Hypnosis

Hypnosis refers to a cooperative social interaction in which a hypnotic participant responds to suggestions made by a hypnotist. These suggestions, which involve the imagination, can produce changes in behavior, memory, perception, and thoughts. Some believe that hypnosis represents a sleep state or trance. However, hypnosis is actually a highly-focused, absorbed state of attention that can lead to vivid imagery, fantasies, and willingness to suspend one’s sense of initiative.

Research shows that hypnosis can help treat a wide variety of maladaptive behaviors, as well as some forms of mental illness or psychological distress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a disorder that results from exposure to traumatic events, such as child abuse, war, sexual assault, car accidents, plane crashes, terrorism, and natural disasters. The National Institute of Mental Health (2012) identifies three categories of symptoms associated with PTSD: (1) re-experiencing the symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts); (2) avoidance symptoms (avoiding settings or objects that remind one of the trauma, feeling emotionally numb, feeling guilt or worry, and having difficulty remembering details of the trauma); and (3) hyperarousal symptoms (being easily startled, lashing out, feeling “on edge,” and having difficulty sleeping).

Abramowitz and Bonne (2013) found that hypnotherapy (a form of therapy that incorporates hypnotic techniques) can be especially effective in treating PTSD. For example, hypnotherapy facilitates the process of working through traumatic memories, enhances coping strategies, and helps the traumatized individual develop a sense of control over his or her life.

Conduct an online search to locate an article about the use of hypnosis to treat a problem behavior (e.g., smoking, overeating) or a psychological disorder. Make sure the article was published within the last five to seven years. Please do not select PTSD for this activity, as it has already been described above.

Question 1

What problem behavior or disorder did you select? Include the URL for the Website that you used.

Question 2

Explain how hypnosis can be used to treat the behavior or disorder that you selected.

Question 3

According to your textbook, what are three possible explanations for hypnosis?

Question 4

Can you think of instances in which hypnosis may be harmful to the individual?

Question 5

Based on your research and the discussion in your textbook, do you believe that people can truly be hypnotized? Why or why not?

Question 6

Hypnosis is

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Question 7

____ combines therapeutic and hypnotic techniques.

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Question 8

Some researchers argue that hypnosis leads to _______, or the degree to which a person is able to experience an imaginary stage of affairs as if it were real.

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Question 9

Some people believe that hypnosis is a means for re-experiencing an earlier stage of your life (for example, your childhood). According to your textbook, what is this phenomenon called? Are the details that individuals recall through this type of hypnosis accurate? Explain.
Some people believe that hypnosis is a means for re-experiencing an earlier stage of your life (for example, your childhood). According to your textbook, what is this phenomenon called? Are the details that individuals recall through this type of hypnosis accurate? Explain.
Age regression refers to a form of hypnosis that allows an individual to re-experience an earlier stage of life. Under hypnosis, some individuals appear to relive experiences from their childhood. For example, they may use childlike speech patterns and behaviors. However, when attempts have been made to verify the content of these experiences, the details are often inaccurate. It appears that hypnotic participants combine fragments of actual memories with fantasies and ideas about how children of a specific age should speak and behave.
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