How hypnosis works
How Biofeedback and Hypnosis Work Together
They can be combined, and an early example shows how. Autogenic training, a relaxation method derived from hypnosis, was paired with temperature biofeedback at the Menninger Foundation to create what became known as autogenic biofeedback. Hypnosis works through focused attention and suggestion; biofeedback shows you a body signal so you can see whether a change is happening. Each has its own evidence, and a combination needs its own justification.
How do the two methods differ?
In what guides the change. The Wikipedia article on hypnosis describes it as a condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion. Biofeedback, as defined in a 2019 evidence map in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, uses instruments to measure physiological responses and feed them back in real time so a person can learn to change them.
Put simply, hypnosis works from the inside, through attention and suggestion, and biofeedback works from the outside, through a measured signal.
How have they been combined?
Through a shared ancestor. According to the Wikipedia article on biofeedback, Schultz and Luthe’s 1969 work describes autogenic training, a deep relaxation exercise derived from hypnosis. Clinicians at the Menninger Foundation then combined a shortened set of its standard exercises with thermal biofeedback, creating autogenic biofeedback. A later Menninger program for people with high blood pressure, reported by Fahrion and colleagues in 1986, combined breathing changes, autogenic biofeedback for the hands and feet, and feedback from the forehead muscle.
In a combined session, the sensor can show whether the relaxation you feel during a hypnotic or autogenic exercise is reflected in the signal being measured, such as skin temperature or muscle tension.
Where do their evidence bases overlap?
On headaches and some kinds of pain, for different reasons. The 2019 evidence map rated the evidence on biofeedback for migraine and tension-type headaches as high-confidence. The NCCIH page on hypnosis lists headaches among the conditions hypnosis has been studied for, and says a growing body of evidence suggests hypnosis may help to manage some painful conditions.
Evidence for each method on its own does not show that putting them together adds anything. That is a separate question, and it needs its own studies.
What to ask before a combined program
Ask the practitioner three things. What research supports the combination, rather than each method alone, for your condition? Which part of the session is hypnosis and which is biofeedback, and what is each meant to do? And how will you both know whether it is working, beyond how relaxed you feel at the end? Clear answers to all three are a good sign; vague ones are a reason to choose the single method with the stronger record for your problem.
This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.