Clinical Hypnosis: Assessment, Applications, and Treatment Considerations.

Abstract

Since the beginning of recorded history, procedures that today are labeled suggestive have been used to treat a wide range of psychological disturbances and physical conditions (Gravitz, 1991;Spanos & Chaves, 1991). The seemingly magical and dramatic changes in hypnotized subjects' appearance, experiences, and behaviors have largely been responsible for the widespread interest in hypnosis both as a catalyst for psychological and physical treatments and as a fascinating phenomenon in its own right.Hypnosis is enjoying a wave of popularity (see Lynn & Rhue, 1991a). Not only do substantial numbers of mental health professionals use hypnosis regularly to treat a wide range of problems (Kraft & Rudolfa, 1982; Rhue, Lynn, & Kirsch, 1993), but also hypnosis has moved into the orbit of mainstream psychology. This latter observation is evidenced by the sharp increase in the number of hypnosis articles, spanning a wide range of disciplines, that has been published in recent years (Nash, Minton, & Baldridge, 1988). The cross-fertilization of the clinical and research domains can be seen in recent compendiums of hypnosis research (Fromm & Nash, 1992), hypnotherapeutic approaches (Rhue et al., 1993), and theories of hypnosis (Lynn & Rhue, 1991a), which all contain discussions of clinical work (see Lynn, 1994). Clinicians have responded to the lure of seemingly powerful experiential techniques with a boom of interest in incorporating hypnosis into 3