Here you find an overview of recent hypnosis research
May 2025
The scientist-practitioner gap in clinical hypnosis is well established. In the 2023 report from the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Task Force for Efficacy Standards in Hypnosis Research (McCann, 2023), less than a third of respondents reported using evidence-based methods in their clinical practice. As the scientific body of evidence for clinical hypnosis has grown, some methods favoured by clinicians have been left behind in the research literature. To illustrate this point; in 2000, Matthews warned that empirically founded research into the efficacy of Ericksonian hypnotherapy is needed, “lest this approach becomes isolated from the scientific hypnosis and therapy communities.” (Matthews, 2000).
We are interested in shedding light on what has been left behind in chasing the long awaited stamp of “evidence-based” for clinical hypnosis. Why are many clinicians still not using evidence-based methods? What questions are important to answer, moving forward? What are some limitations to current research methods, including how we measure and conceptualize hypnotizability? How big is the scientist-practitioner gap really? In an attempt to shed light on these questions and others, we have developed a questionnaire targeting scientists and practitioners in the field of clinical hypnosis. If you practice hypnosis clinically or are involved in hypnosis research, you are kindly invited to answer our questionnaire. The questionnaire will be part of a master’s thesis at the University of Oslo. We thank you in advance for your participation, and hope that you would like to contribute to advancing or nuancing the consensus regarding clinical hypnosis.
