CLINICAL HYPNOSIS - PROVIDER INFORMATION

HOME (English) En Español Em Português

CLINICAL SUMMARY FOR PROVIDERS

Adjunctive Clinical Hypnosis for Vasomotor Symptoms, Sleep Disruption, and Distress in Perimenopause and Menopause

Flavio Souza-Campos, MD, PhD
Clinical Hypnosis • Biomedical Engineering
Provider contact: [email protected] / 305-505-3279
Patient information: www.flavioc.com/midlife

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This summary outlines the published evidence, appropriate candidates, safety boundaries, and referral process for clinical hypnosis as a non-pharmacologic adjunct in menopausal care.

Many of your patients are already receiving excellent care and are still struggling. Hot flashes persist despite treatment, or hormone therapy is contraindicated or declined. Sleep remains fragmented. Irritability and the emotional weight of this transition surface in visits that weren't scheduled to address them.

A standard visit allows time to evaluate, prescribe, and adjust treatment. It rarely allows time for repeated, structured, non-pharmacologic intervention. Clinical hypnosis fills that gap: dedicated 50-minute sessions that work alongside your treatment plan.

2. PUBLISHED EVIDENCE

Clinical hypnosis is among the best-studied non-hormone interventions for vasomotor symptoms, supported by randomized controlled trials and current society guidance.

Guideline recognition
The 2023 Non-hormone Therapy Position Statement of The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS) recommends clinical hypnosis, alongside cognitive behavioral therapy, for the management of vasomotor symptoms.

Postmenopausal women: clinician-delivered hypnosis (Elkins et al., Menopause, 2013)

  • NIH-funded randomized controlled trial, n = 187 postmenopausal women with at least seven hot flashes daily
  • Five weekly sessions of clinical hypnosis vs. a control intervention
  • At 12 weeks: 74% reduction in hot flash frequency and 80% reduction in hot flash scores with hypnosis, vs. 17% and 15% with control (P < .001)
  • Improved sleep quality and reduced hot flash interference with daily activities
  • Benefit maintained six weeks after the final session

Breast cancer survivors (Elkins et al., Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2008)

  • Randomized trial, n = 60 breast cancer survivors with frequent hot flashes (51 completed)
  • Five weekly hypnosis sessions
  • 68% reduction in hot flash scores from baseline
  • Significant improvements vs. control in anxiety, depression, sleep, and hot flash interference

Self-administered hypnosis vs. sham (Elkins et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025)

  • Randomized, sham-controlled trial, n = 250 women
  • Daily 20-minute audio-recorded hypnosis vs. a sham control (white noise presented as hypnosis), over six weeks
  • At 12 weeks: 61% reduction in hot flashes with hypnosis vs. 44% with sham, a significantly greater improvement with hypnosis
  • Greater reduction in hot flash interference with daily activities
  • Adverse events were mild and infrequent in both arms (3.2% vs. 4%)

Interpretation. The evidence is strongest for vasomotor symptoms and related sleep disruption and interference. The 2025 sham-controlled trial shows a meaningful expectancy effect, and a significant effect of hypnosis beyond it. In my practice, clinician-delivered sessions are paired with self-hypnosis that patients practice at home, consistent with both research models.

3. PROPOSED MECHANISM

Vasomotor symptoms are associated with a narrowed thermoneutral zone, in which small changes in core body temperature trigger heat-dissipation responses.

The mechanisms by which hypnosis reduces hot flashes are not fully established. Proposed pathways include reduced sympathetic arousal and altered perception of, and response to, hot flash onset, including through suggestions of coolness. I don't overstate these mechanisms to providers or to patients.

4. APPROPRIATE CANDIDATES

Clinical hypnosis may be appropriate as an adjunctive or primary non-hormone option for patients with:

  1. Persistent vasomotor symptoms despite hormone or non-hormone pharmacotherapy
  2. Contraindications to systemic hormone therapy, including a history of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer or thromboembolic disease
  3. A preference for non-pharmacologic management, or prior intolerance of medication
  4. Sleep disruption related to night sweats and nocturnal awakenings
  5. Irritability, stress, or adjustment difficulties associated with this transition and midlife role changes

Not a substitute for evaluation or psychiatric care. Patients with undiagnosed abnormal bleeding or other unevaluated symptoms should complete their medical workup. Patients with severe depression, suicidality, psychosis, or other acute psychiatric conditions are directed to appropriate psychiatric or emergency care.

