NO THERAPY has a 100 per cent success rate, and the results depend on the individual.
But science has confirmed that hypnotherapy can change our behaviour.
One well-known meta-analysis of hypnosis research studies suggests extremely high success rates (93 per cent success rate over fewer sessions than talking therapies). This comparative study of hypnotherapy effectiveness is from 1970 by a Dr Barrios.
While the study was done some time ago, the data is certainly impressive.
The study compared the effectiveness of psychotherapy, behavior therapy and hypnotherapy by looking at patients’ recovery rates using the different approaches.
In this review article, Dr Barrios pointed out that the average success rate for hypnotherapy was 93 per cent after an average of 6 sessions. This was compared to a 38 per cent success rate after an average of 600 sessions for psychoanalysis and 72 per cent after 22 sessions for behavior therapy.
Time Magazine, in an article about the power of hypnotherapy, recognises that “hypnosis has a surprisingly robust scientific framework. Clinical research has shown that it can help relieve pain and anxiety and aid smoking cessation, weight loss, and sleep. It can help children and adolescents better regulate their feelings and behaviors.
“When conducted by a trained professional and properly applied, modern hypnotherapy can provide powerful results,” Time added.
PositivePsychology.com (citing a study by Faymonville et al., 2006) wrote that hypnotherapy “has proven useful in clinical settings and insightful in research into mental processes such as sensation, perception, learning, memory, and physiology”.
Another good indicator of the efficacy of hypnotherapy is the many people around the world who have had their lives changes for the better by hypnotherapy.
