This chapter concentrates on the use of hypnosis in the treatment of phobias as an adjunct to cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, insight therapy, and other approaches. We review experimental research that finds that the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of phobias seems to be related to the often high hypnotic responsivity of phobics and their unusual capacity for imagery vividness, focused attention, and flexibility in information-processing strategies. Review investigations of the relationship between hypnotizability and phobias that implicate cognitive skills such as imagery, absorption, and dissociative-like attention that may be used in the development and maintenance of phobias. Because hypnotizability has been shown to be related to therapeutic outcome when hypnosis is used, we show how the standardized testing of hypnotic susceptibility level during clinical evaluations may facilitate the choice of the most appropriate therapeutic approach.
Two case studies, school-phobic child and a phobia of a single phase of airplane flight activity, are presented to illustrate the importance of the assessment of hypnotic susceptibility and the tailoring of the particular hypnotic intervention in a wider therapeutic context to fit the characteristics of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)