This document discusses hypnosis and hypnotizability. It defines hypnosis and notes that hypnotizability is a measurable trait that peaks in late childhood and declines in adolescence. Highly hypnotizable individuals are more prone to spontaneous trance-like states. Hypnosis involves absorption, dissociation, and suggestibility. Applications of hypnosis include smoking cessation, weight control, and managing medical issues. Theories of hypnosis include social-cognitive views and dissociation theories. Hypnosis can help patients control stress, pain, habits and dissociative symptoms. Effectiveness depends on level of hypnotizability.

1. Dr. Satyakam Mohapatra
Junior Resident 1
Department of Psychiatry
CSMMU, UP, Lucknow

2. Definition- Normal activity of
normal mind through which
attention is more focused, critical
judgment is partially suspended
and peripheral awareness is
diminished.
Hypnosis can produce changes in
perception and states of
consciousness.

3.  Hypnotizability is a stable and measurable
trait.
 Peaks during the late childhood years and
declining for some during adolescence.
 Degree of Hypnotizability provides
information about the way in which an
individual relates to the self and the social
environment.
 Highly hypnotizable patients have an
increased incidence of spontaneous trance-like
states.

4. Three essential components
 Absorption- Ability to reduce peripheral
awareness to facilitate greater focal attention.
 Dissociation- Functional separation of
elements of
identity, memory, perception, consciousness, or
motor response from the mainstream of
conscious awareness.
 Suggestibility- Tendency to perceive and to
accept signals and information with a relative
suspension of customary critical judgment.

5.  Standard technique- Suggestions
 Other techniques
 Susceptibility to hypnotism-
 15 percent- Highly susceptible
 10 percent- Highly resistant
 Rest are somewhere in between

6.  Smoking Cessation
 Weight Control
 Enhancing Medical and Dental Care
 Side Effects of Chemotherapy
 Anxiety Disorders
 Phobias
 Dissociative Disorders
 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
 Pain

7.  Social-Cognitive or Role Playing View
 Hypnosis is mainly due to belief and clear
ideas about hypnosis.
 Subject plays a social role- ‘Hypnotized
Subject’
 Patient is not consciously faking.
 Evidence

8.  Neodissociation theory-
 Dissociation between executive function and
monitoring function.
 Suggest that hypnosis produces altered state of
consciousness.
 Leads to ‘hypnotic amnesia’ ...(Hilgard 1986, 1993)
 Theory of dissociated control-
 Weakening of control by central function over
cognitive and behavioral subsystems
…(Bowers, 1992; Woody & Bowers, 1994)
 Evidence

9.  Strong support for views supporting
dissociation lacking.
 More support for the social-cognitive view.
 …(Kirsch & Lynn, 1998; Spanos, 1991)
 Existing evidence offers a mixed and complex
picture. …(Kirsch & Lynn, 1998; Noble & McConkey, 1995)

10.  Helps patients better control
stress, pain, habits, dissociative symptoms, and
psychosomatic problems.
 Provides information about the patient's
cognitive and relationship style.
 More useful in highly hypnotizable
individuals.
 Less hypnotizable individuals make some use
of hypnosis, in partial and measured ways.

11.  KAPLAN AND SADOCK'S
COMPREHENSIVE TEXTBOOK OF
PSYCHIATRY 8th EDITION.
 KAPLAN AND SADOCK'S SYNOPSIS OF
PSYCHIATRY 10th EDITION.
 PSYCHOLOGY 5th EDITION- ROBERT A.
BARON.