There is a solid body of evidence that supports the use of hypnosis for many different issues. Here are some compelling recent peer reviewed articles about hypnosis for people who are interested in knowing some of the current scientific perspectives:
Leo, D. G., Keller, S. S., & Proietti, R. (2024). “Close your eyes and relax”: The role of hypnosis in reducing anxiety, and its implications for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1411835. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1411835
Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., & Haddenhorst, A. (2024). Meta-analytic evidence on the efficacy of hypnosis for mental and somatic health issues: A 20-year perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1330238. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1330238
Walter, N. (2025). Hypnosis as a non-pharmacological intervention for anxiety: A review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 192, Article 112117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2025.112117
Zhang, H., Zhang, F., & Wang, L. (2024). Hypnotherapy modulating early and late event-related brain potentials in patients with social anxiety disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, Article 1449946. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1449946
Hypnosis is not a new concept, and has a long and storied history. It was thought by the ancient Egyptians to be ‘sacred sleep’ – a state in which healing could occur. Through the ages, others have suggested religious experiences can account for the state of hypnosis, or that it is a form of sorcery, bewitchment or enchantment.
Franz Mesmer, from whom we get the word ‘mesmerism’ (which has been, until fairly recently, a synonym for hypnosis), put forth a theory of ‘magnetic fluid’, and believed that an invisible force existed around people and living things, and which could be directed with magnets to therapeutic ends.
The psychoanalysts of later years felt that hypnosis only occurred because of the hypnotist’s power of suggestion. Contrarily, others thought that hypnotism depended on an organic (ie, structural) predisposition.
Although all of these ideas are a part of our history, they are fairly distantly removed from the modern practice of hypnotherapy. To briefly summarise a complex subject is difficult, and to this day there exist many different explanations and theories of what hypnosis is. As with any discipline, understanding the mechanism of hypnotherapy’s efficacy undergoes constant revision and refinement.
Hypnotherapy has been practiced in one form or another for millenia. It is a profoundly human practice, of one person helping another person through the medium of trance. Over time, this has been refined, and has developed from a folk or spiritual remedy to the modern practice that we know – and which has been studied and scientifically affirmed – today.
