Hypnosis: Successful Treatment of Psychoneuroimmunological Conditions

Present findings confirm that stress can lead to a breakdown in immune responses. Psychological therapies, including hypnosis, have resulted in increases in immune function. There is a bi-directional communication between the immune system and the central nervous system, each providing important regulatory control over the other, Prof. Dr. Diana Elton (University of Melbourne) reports.

Her study aims at describing results of treatment of 22 patients with problems ascribed to decreased immunological function. The diseases are: Cancer, Crone´s Disease, Chronic Bronchitis, Lupus, Anxiety Attacks, Allergy to Food, Mycobacterium Avium Complex. The patients have been treated by the use of counselling, biofeedback, and hypnotic imagery.

Elton reports good results: "There was a significant change in the self reports of patients, most reporting that they felt calmer, healthier and more able to cope with their problems. The analogue scales showed a significant change, which was enduring over time. Blood tests indicated that reported psychological changes corresponded to the changes in components of the immune system ..."

A Matter of Life: Psychological Theory, Research and Practice
Roth, Roswith; Neil, Sandra (Eds.)