Clinical Hypnosis: Advancing Integrative Approaches in Modern Healthcare
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 July 2026 | Viewed by 46
Special Issue Editors
Interests: social media, sport psychology, mental health, well-being, athletics, human perception, performance, training methods
Interests: clinical hypnosis; hypnotic psychotherapy; strategic therapy; ericksonian methods; dissociative techniques; psychosomatic disorders; self-states; memory reconstruction; hypnotist trance; hypnosis ethics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In contemporary healthcare, there is growing interest in integrating evidence-based complementary approaches to enhance the effectiveness of medical and psychological treatments. One such method is clinical hypnosis. Contrary to common misconceptions, hypnosis is not merely characterized by suggestibility; rather, it is a distinct state of consciousness—marked by focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and enhanced capacity for internally directed processing. Clinical hypnosis enables individuals to enter an altered state of consciousness that facilitates access to internal resources and adaptive potential. In this state, psychological and physiological processes can be modulated, even those typically considered involuntary, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and gastrointestinal function. The hypnotic state allows for profound physical and mental relaxation, but more importantly, it promotes a creative engagement with inner experience, which supports imagery, symbolic thinking, affective integration, and new perspectives on problems. Hypnosis is most effective when conducted by a professionally trained clinician (e.g., physician or psychologist) who establishes a safe therapeutic alliance and tailors interventions to the individual’s needs. In clinical settings, hypnosis is used not as a technique of persuasion but as a means to activate neuropsychological mechanisms supporting healing, regulation, and transformation.
The purpose of this special issue in Healthcare is to highlight the expanding research and clinical applications of hypnosis as a complementary therapy for a range of physical, psychological, and psychosomatic conditions. This includes areas such as pain management, anxiety and depression, dermatological, and autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal syndromes (e.g., IBS), hypertension and metabolic diseases, oncology, and even surgery performed under conscious sedation.
We aim to present clinical hypnosis to healthcare professionals—particularly physicians—as a valid, evidence-based therapeutic tool, rooted in neuroscience and mind-body research. Our goal is to promote understanding of its mechanisms, clarify its therapeutic indications and limitations, and support its integration into multidisciplinary care.
We welcome original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and qualitative studies that examine the use of clinical hypnosis in healthcare. In addition, we invite at least one contribution on ethical considerations in the practice of clinical hypnosis—whether through focused ethical analysis (e.g., principlism) or a broader review of relevant ethical frameworks in healthcare settings.
- Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following.
- Clinical Hypnosis in Healthcare
- Ethical Issues of Clinical Hypnosis
- The History of Clinical Hypnosis in Healthcare
- The Role of Clinical Hypnosis in Asthma Management
- The Role of Clinical Hypnosis in Cystic fibrosis
- The Role of Clinical Hypnosis in Cancer Patients
- Clinical Hypnosis in Diabetes
- Clinical Hypnosis in Hypertension
- The Role of Clinical Hypnosis in Fibromyalgia
- Clinical Hypnosis in dentistry
- Clinical Hypnosis in Chronic and acute pain management
- Perioperative use of Clinical Hypnosis
- Clinical Hypnosis in anaesthesiology
- Clinical Hypnosis in Pediatrics
- Clinical hypnosis and Headaches
- Clinical hypnosis and IBS
- Clinical hypnosis in Primary and Secondary Enuresis
- Clinical Hypnosis in Surgery
- Clinical hypnosis in Spasmodic Torticollis
- Management of Autoimmune diseases with Clinical Hypnosis
- Clinical Hypnosis in Obsteatrics and Gyneacology
- Raynaud’s Syndrome managemnt with Clinical Hypnosis
- Clinical Hypnosis in Anxiety and Depression (in Psychopathology)
- Clinical Hypnosis in Changing Bad Behavior Patterns (nail biting, thumb sucking …)
- Clinical Hypnosis and Self-Image
- Clinical hypnosis in Stress Management
- Clinical Hypnosis and Mindfulness
- Mindfulness and Wellness at Workplace
- The Role of Clinical Hypnosis in Top Sport
- Clinical Hypnosis as a Part of Psychological Preparation in Sport
- Clinical Hypnosis as Addiction Management
- Clinical hypnosis in Smoking Cessation
- Clinical hypnotherapy for Sexual Self-image
- Clinical hypnotherapy for Eating Disorders
- Treatment of Phobias in Hypnosis
- Clinical Hypnosis in Sleep Disorders
- Ego-Strenghtening in Hypnosis
- Mindfulness and Health
- etc.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Matej Tušak
Dr. Joseph Meyerson
Dr. Jasmina Markovic-Bozic
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- clinical Hypnosis
- complementary therapy
- hypnosis in medicine
- rehabilitation
- pain management
- anxiety
- anaesthesiology
- self-image
- surgery
- dermatology
- sport Psychology
- preventing Addiction
- mindfulness
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