Hypnosis Apps: A Systematic Review.
Katherine Scheffrahn, Cameron T Alldredge, Morgan Snyder, Gary R Elkins
The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis 2025 DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2024.2434085 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Hypnosis Mobile health Smartphone apps Systematic review |
| Key findings | Only 20.2% of hypnosis apps indicated a trained provider, 7.7% claimed evidence-based treatment, and just four apps reported inclusion in a clinical efficacy trial. |
Abstract
For over a decade, the growing use of smartphone apps provided a way to make hypnotherapy more widely accessible. However, available apps vary widely in the quality of hypnosis provided to users. This study systematically reviewed apps delivering some form of hypnotherapy intervention and summarized their characteristics. Using hypnosis-related search terms, a list of apps was generated, yielding 679 unique hypnosis apps across both Android and iOS stores, and 168 apps met inclusion criteria for this review. The most common app targets were sleep (k = 94, 56.0%), relaxation/meditation (k = 92, 54.8%), and stress (k = 62, 36.9%). Only 34 (20.2%) of the apps indicated that the developer or person providing hypnosis was trained in hypnosis. Thirteen (7.7%) apps included some claim of evidence-based treatment. Only four apps reported inclusion in a clinical efficacy trial. Relationships between key app characteristics were explored using chi-square analysis. Though hypnotherapy apps have much potential in health care, apps based upon evidence-based protocols and empirical research are limited at this time.