Overview

This live event takes place Friday, October 2, 4 pm-8 pm EDT (1 pm-5 pm PDT).

This course will provide the medical or mental health clinician with an introduction to the concept, history, and appropriate use of hypnotherapy in the management of medical and psychological issues. It is designed to assist those unfamiliar with the practice, as well as to further develop understanding in those clinicians familiar with hypnosis. The learner will be provided with the tools they can utilize in practice following the course. 

Education Category: Webinars
Release Date: 09/15/2026
Expiration Date: 10/15/2026

Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. WEBINAR
  3. SLIDES
  4. Works Cited

Audience

This live webinar is designed for healthcare professionals who evaluate and interact with patients in a clinical setting. 

Accreditations & Approvals

NetCE has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6361. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NetCE is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. As a Jointly Accredited Organization, NetCE is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs. NetCE is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). NetCE complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, NetCE is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0021. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board of Mental Health Counseling. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0033. This course is considered live online, as defined by the New York State Board for Social Work. Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of licensed master social work and licensed clinical social work in New York. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice for an LMSW and LCSW. A licensee who practices beyond the authorized scope of practice could be charged with unprofessional conduct under the Education Law and Regents Rules. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0015. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0240. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board for Psychology.

Designations of Credit

NetCE designates this live event activity for 4 continuing education clock hours. NetCE designates this live event continuing education activity for 4 NBCC clock hour(s). Social workers participating in this intermediate to advanced course will receive 4 Clinical continuing education clock hours. NetCE is authorized by IACET to offer 0.4 CEU(s) for this program. NetCE designates this live continuing education activity for 4 credit(s).

Individual State Behavioral Health Approvals

In addition to states that accept ASWB, NetCE is approved as a provider of continuing education by the following state boards: Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners, Provider #0515; Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, CE Broker Provider #50-2405; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Social Workers, License #159.001094; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Licensed Professional and Clinical Counselors, License #197.000185; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Marriage and Family Therapists, License #168.000190;

Course Objective

The purpose of this course is to familiarize the clinician with clinical hypnosis and hypnotherapy and how it can be used to improve patient care, whether as formal hypnosis sessions or through the use of hypnotic language, suggestion, guided imagery, or neurolinguistic programming in patient interactions. 

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Define the term hypnosis.
  2. Describe how hypnosis differs from mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and counseling.
  3. Utilize simple hypnotic techniques in patient interactions.
  4. Describe who is authorized to utilize hypnosis and what determines appropriate use.
  5. Identify some simple daily hypnotic suggestions that are commonly used.
  6. Describe the effects on body and brain physiology that are common and expected in formal hypnosis.

Faculty

Kimberley Windisch, MSN, APRN-C, has been practicing as a nurse practitioner in outpatient practice since 1999. She has worked predominantly in rheumatology and pain management and is currently practicing in Texas. She has received advanced training in clinical hypnotherapy from the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and has been utilizing hypnosis in her daily practice since 2011.

Joseph F. Zastrow, MD, FAAFP, has been a family practice physician since 1987 and currently practices in North Carolina. H is past president of and continues to serve as faculty with the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and has been using hypnosis in his practice since 2001.

Faculty Disclosure

Contributing faculty, Kimberley Windisch, MSN, APRN-C, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Contributing faculty, Joseph F. Zastrow, MD, FAAFP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Division Planners

Kimberly Byrd, EdD, PMSW

Scott Deatherage, PhD

John Makopoulos, MD

Paul Subar, DDS, EdD, FACD

Division Planners Disclosure

The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Director of Development and Academic Affairs

Sarah Campbell

Director Disclosure Statement

The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

About the Sponsor

The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.

Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.

Technical Requirements

Supported browsers for Windows include Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 and up, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Supported browsers for Macintosh include Safari, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Other operating systems and browsers that include complete implementations of ECMAScript edition 3 and CSS 2.0 may work, but are not supported. Supported browsers must utilize the TLS encryption protocol v1.1 or v1.2 in order to connect to pages that require a secured HTTPS connection. TLS v1.0 is not supported.

Implicit Bias in Health Care

The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.

Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.

#9690L: Clinical Hypnotherapy: Improving Patient Care

INTRODUCTION

Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic approach that has been used in medical and psychological settings to address a variety of patient concerns. This course introduces clinicians to the concepts, history, principles, and appropriate clinical applications of hypnotherapy. Learners will explore how hypnosis may be incorporated into patient care, considerations for its safe and appropriate use, and practical techniques that can be applied in clinical practice. The course is intended both for clinicians who are new to hypnosis and for those seeking to expand their existing knowledge and skills.  

WEBINAR

SLIDES

The slides from this webinar are available here.

Works Cited

1. Barabasz AF, Olness K, Boland R, Kahn S. Medical Hypnosis Primer: Clinical and Research Evidence. Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group; 1990.

2. Bhatia A, Shatanof RA, Bordoni B. Embryology, gastrointestinal. In: StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2023. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537172/.

3. Corsetti MT, Rossi E, Bonvino S, Randazzo P. Psychological distress and quality of life are improved in autoimmune patients through tandem-psychotherapy, combining individual hypnosis and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for trauma, followed by supportive-expressive group therapy. Clin Rheumatol. 2020;39(4):1331-1339.

