Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy is one of the alternative therapies used in the treatment of diseases. However, its adoption in the medical field is still low due to lack of awareness about its effectiveness or people’s negative concepts about it. Most studies have been focusing on the effectiveness of this technique on treating various diseases and conditions like chronic pain, anxiety, and nausea without reviewing how people feel about the therapy.
Different measurement tools have also been developed to measure individual perceptions with regard to hypnosis (Franquelo et al, 2020). Thus, it is necessary to conduct studies to review people’s views towards hypnotherapy to determine the key factors influencing people’s ideas about hypnosis. Existing studies on this area of research have been focusing on the different beliefs about the hypnotic state, the effects of hypnosis, and the way hypnotic control functions.
According to Krouwel & Greenfield (2017), researchers have found that most individuals believe that hypnotic state is an altered state of consciousness. Other studies have also found that some individuals do not view hypnotic state as a “sleep state”. Others have accepted the concepts of depersonalization and dissociation as used to describe hypnotic state.
Concerning hypnotic control, a few studies have indicated that people are divided on who is responsible for inducing hypnotic control, whether it is the hypnotist or the individual being hypnotized. Moreover, several studies have also shown that most people feel that hypnotized individuals have reduced awareness. There is a lot of literature indicating that most members of the public believe that hypnosis results in internally focused or reduced awareness.
Regarding beneficial effects of hypnosis, research shows that hypnotherapy is embraced by many as a psychological intervention, especially for conditions like anxiety. However, most people do not believe that hypnotherapy can treat physical illness. There is strong belief that hypnotherapy can be used as an additional technique to medical treatment.
Several studies have also shown that hypnotic intervention for pain control has gained wide attention as most people believe that the technique is effective. It has also been determined that most people endorse the idea of memory enhancement as they believe that hypnotherapy can enhance and suppress memory. The abilities and skills of hypnotherapists have also been examined in various studies.
This is always reviewed in conjunction with the hypnotherapists’ association with the relevant medical bodies and professions. There is evidence suggesting that most people expect hypnotherapists to be associated with psychological or medical establishment. Most individuals also view a hypnotist’s skills as a key factor in the success of hypnotherapy in treatment of various illnesses. However, there is no evidence to suggest that place of practice or the hypnotist’s traits is important.
These studies indicate that most people view hypnosis as an altered state which an individual can enter when guided by a qualified practitioner. They believe that once an individual enters this state their awareness is altered to some extent and that they can gain some medical and psychological benefits while in this state. These studies indicate that the majority of people endorse hypnosis for the treatment of various illnesses and conditions while only a few people do not believe in its efficacy.
References
Franquelo, M. A., Monteiro, D., Tomás-Marco, I., Capafons, A., & Hernández-Mendo, A. (2020). Psychometric properties of the Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs Towards Hypnosis (client version) (VSABTH-C) online version. Current Psychology, 1-11.
Krouwel, M., Jolly, K., & Greenfield, S. (2017). What the public think about hypnosis and hypnotherapy: A narrative review of literature covering opinions and attitudes of the general public 1996–2016. Complementary therapies in medicine, 32, 75-84.
Melvin S. Marsh is a certified hypnotherapist serving Atlanta GA, Augusta GA, Statesboro GA, and Savannah GA. He performs hypnotherapy appointments both in person (although that is on hold due to covid) and worldwide virtually. He can be reached at www.afterhourshypnotherapy.com .
