Hypnosis And The Protestant Faiths.

I am not aware of any major religions that are officially opposed to hypnosis other than the Christian Scientists, who I believe are opposed to all forms of medical and psychological therapy, and the Seventh-Day Adventists, whose stance is somewhat less clear. I have seen published references saying they believe hypnosis has some medical value when performed by qualified practitioners.(1)

Many protestant ministers are pastoral counselors, and some pastoral counselors use hypnotherapy in their counseling work. This is a field called pastoral hypnosis. There are national associations and journals devoted exclusively to the field of pastoral hypnosis.

The Rev. Dr. Prentice Kinser, III, B.A, MBA, M.Div., D.Min., CPC, NBCCH, is an ordained Episcopal Priest and a prominent pastoral hypnotherapist. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on pastoral hypnosis: "Prophecy, Trance, and Transference; Hypnosis as a Pastoral Counseling Modality," presented in June, 1997 at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Reverend Kinser is certified as a Pastoral Counselor and Fellow of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.

Brigadier General Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D., a United States Army chaplain, now retired, is a United Methodist minister and very prominent pastoral hypnotherapist. He is the former Director of Pastoral Care & Clinical Hypnotherapy at Methodist Hospital in New Orleans.

Many hospitals run by protestant churches have been using hypnosis routinely in the treatment of patients for many years. It is not anything new.

More than twenty years ago the September 7, 1985, New York Times featured an article by journalist Carol Lawrence about the use of hypnosis at Presbyterian Hospital in New York.

Dr. Candace Erickson, a pediatrician at Presbyterian Hospital was quoted extensively in the New York Times article.

"Hypnosis is an incredibly safe and useful tool," she said. "It clearly improves the quality of life for children and diminishes the pain of tests and the side effects of medication, such as nausea and vomiting."

"You are in a trance but it is not like being asleep," she said. "You are not under the control of the hypnotherapist. That is another misconception."

The article went on to state that "In the last five years, Dr. Erickson has treated nearly 150 children with self-hypnosis at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center."

References:

(1) Provonshaw, J. W.: Ethical implications of medical hypnosis. Med. Arts 14(4), 1960