4. Dello Iacono A, Ashcroft K, Zubac D. Ain't just imagination! Effects of motor imagery training on strength and power performance of athletes during detraining. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021;53(11):2324-2332.

5. Derbyshire SW, Whalley MG, Stenger VA, Oakley DA. Cerebral activation during hypnotically induced and imagined pain. Neuroimage. 2004;23(1):392-401.

6. Elkins GR, Fisher WI, Johnson AK, Carpenter JS, Keith TZ. Clinical hypnosis in the treatment of postmenopausal hot flashes: a randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2013;20(3):291-298.

7. Gonsalkorale WM, Houghton LA, Whorwell PJ. Hypnotherapy in irritable bowel syndrome: a large-scale audit of a clinical service with examination of factors influencing responsiveness. Am J Gastroenterol. 2002;97(4):954-961.

8. Griesemer RD. Emotionally triggered disease in a dermatologic practice. Psychiatr Ann. 1978;8(8):49-56.

9. Hall L. How the work of James Braid changed the course of hypnosis. Available at https://moderndayhypnosis.com/how-the-work-of-james-braid-changed-the-course-of-hypnosis.

10. Harmon TM, Hynan M, Tyre TE. Improved obstetric outcomes using hypnotic analgesia and skill mastery combined with childbirth education. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1990;58(5):525-530.

11. HMI Nationally Accredited College of Hypnotherapy. The Pioneers of Mesmerism. Available at https://hypnosis.edu/history/the-pioneers-of-mesmerism.

12. Horton-Hausknecht JR, Mitzdorf U, Melchart D. The effect of hypnosis therapy on the symptoms and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. Psychol Health. 2000;14(6):1089-1104.

13. Jeannerod M. The representing brain: neural correlates of motor intention and imagery. Behav Brain Sci. 1994;17:187-245.

14. Kekecs Z, et al. Elkins hypnotizability [scale]. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2021;69(1).

15. Kosslyn SM, Thompson WL, Costantini-Ferrando MF, Alpert NM, Spiegel D. Hypnotic visual illusion alters color processing in the brain. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157(8):1279-1284.

16. Lang EV, Benotsch EG, Fick LJ, et al. Adjunctive non-pharmacological analgesia for invasive medical procedures: a randomised trial. Lancet. 2000;355(9214):1486-1490.

17. Mackey EF. Effects of hypnosis as an adjunct to intravenous sedation for third molar extraction: a randomized, blind, controlled study. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010;58(1):21-38.

18. Marwah U, Huettenmoser D, Patel S. Prescription drug advertising and promotion regulations and enforcement in the select global markets. Food and Drug Law Institute; 2017. Available at https://www.fdli.org/2017/08/prescription-drug-advertising-promotion-regulations-enforcement-select-global-markets.

19. McEwen BS, Bowles NP, Gray JD, et al. Mechanisms of stress in the brain. Nat Neurosci. 2015;18(10):1353-1363.

20. Miller V, Carruthers HR, Morris J, Hasan SS, Archbold S, Whorwell PJ. Hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: an audit of one thousand adult patients. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2015;41(9):844-855.

21. Milton H. Erickson Foundation. Milton H. Erickson Foundation. Available at http://www.erickson-foundation.org.

22. Mouly AM, Sullivan R. Memory and plasticity in the olfactory system: from infancy to adulthood. In: Menini A, ed. The Neurobiology of Olfaction. CRC Press/Taylor and Francis; 2010.

23. Orne MT, Hammer AG. Hypnosis. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at https://www.britannica.com/science/hypnosis.

24. Rainville P, Carrier B, Hofbauer RK, Bushnell CM, Duncan GH. Dissociation of sensory and affective dimensions of pain using hypnotic modulation. Pain. 1999;82(2):159-171.

25. Raz A, Shapiro T, Fan J, Posner MI. Hypnotic suggestion and the modulation of Stroop interference. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002;59(12):1155-1161.

26. Schulz-Stubner S, Krings T, Meister I, Rex S, Thron A, Rossaint R. Clinical hypnosis modulates functional magnetic resonance imaging signal intensities and pain perception in the thermal stimulation paradigm. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2004;29(6).

27. Shenefelt PD. Complementary psychotherapy in dermatology: hypnosis and biofeedback. Clin Dermatol. 2002;20(5):595-601.

28. Slimani M, Tod D, Chaabene H, Miarka B, Chamari K. Effects of mental imagery on muscular strength in healthy and patient participants: a systematic review. J Sports Sci Med. 2016;15(3):434-450.

29. Spiegel D, Bloom JR, Kraemer HC, Gottheil E. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet. 1989;2(8668):888-891.

30. Spiegel H, Spiegel D. Trance and Treatment: Clinical Uses of Hypnosis. American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2004.

31. Terry N, Margolis KG. Serotonergic mechanisms regulating the GI tract: experimental evidence and therapeutic relevance. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2017;239:319-342.

32. Vasant DH, Whorwell PJ. Gut-focused hypnotherapy for functional gastrointestinal disorders: evidence-based, practical aspects, and the Manchester Protocol. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2019;31(8):e13573.

33. Whorwell PJ, Prior A, Faragher EB. Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of severe refractory irritable-bowel syndrome. Lancet. 1984;2:1232-1234.

34. Zoffness R. The anxiety contagion: healing our kids' mental health crisis — "we feel our feelings." YouTube. Published October 29, 2021. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E79oB-4ZCfw.

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