Clinical Studies
Trevor Thompson, Devin B. Terhune, Charlotte Oram, Joseph Sharangparni, Rommana Rouf, Marco Solmi, Nicola Veronese, Brendon Stubbs,
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 99, 2019, Pages 298-310, ISSN 0149-7634,
"These findings suggest that hypnotic intervention can deliver meaningful pain relief for most people and therefore may be an effective and safe alternative to pharmaceutical intervention.”
Milling, L. S., Valentine, K. E., LoStimolo, L. M., Nett, A. M., & McCarley, H. S. (2021)
Hypnosis and the Alleviation of Clinical Pain: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 69(3), 297–322.
“Our findings strengthen the assertion that hypnosis is a very efficacious intervention for alleviating clinical pain.”
“Your mind is in every cell of your body”
a “no drug” alternative for pain
Of all the applications of hypnotherapy, relief from pain is among the most studied, and clinically supported. On this page I have cited two meta studies, one from a scientific journal, and another from a journal on clinical hypnosis. These studies note the marked efficacy of hypnosis to alleviate pain, particularly in moderate to highly suggestible (or “cognitively flexible”) people. If you are reading this, you are likely in that category, as your interest alone tends to indicate your cognitive flexibility.
My approach to pain management is based on the training I received from John Melton, a therapeutic hypnotherapist for over 30 years, and an instructor at HMI, Hypnosis Motivation Institute. His work, in turn, is inspired by Dr. John Sarno, as well as neurologist Candace Pert, PhD, and augmented by the last two decades of study in Mind Body Psychology. I also incorporate methods used by Dr. David Spiegel, Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford University, among other well-established techniques.
Note: for all pain related treatments, I require a referral from a doctor or chiropractor before we begin our sessions, ensuring there are no contraindications for hypnosis.
I work with both acute and chronic pain. For acute, pre-surgical or post-surgical pain, we engage your powerful mind to focus (yes, it can!) away from discomfort, and on healing. For chronic pain, I will ask you to be willing to consider that internal tension may be at work beneath your pain. I want to emphasize that this is a very natural and normal human condition. Your pain is real, and your brilliant subconscious mind has found a way to protect you, but now you are ready to move past it.
In the first session, I will take a detailed history, explain how hypnosis works and answer any questions and concerns, then test for suggestibility so I know what language patterns are most effective for you. We will then proceed with our initial round of hypnosis. The first session focuses on a calm, comforting experience where you can feel the power of your own mind to disassociate from the discomfort, to literally dial it down, shift it, then to build and expand this ability.
In subsequent sessions, we will continue to create an environment of soothing and calm, strengthening your ability to shift focus away from discomfort. We will also work to gently release any underlying emotions within the subconscious that may have been contributing to your pain, along with building motivation. To do this, I may incorporate EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), Therapeutic Imagery, and Somatic practices into our sessions.
The hypnotic portion of the session will be recorded and sent home with you for reinforcement, and you may have some short assignments between sessions.
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