5. SAFETY AND SCOPE BOUNDARIES

I understand the hesitation many providers feel about recommending a hypnotist. Too often, practitioners in this field position themselves against conventional medicine. I don't. I am a physician, and I work as an adjunct to your care, never as an alternative to it.

Your treatment plan remains yours.

  • I do not diagnose medical conditions.
  • I do not prescribe, adjust, or recommend discontinuing hormone therapy, SSRIs or SNRIs, gabapentin, fezolinetant, or any other treatment.
  • Patients are explicitly instructed to discuss any change in treatment with their prescribing provider.
  • New, severe, or unusual symptoms, such as abnormal bleeding, chest pain, or significant mood changes, are directed back to you or to emergency care.

The intervention is low-risk.

  • Clinical hypnosis is non-invasive and has no drug interactions.
  • It is compatible with hormone therapy and with non-hormone pharmacotherapy.
  • In the 2025 sham-controlled trial, adverse events were mild and infrequent.
  • Patients remain aware and in control throughout every session.

No administrative burden.

  • No referral order, prior authorization, or documentation is required.
  • Patients book directly and pay privately. I do not bill insurance, so there are no authorizations for your staff to manage.

Your patient remains your patient. I work in the background. When your patient sleeps better, feels steadier, and copes better with this transition, that improvement reflects on the care you provide.

6. PRACTICE MODEL

Every patient begins with Discovery: two 50-minute sessions within about 72 hours, $300 total. Discovery establishes whether hypnosis is effective for that individual and whether we're a good fit. Patients begin learning self-hypnosis they can practice at home.

If it is, we continue with a focused Intensive phase of frequent sessions, comparable in purpose to the multi-week protocols used in the research, followed by Integration, a tapering phase to help the changes hold. The full structure and fees are published at www.flavioc.com/process, so patients know exactly what to expect.

Setting: The first session takes place online, so patients can begin quickly. Afterward, sessions take place in person at offices in South and Central Florida, or online, as appropriate.

Languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Provider updates: With your patient's written permission, I'm glad to send a brief summary confirming that they began the work and how they're responding, for your records.

7. HOW TO RECOMMEND

Choose whatever is easiest for your practice:

  1. Share the patient link:  www.flavioc.com/midlife. Patients read about the approach and book directly.
  2. Show the QR code: patients can scan it from your screen or phone.
  3. Print the referral card: your staff can download and print it here:
Show the QR Code
Patient Sheet

The patient page is written for your patients: warm, clear, and free of exaggerated claims. It reinforces that hypnosis works alongside your care, and that they should not change any treatment without speaking with you.

Peer-to-peer: If you'd like to discuss a specific patient or candidate, contact me directly at [email protected], or my cell at 305-505-3279.

8. ABOUT DR. FLAVIO SOUZA-CAMPOS, MD, PhD

  • MD; PhD, MS, and BS in engineering, including a PhD in Biomedical Engineering
  • Nearly three decades of clinical hypnosis practice, with more than 44,000 sessions
  • Has lectured on clinical hypnosis for menopausal symptoms since 2017
  • Author of twelve books, and a frequent conference presenter
  • Has trained and certified more than 3,000 hypnotherapists

REFERENCES

  1. The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2023;30(6):573–590.
  2. Elkins GR, Fisher WI, Johnson AK, Carpenter JS, Keith TZ. Clinical hypnosis in the treatment of postmenopausal hot flashes: a randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2013;20(3):291–298.
  3. Elkins G, Marcus J, Stearns V, et al. Randomized trial of a hypnosis intervention for treatment of hot flashes among breast cancer survivors. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008. PMID: 18809612.
  4. Elkins G, Arring N, Morgan G, et al. Self-administered hypnosis vs sham hypnosis for hot flashes: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(11):e2542537.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Clinical hypnosis is an adjunct to, not a substitute for, medical care. Dr. Souza-Campos does not diagnose medical conditions or prescribe, adjust, or discontinue medication. Individual results vary, and no particular outcome is guaranteed.

Sources: