Is hypnosis ever a one-session “quick fix” for a problem?
The answer to this will depend a lot on what ‘the problem’ is. It is easy to imagine that someone is more likely to, say, give up smoking after a single session than they are to recover from a more serious mental health problem such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Regarding smoking, there is some evidence that a proportion of people will become absitnent after one session of hypnosis. In one study 23% were abstinent two years after a single session of hypnosis. However, the evidence seems to indicate that hypnosis is not any more effective than other smoking cessation treatments – so it is likely that roughly this proportion of people would be helped to quit smoking after a single session of any type of therapy, which makes hypnosis appear rather less special. Regarding single-session treatments for other psychological problems, there does not appear to be much strong evidence for the efficacy of such interventions. There is a ‘brief therapy’ movement (often cal
Related Questions
- Why Do Some Hypnosis Centers Claim That It Takes More Than 5-10 Sessions To Correct A Problem Such As Quitting Smoking Or Losing Weight?
- Once one is hypnotized for a certain problem, how long does the hypnosis stay in effect? Do you need to return for "booster" hypnosis?
- My problem is genetic. How can hypnosis possibly help?
