The status of hypnosis as an empirically validated clinical intervention: A preamble to the special issue

Abstract

In his introductory remarks to this Journal's special issue on the status of hypnosis as an empirically supported clinical intervention, the editor briefly describes the dawn of clinical hypnosis research, the logic of the natural science model, the importance of an inspired but tough-minded clinical science, and the auspicious confluence of practice and research purpose in this enterprise. The progenitor of this effort was indeed the Report of the Royal Commission coauthored by Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier, among others, more than 215 years ago—a report noted as one of the most important documents in the history of human reason. The ethos and logic of this special issue is grounded on the legacy of that document. Eschewing the conflicting mental health agendas of managed-care, government, patient rights, and professional guild interests, this special issue seeks to present a frank, evenhanded, informed, and dispassionate assessment of what science knows and does not know about clinical hypnosis.