Does hypnosis work? A condition-by-condition scorecard

What counts as hypnosis?

The American Psychological Association’s Division 30 defines hypnosis as “a state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.”^[1][2] In research, that usually means an induction (a script that narrows attention) followed by suggestions aimed at one goal: less pain, calmer bowels, fewer hot flashes. Whether hypnosis is a real phenomenon at all is a separate question, covered in is hypnosis real?

That matters for the question “does it work?” The trials below tested specific programs for specific problems. A result for one condition does not carry over to another.

How we graded the evidence

We started from a 2024 overview by Rosendahl, Alldredge and Haddenhorst that pulled together 49 meta-analyses covering 261 randomized trials. They found the most solid evidence for patients undergoing medical procedures and patients with pain. They also found a lot of overlap between reviews, and only 9 of the 49 meta-analyses were rated high quality.^[2] We then checked the main meta-analysis or guideline for each condition. “Strong” below means repeated randomized trials plus either an active or sham comparison or a guideline recommendation. It does not mean certain.

Where the evidence is strongest

• Medical and surgical procedures. Across 50 trials and 4,269 adults, hypnosis reduced emotional distress (g = 0.55) and pain (g = 0.37) compared with standard care or attention control. The results varied a lot between studies, so a given hospital’s program may do better or worse.^[3] More detail: hypnosis for procedure anxiety.
• Irritable bowel syndrome. In a network meta-analysis of 41 trials, gut-directed hypnotherapy and CBT had the largest evidence base and were the most effective over the long term. The authors also rated the risk of bias as high, so the effect is probably overestimated.^[4] See our IBS review.
• Menopausal hot flashes. The North American Menopause Society recommends clinical hypnosis at its top evidence level.^[5] In a 2025 trial of 250 women, hot flash scores fell 53.4% with six weeks of self-administered hypnosis vs 40.9% with a white-noise sham.^[6] See hypnosis for hot flashes and the 2025 audio trial.

Where the evidence is moderate or mixed

• Anxiety. A meta-analysis of 17 trials found a mean effect size of 0.79 against control conditions, a medium to large effect. Hypnosis worked better combined with other psychological treatment than on its own.^[9] For anxiety disorders, CBT remains the first-line treatment. See hypnosis for anxiety: the research.
• Chronic pain. In lab pain studies, hypnosis reduced pain ratings for most people.^[7] In patients, adding hypnosis to usual care gave a small extra reduction in chronic pain, about 8 points on a 0–100 scale, and the overall certainty of evidence was very low.^[8] See our chronic pain review and procedure pain vs chronic pain.
• Weight. Two meta-analyses found large effects against no treatment or usual care. Added to CBT, the extra weight loss was very small at the end of treatment, though larger at follow-up.^[2] A later one-year trial in 120 adults with severe obesity found no significant extra weight loss from adding self-hypnosis to standard care.^[15] See hypnosis for weight loss.
• Insomnia. Hypnotherapy shortened time to fall asleep compared with a waitlist, but not compared with a sham. Eleven of 13 studies were low quality.^[10] CBT-I is still the first-line treatment. See hypnosis for insomnia.

Where the evidence is weak or missing

• Quitting smoking. A Cochrane review of 14 studies and 1,926 people found insufficient evidence that hypnotherapy works better than other behavioral support or quitting unassisted.^[11] See hypnosis for smoking.
• Depression. A 2024 review of randomized trials concluded there is not enough evidence that hypnosis reduces the severity of major depression to recommend it.^[12]
• Tinnitus. The trials are few, small and old. See hypnosis for tinnitus.
• Recovering memories. Here the evidence points the other way. The American Medical Association found that memories recalled under hypnosis can include confabulations and appear less reliable than normal recall.^[13] See is hypnosis safe?

Why does it work better for some people?

People differ in how strongly they respond to suggestion. In a meta-analysis of 85 lab pain studies, hypnosis with direct pain-relief suggestions gave clinically meaningful pain reductions of 42% in highly suggestible people and 29% in moderately suggestible people. Benefits for low scorers were minimal.^[7] In patients the link looks weaker. One meta-analysis of 10 clinical studies found suggestibility explained 6% of the variation in outcomes, and its authors questioned whether testing it in clinics is worth it.^[14] Other reviews report stronger correlations, up to r = 0.53.^[2] We cover what that means for you in why hypnosis works better for some people.

Expectation also plays a part, as it does in most treatments. For that question, read the placebo question nobody wants to answer.

What this means if you want to try it

Match the goal to the evidence. For IBS, hot flashes or a coming procedure, a structured program has real support. For smoking or depression, start with the treatments that have stronger evidence and treat hypnosis as optional. Give it a fair trial: the positive trials used several sessions or weeks of practice, not one listen.

Hypnova is a wellness app that writes personalized hypnosis sessions. None of the studies above tested it, and it is not a treatment for any condition.

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