therapeutic hypnosis confirm its potential benefits. Christina Liossi, a psychologist at the University of Wales in Swansea, recently conducted a study of 80 cancer patients aged 6 to 16. She found that those under hypnosis experienced far less pain during treatments than control children, who simply talked to the researchers normally.

Christina Liossi University of Wales in Swansea

According to published results of clinical studies (Am J Clin Hypn. 2004 Apr), the use of hypnosis facilitates a more uncomplicated birth process. In a separate research study done by University of Florida counseling psychologist Paul Schauble, it was also found that women who learn hypnosis before delivering babies suffer fewer complications, need less medication and are more likely to have healthier babies than are women without hypnosis. Schauble’s first study involved adolescents getting prenatal care at a public health clinic. A group of 20 patients who received hypnosis preparation were compared with 20 who were given supportive counseling and 20 patients in a control group who received only the standard prenatal care. None of the women who received hypnosis required surgical intervention in their deliveries, compared with 12 in the supportive counseling group and eight in the control group, he said. “Patients who are prepared for labor and delivery in hypnosis are more likely to absorb and benefit from information because they are in a relaxed, highly focused state,” he said.

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

In an ongoing pilot study being done by University of Florida counseling psychologist Paul Schauble, preliminary results show hypnotized patients with hypertension are more easily able to make lifestyle improvements that can lower blood pressure.

Paul Schauble University of Florida

A study being done by a team of University of Florida researchers is finding that learning self-hypnosis gives a patient greater control over the stress, anxiety and pain of medical operations and childbirth, overall. “Training patients in hypnosis prior to undergoing surgery is a way of helping them develop a sense of control over their stress, discomfort and anxiety,” says Dr. Paul Schauble, psychologist. “It also helps them better understand what they can do to bring about a more satisfying and rapid recovery.” He also said, “We’ve found, in working with individual patients, that they often feel literally stripped of control when they go into the hospital. The surgeon may do a good job of explaining the surgery, but patients’ anxiety may make it difficult for them to absorb or comprehend. This can result in undue apprehension that can create complications or prolonged recovery.”

University of Florida

In 1998 Henry Szechtman of McMaster University in Ontario and his co-workers used PET to image the brain activity of hypnotized subjects who were invited to imagine a scenario in which they were listening to someone speaking to them, and who then actually experienced a scenario in which they were listening to someone speaking to them. The researchers noted that the act of imagining a sound, called hallucinating a sound, was experienced exactly the same as real hearing, both being experienced as coming from an external source.

Henry Szechtman McMaster University, Ontario

An analysis of five weight loss studies reported in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1996 showed that the weight loss reported in the five studies indicates that hypnosis can more than double the effects of traditional weight loss approaches.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology University of Connecticut

Hypnosis became popular as a treatment for medical conditions in the late 1700s when effective pharmaceutical and surgical treatment options were limited. In 1958 hypnosis was recognized by the American Medical Association as a legitimate, safe approach to medical and psychological problems. The American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the British Medical Association (BMA), has recognized hypnosis as a viable therapeutic tool as well. Though often denigrated as fake or wishful thinking, hypnosis has been shown to be a real phenomenon with a variety of therapeutic uses especially in controlling pain.

Scientific American July, 2001

Numerous scientific studies have emerged in recent years showing that the hypnotized mind can exert a real and powerful effect on the body.

The Wall Street Journal in the October 7th, 2003

The easiest way to break bad habits is through hypnosis.

Newsweek Magazine

Hypnosis can be used very effectively for pain reduction. It can also be very useful in treating anxiety in people who are anxious.  Hypnosis has been shown to be effective in helping people to stop smoking and in controlling overeating.

David Spiegel, M.D. Associate Chairman of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University