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Journal ofConsultingand Clinical Psychology

1986,Vol.54, No. 4, 489--492

0022-006X/86]$00.75

Hypnotherapy in Weight Loss Treatment

Go r d o n Co c h r a n e a n d J o h n F r i e s e n

Department of CounsellingPsychology

University of British Columbia

This study investigated the effects of hypnosis as a treatment for weight loss among women. The

sampleconsisted of 60 womenbetween the ages of 20 and 65 who were at least 20% overweightand

were not in any othertreatment program. Six clientvariables (suggestibility, self-concept, quality of

familyorigin,age of obesityonset,education level, and socioeconomic status) and one processvari-

able (multi-modalimagery)wereanalyzed in relation to the dependentvariable(weightloss). Two

experimentalgroups,hypnosisplus audiotapes(Hy-T)

and hypnosiswithout audiotapes(Hy), and

the control group (Cont) were investigated for weightloss immediatelyafter treatment and again

aftera 6-monthfollow-up. The primary hypothesis that hypnosisis an effectivetreatment for weight

loss was confirmed, but the sevenconcomitantvariables and the use of audiotapeswere not signifi-

cant contributors to weight loss.

Although hypnosis has for many years been suggested as a

treatment modality for weight loss, there is little rigorous exper-

imental research that clearly substantiates this view. The litera-

ture dealing with hypnosis for weight reduction consists pri-

marily of anecdotal reports and studies of selected cases. Mot t

and Roberts (1979) indicated that although there is evidence

that hypnosis may have a role in weight loss treatment, well-

designed research studies are needed to establish the extent of

its usefulness. Very few articles provide follow-up reports, and

potentially critical predictor variables such as age of obesity on-

set, suggestibility, self-concept, and socioeconomic status are

yet to be adequately studied.

Winkelstein (1959) used group hypnosis incorporating sug-

gestions about diet and about special problems manifested by

individuals. The average weight loss was 27 lb after 4 months,

but no additional information was noted. Wollman (1962) used

a group hypnotherapy program without controls and asked the

subjects to imagine, as a motivational factor, a desired body im-

age but provided no client characteristics or long-term follow-

up data.

Hanley (1967) found that initial weight loss tends to be super-

ficial, and at a point of relapse, deeper issues often emerge that

require specific therapy. Wick, Sigman, and Kline (1971) re-

ported a two-phase program in which they used the techniques

of Cheek and LeCron (1968) to uncover any unresolved issues

underlying the weight problem. In the second phase, they used

The authorswish to acknowledgeDuFayDer for providingconsulta-

tion and supervision on the development and use of the hypnotictech-

niques, SoengSoo Lee for servingas the statisticalconsultant to the

study, and Larry Coehran and RichardYoung for providingconstrue-

fivecritiques. The authors are also indebted to dieticiansElsieDeross

and Jennifer Okroj for their on-siteassistance.This study was com-

pleted, by the firstauthor, in partial fulfillment of requirementsleading

to a doctoraldegree at the Universityof BritishColumbia at Vancouver.

Correspondenceconcerningthis article should be addressed to Gor-

don Cochrane,CochraneCounselling,2095West 45th Avenue,Vancou-

ver,BritishColumbia,CanadaV6M2H8.

489

a re-education approach in which they incorporated sugges-

tions for deprivation feelings.

Kroger (1970) utilized a variety of hypnotic techniques, in-

eluding autohypnosis training, that his subjects were to use 8 or

10 times a day. Aja (1977) also reported the use of auxiliary

autohypnosis as an adjunct to therapy. Fromm and Shor (1979)

and Udolf(1981) speculated on the use of audiotapes as a form

of auxiliary autohypnosis, but there have been no specific as-

sessments of the usefulness of autohypnosis with or without au-

diotapesfor hypnosis-based weight loss programs.

The issue of suggestibility was assessed in previous research

by Deyoub (1979) and Wadden and Flaxman (1981) who used

the Barber Suggestibility Scale and found no significant rela-

tionship between suggestibility and weight loss. A related issue

is that of imagery absorption. Hilgard (1979) and Tellegen and

Atldnson (1974) suggested that greater absorption in imagery

activities may have a significant relationship to outcome in hyp-

notherapy, and this finding warrantsassessment.

None of the studies reviewed on hypnosis for weight loss con-

siders the age of onset as a potentially important variable. Roth-

man and Becker (1970) reported cases of weight gain in chil-

dren following the death of a parent, hospitalization of the

mother, parental divorce, desertion by the father, the child's hos-

pitalization, and attendance at boarding school. Bruch (1973)

considered weight gain from developmental and reactive per-

spectives. She proposed that developmental weight problems

begin in early childhood and are a response to dysfunctional

family relations, which often result in the child developing a

sense of rejection and a distorted body image. Reactive weight

gain, on the other hand, is viewed by Bruch as occurring pri-

marily in adults in response to stressful circumstances such as

relationship or work issues. Wolman (1982) points out that

overweight children tend to develop a negative body image and

a poor self-concept. He also indicates that many overweight

adults have a low self-concept arising from a combination of

childhood experiences and contemporary social expectations

that leads to the choice of a self-punitive eatingpattern.

The principle purpose of this study was to investigate the