Mapping Knowledge Landscapes and Evolving Trends of Clinical Hypnotherapy Practice: A Bibliometrics-Based Visualization Analysis

Background and aims: Increasing interest in hypnotherapy's application for a wide range of health conditions has spurred a rise in global research and publications. This study aims to visualize development patterns and current research hotspots in clinical hypnotherapy practice using scientometric methods, and to predict future research directions based on the keyword trending topics analysis.

Methods: Data on hypnotherapy applications and mechanisms in clinical settings between 1994 and 2023 were gathered from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, followed by analysis and visualization using the VOSviewer, Bibliometrix package in R, and CiteSpace.

Results: A total of 1,549 publications were examined, indicating a steady annual increase with an average growth rate of 8.5%, reaching a high of 134 publications in 2022. The United States was the primary research hub. Collectively, 1,464 distinct institutions involving 3,195 scholars contributed to this research theme. Collaboration was predominantly confined to the same country, institution, and/or research team. High-frequency keywords included "Pain", "Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)", and "Anxiety". Systematic review and/or meta-analysis have emerged as favored research methods. fMRI and EEG were commonly used techniques for exploring the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying hypnotherapy. "Self-Hypnosis", "Virtual Reality", and "Meditation" were predicted as trending topics, indicating that patients' self-managed hypnosis practice, virtual reality hypnotherapy, and exploration of the variations in mechanisms between meditation and hypnotherapy might be emerging topics and/or future key research directions within the current field.

Conclusion: The use of hypnotherapy for diverse clinical issues, particularly pain, IBS, and comorbid anxiety, is garnering global attention. The evidence-based approach is widely used to assess the quality of clinical evidence for hypnotherapy. Researchers are keen on innovating traditional hetero-hypnosis, with a shift towards more cost-effective self-hypnosis and immersive virtual reality hypnotherapy. Promoting and reinforcing collaborative research efforts across countries, institutions, and teams is warranted.