Mindfulness Combined With Hypnotherapy Helps Highly Stressed People, Baylor University Pilot Study Shows | Media and public relations

‘New intervention’ may be as effective – or more – than existing treatments, researcher says

Contact: Terry Goodrich, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-644-4155

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WACO, Texas (June 15, 2020) – A new stress treatment that combines mindfulness with hypnotherapy has shown positive results in a pilot study from Baylor University.

The intervention is called “mindful hypnotherapy”.

“Mindfulness is a type of meditation that involves focusing attention on awareness of the present moment. It can help people cope with stress, but it can take months of practice and training,” said the searcher. Gary ElkinPh.D., Director of Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University. “Hypnosis also involves focusing attention, but it includes mental imagery, relaxation, and suggestions for symptom reduction.”

Hypnosis interventions are generally brief and have been used in pain and symptom management in clinical practice.

The basic premise of the study is that using hypnosis to achieve mindfulness goals could have many benefits, Elkins said.

“Combining mindfulness and hypnotherapy in one session is a new intervention that may be equal to or better than existing treatments, with the benefit of being faster, less intimidating and easier to use,” he said. -he declares. “It could be an interesting option for treating anxiety and reducing stress.”

As a brief intervention, mindfulness therapy could be widely disseminated and is an innovative new mind-body therapy, he said.

the study is published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

Elkins noted that while mindfulness on its own can be an effective treatment for stress and anxiety for some people, it is typically delivered in eight weekly sessions that last two or more hours each week and include a mindfulness retreat. a day of eight hours or more. This time – more than 24 hours of therapy – can be a cost and time burden for some people. Additionally, research has not shown that mindfulness-based treatments are consistently superior to standard cognitive-behavioral therapy, he said.

For the mindful hypnotherapy study, the Baylor research team recruited 42 people with self-reported high stress. Half participated in an intervention of weekly hour-long individual sessions that included hypnosis inductions and suggestions for greater mindfulness. Participants also received self-hypnosis audio recordings lasting approximately 20 minutes, each with suggestions for hypnotic induction, relaxation, and greater mindfulness.

The second group did not participate in the intervention.

Intervention materials focusing on present moment awareness, non-judgmental awareness of the five senses, non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings, self-hypnosis, compassion for self and others, awareness of personal values ​​and the meaning of life and the transition to a long-term practice of mindfulness hypnotherapy, says Elkins.

At the end of the study, the intervention group reported a strong decrease in stress and a significant increase in mindfulness. Most were very happy with the number of sessions, the ease of home practice and the clarity of the content, Elkins said. The average participant practiced almost every day, and overall satisfaction with the procedure was 8.9 on a scale of 10.

In comparison, those who did not participate in the intervention reported no significant difference between stress level before and after the study.

A limitation of the study was its small sample size, Elkins said. Future studies in larger numbers of people could be helpful, as well as mindful therapy testing for other issues such as anxiety, depression or chronic pain, he said.

* Baylor co-investigators included Nicholas Olendzki, Elizabeth Slonena, Julia Hung and Joshua R. Rhodes.

ABOUT GARY ELKINS

Gary Elkins, Ph.D., is the director of the Mind and Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor University and co-author with Nicholas Olendzki of a new book, “Mindful Hypnotherapy: The Basics for Clinical Practice”. Dr. Elkins is a professor of psychology and neuroscience. He specializes in clinical psychology, health psychology and hypnotherapy and is certified in clinical health psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is also certified in psychological hypnosis by the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis and was president of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He is past president of Division 30 (Society for Psychological Hypnosis) of the American Psychological Association and has served on the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. He is also the author of a comprehensive manual, “Medical and Psychological Hypnosis: Foundations, Applications and Professional Problems”.

ABOUT THE MIND-BODY MEDICINE RESEARCH LABORATORY

The Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory (MBMRL) is engaged in a comprehensive research program that aims to identify, understand, develop and disseminate complementary and mind-body medical interventions (clinical and experimental hypnosis, relaxation-based interventions and mindfulness) in integrative health care. The research is conducted in part with funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and internal support from Baylor University.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian university and nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by combining interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Established in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a wide range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.