Manage Your Workingnegative Thoughts Through Hypnosis (Hypnosis)

February 13, 2026 updated by: Annalisa Boscolo, University of Padova

Manage Your Negative Thoughts: Stress, Anxiety Management Through Hypnosis in Medical Trainees

Medical doctor generally are exposed to several risks and pressures, it is not a case that several meta-analyses have shown high stress and anxiety level in these workers. Stress management represents a very important topic. Being a doctor means dealing with continous effort and arousal management to provide the best treatment through executive functions capacity. This is particularly true for younger medical trainees; that have also to learn how to deal with failure and the curve of learning. Hypnosis has been shown to be very effective at modulating executive functions and sympathovagal balance, with large effect in post traumatic stress disease (PTSD), anxiety and executive function modulation. Therefore, this study aim to investigate if hypnosis could be beneficial among medical trainees for managing negative thoughts related to work.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Stress and anxiety are very important issues in medical training. Several methods have been applied, from psychotherapy to biofeedback, but the physiological component usually have been dismissed. Training medical trainees to manage their physiological activity through hypnosis can probably transfer practical results, i.e. increased wellbeing, modulation of the working energy and the transfer from planning to properly execution. To obtain this results after a basal evaluation of physiological data (HR; Heart rate, HRV, Heart Rate Variability, EDA; Electrodermal activity, and SCr; Skin conductance responses) stress and of anxiety levels, , with PSS-10 scale, VAS stress, VAS anxiety and Tower of London test ( TOL-R), participants will recollect a negative memory for 3 minutes to monitor their response. After that a brief session of hypnosis will be performed with positive memories being recollected while all physiological data will be monitored. Then participants will be subjected again to the negative memory task end at the end of the session the same test of the basal evaluation will be carried out.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
26

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Italy
      • Padua, Italy, Italy, 35126
        • Istituto di Anestesia e Rianimazione
    • PD
      • Padua, PD, Italy, 35126
        • University of Padova

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age > 18 years old,
  • being medical doctor or at first year of residency in Anesthesiology
  • obtained written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neurological issues affecting stress responses
  • Diabetes
  • Cardiovascular conditions (i.e., hypertension, orthostatic hypotension etc)
  • Being under psychiatric medications
  • Psychological or psychiatric diseases

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Hypnosis and negative memory (n. 26)
T0) basal evaluation of physiological data T1) evaluation of physiological data after recollecting a negative memory for 3 minutes T2) evaluation of physiological data after that a brief session of hypnosis (performed with positive memories) T3) evaluation of physiological data recolling, for the second time, the negative memory.
Behavioral: Experimental: Hypnosis and negative memory
Arm Description: T0) basal evaluation of physiological data T1) evaluation of physiological data after recollecting a negative memory for 3 minutes T2) evaluation of physiological data after that a brief session of hypnosis (performed with positive memories) T3) evaluation of physiological data recolling, for the second time, the negative memory.
Sham Comparator: Control group (n. 23)
Active control group con breath-focused attention. Allocation: Non-randomized
Behavioral: Sham Comparator: Control group
Arm Description: Active control group con breath-focused attention. Allocation: Non-randomized

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of the variations of the tonic and phasic component of the Electrodermal Activity (EDA,microSiemens) and Skin conductance response comparing pre and post-hypnosis (SCr/min)
Time Frame: T0) Within 3 minutes from electrodes application (at baseline), T1) within 3minute after a negative memory (w/o hypnosis), T2) within 3minutes after a positive memory, T3) within 3minutes after recalling the negative memory (after hypnosis application)
Evaluation of the variations of the tonic and phasic component of the Electrodermal Activity (EDA,microSiemens) and Skin conductance response comparing pre and post-hypnosis (SCr/min)
T0) Within 3 minutes from electrodes application (at baseline), T1) within 3minute after a negative memory (w/o hypnosis), T2) within 3minutes after a positive memory, T3) within 3minutes after recalling the negative memory (after hypnosis application)
Evaluation of the executive performance comparing pre- and post-hypnosis through Tower of London-Revised (TOL-R) (number of correct responses)
Time Frame: Within 3 minutes from the first negative memory (without hypnosis) and then, within 3 minutes from the negative memory (with hypnosis)
Evaluation of the executive performance comparing pre- and post-hypnosis through Tower of London-Revised (TOL-R) (number of correct responses)
Within 3 minutes from the first negative memory (without hypnosis) and then, within 3 minutes from the negative memory (with hypnosis)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of the variations of psychological stress response to a negative memory related to work between pre and post hypnosis on a scale from 0 to 10
Time Frame: Within 3 minutes from the first negative memory (without hypnosis) and then, within 3 minutes from the negative memory (with hypnosis)
Evaluation of the variations of psychological stress response to a negative memory related to work between pre and post hypnosis on a scale from 0 to 10
Within 3 minutes from the first negative memory (without hypnosis) and then, within 3 minutes from the negative memory (with hypnosis)
Evaluation of the Heart rate variability (HRV) comparing pre and post-hypnosis (ms)
Time Frame: T0) Within 3 minutes from electrodes application (at baseline), T1) within 3minute after a negative memory (w/o hypnosis), T2) within 3minutes after a positive memory, T3) within 3minutes after recalling the negative memory (after hypnosis application)
Evaluation of the Heart rate variability (HRV) comparing pre and post-hypnosis (ms)
T0) Within 3 minutes from electrodes application (at baseline), T1) within 3minute after a negative memory (w/o hypnosis), T2) within 3minutes after a positive memory, T3) within 3minutes after recalling the negative memory (after hypnosis application)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Padova

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 6, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 29, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 10, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 16, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 13, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IPNOSIS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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