Clinical Hypnosis for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: A Scoping Review

Chronic non-cancer pain requires multimodal management, and clinical hypnosis has been examined as a complementary intervention. This PRISMA ScR scoping review mapped the extent and characteristics of the evidence base, intervention features, and research gaps for clinical hypnosis in chronic non-cancer pain. We included 48 intervention studies involving 3,166 participants, encompassing randomized controlled trials and other study designs. Hypnosis was applied to nociceptive, neuropathic, nociplastic, and mixed pain presentations using diverse techniques and delivery formats. Outcomes most frequently included pain intensity and pain related distress, with additional measures of coping, sleep, and daily functioning. The mapped literature commonly involved small samples, frequent use of passive comparators, limited demographic reporting and diversity, and variable intervention reporting. This review extends prior syntheses by detailing how clinical hypnosis has been operationalized for chronic non-cancer pain and by identifying methodological and reporting gaps to guide future research.