Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research

There is an abundance of outcomes research for clinical hypnosis showing promising results. Nonetheless, hypnosis is still underutilized in clinical care. For a behavioral intervention to enter mainstream clinical care, efficacy needs to be demonstrated with exceptionally high quality of evidence, a...

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Main Authors: Zoltan Kekecs PhD, Donald Moss PhD, Peter J. Whorwell MD, PhD, Katalin Varga PhD, Devin B. Terhune PhD, Philip D. Shenefelt MD, Olafur S. Palsson PsyD, Giuseppe De Benedittis MD, PhD, Gary Elkins PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X241274538
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author Zoltan Kekecs PhD
Donald Moss PhD
Peter J. Whorwell MD, PhD
Katalin Varga PhD
Devin B. Terhune PhD
Philip D. Shenefelt MD
Olafur S. Palsson PsyD
Giuseppe De Benedittis MD, PhD
Gary Elkins PhD
author_facet Zoltan Kekecs PhD
Donald Moss PhD
Peter J. Whorwell MD, PhD
Katalin Varga PhD
Devin B. Terhune PhD
Philip D. Shenefelt MD
Olafur S. Palsson PsyD
Giuseppe De Benedittis MD, PhD
Gary Elkins PhD
author_sort Zoltan Kekecs PhD
collection DOAJ
description There is an abundance of outcomes research for clinical hypnosis showing promising results. Nonetheless, hypnosis is still underutilized in clinical care. For a behavioral intervention to enter mainstream clinical care, efficacy needs to be demonstrated with exceptionally high quality of evidence, and its reporting needs to be complete and sufficiently clear to enable replication and clinical use. The present article provides best practice guidelines formulated by the Task Force for Establishing Efficacy Standards for Clinical Hypnosis for conducting and reporting clinical hypnosis research.The recommendations are presented in two tiers. Tier I recommendations include essential best practices, such as a call for the use of detailed research and intervention manuals, plans for and reporting of participant-education about hypnosis, the use of hypnotizability scales with good psychometric properties, and clear reporting of the hypnotizability measurement. Tier I also includes the sharing of intervention manuals, the reporting of the induction procedure, the labeling of the intervention for participants, and the definition of hypnosis used. Tier II includes preferred recommendations, calling for measurement of adherence to home practice, measurement of hypnotizability using scales with both subjective and behavioral measures of responsiveness, and the involvement of participants from the full hypnotizability spectrum. Tier II also includes the assessment of variables related to proposed mechanisms of action, the reporting of participants prior hypnosis experiences, and the relationship of expectancies and treatment outcomes.This list of recommendations will be useful for researchers, reviewers, and journal editors alike when conducting, reporting, or evaluating studies involving clinical hypnosis.
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spelling doaj-art-8c0a4608cffa4562834f6f37cb1cec4b2025-08-20T02:16:55ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine2515-690X2024-10-012910.1177/2515690X241274538Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis ResearchZoltan Kekecs PhD0Donald Moss PhD1Peter J. Whorwell MD, PhD2Katalin Varga PhD3Devin B. Terhune PhD4Philip D. Shenefelt MD5Olafur S. Palsson PsyD6Giuseppe De Benedittis MD, PhD7Gary Elkins PhD8 Institute of Psychology, , Budapest, Hungary College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences, , Pasadena, CA, USA Neurogastroenterology Unit, , Wythenshawe, Manchester, UK Institute of Psychology, , Budapest, Hungary Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, , Strand London, UK Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, , Tampa, FL, USA Department of Medicine, , Chapel Hill, NC, USA Department of Neurosurgery, , Milano MI, Italy Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, , Waco, TX, USAThere is an abundance of outcomes research for clinical hypnosis showing promising results. Nonetheless, hypnosis is still underutilized in clinical care. For a behavioral intervention to enter mainstream clinical care, efficacy needs to be demonstrated with exceptionally high quality of evidence, and its reporting needs to be complete and sufficiently clear to enable replication and clinical use. The present article provides best practice guidelines formulated by the Task Force for Establishing Efficacy Standards for Clinical Hypnosis for conducting and reporting clinical hypnosis research.The recommendations are presented in two tiers. Tier I recommendations include essential best practices, such as a call for the use of detailed research and intervention manuals, plans for and reporting of participant-education about hypnosis, the use of hypnotizability scales with good psychometric properties, and clear reporting of the hypnotizability measurement. Tier I also includes the sharing of intervention manuals, the reporting of the induction procedure, the labeling of the intervention for participants, and the definition of hypnosis used. Tier II includes preferred recommendations, calling for measurement of adherence to home practice, measurement of hypnotizability using scales with both subjective and behavioral measures of responsiveness, and the involvement of participants from the full hypnotizability spectrum. Tier II also includes the assessment of variables related to proposed mechanisms of action, the reporting of participants prior hypnosis experiences, and the relationship of expectancies and treatment outcomes.This list of recommendations will be useful for researchers, reviewers, and journal editors alike when conducting, reporting, or evaluating studies involving clinical hypnosis.https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X241274538
spellingShingle Zoltan Kekecs PhD
Donald Moss PhD
Peter J. Whorwell MD, PhD
Katalin Varga PhD
Devin B. Terhune PhD
Philip D. Shenefelt MD
Olafur S. Palsson PsyD
Giuseppe De Benedittis MD, PhD
Gary Elkins PhD
Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine
title Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
title_full Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
title_fullStr Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
title_full_unstemmed Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
title_short Best Practice Recommendations for Conducting and Reporting Controlled Trials in Clinical Hypnosis Research
title_sort best practice recommendations for conducting and reporting controlled trials in clinical hypnosis research
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X241274538
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