Can Hypnosis Help With Chronic Pain?

It may help some people, as one part of pain care. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says a growing body of evidence suggests hypnosis may help manage some painful conditions, and a 2024 overview of meta-analyses found mostly positive, statistically significant effects in reviews of clinical pain. The quality of those reviews is a real limit, and hypnosis is not a reason to skip a medical assessment.

What counts as chronic pain?

The Wikipedia article on chronic pain notes that the ICD-11 describes it as pain that persists or recurs for longer than three months, with contributing factors that can be biological, psychological and social. Back pain, severe headache, migraine and facial pain are among the most common types. The most common treatments, according to the article, are medicines, cognitive behavioral therapy and physical therapy.

What does the research show?

The NCCIH page on hypnosis puts it cautiously: “A growing body of evidence suggests that hypnosis may help to manage some painful conditions.”

A 2024 overview by Rosendahl and colleagues brought together 49 meta-analyses of hypnosis. Five examined patients with various kinds of clinical pain, including fibromyalgia. They reported seven effects, all in favor of hypnosis, six of them statistically significant, ranging from small to large. One review also found a reduction in sleep problems. Separate reviews of people with cancer reported large effects on pain.

The limit is quality. Of the 49 reviews in the overview, 39 were rated low or critically low in methodological quality. The direction of the findings is encouraging; their precision is not.

Is it safe?

Generally, for healthy people, but not without exceptions. The NCCIH page on chronic pain and complementary approaches says psychological and physical approaches, hypnosis among them, are generally safe for healthy people if they are performed appropriately, and that people with medical conditions and people who are pregnant may need to modify or avoid some of these practices. The WebMD guide to hypnosis risks lists rare side effects including anxiety, headaches, dizziness and drowsiness, and says hypnosis can be dangerous for people with serious mental disorders such as hallucinations, delusions or schizophrenia. It also advises making sure a doctor has first checked you for other conditions when pain is the reason you are considering hypnosis.

Where does hypnosis fit in pain care?

Alongside the main treatments, not in place of them. A session might aim at pain intensity or at sleep, the two outcomes measured in the reviews above. You can also ask the clinician to teach you self-hypnosis, so you have something to use between appointments.

People also differ in how responsive they are. A Stanford Medicine report on hypnosis research states that only about 10 percent of the population is generally categorized as “highly hypnotizable,” and the research it describes compared highly and less hypnotizable people.

Before your first session

Have three things in place: a recent medical review of the pain, a list of your current treatments to share with the hypnotherapist, and one specific goal, such as better sleep or a way to get through flare-ups. A clear goal makes it easier to judge after a few sessions whether hypnosis is adding something.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.