Mystical Experience in Hypnosis: a Neurophenomenological Study (MystHyp)

A Neurophenomenological Study of Hypnosis

Mystical experience is described as an experience that is unique to everyone, potentially transformative and leaving a mark for many years or even a lifetime. It is characterized by: a loss of self/ego, being with the whole/nature/universe, transcendence, a loss of spatio-temporal reference points, ineffability, peace and joy, a sacred character, and a noetic quality. The mystical experience is one that occurs in the context of non-ordinary states of consciousness such as meditation and the consumption of so-called psychedelic drugs, for example. It would seem, in fact, to correspond to the transformative mechanism of the psychedelic experience. The goal ofthis study is to investigate the possibility of a mystical experience through hypnosis.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Control; Behavioral: Hypnosis

Detailed Description

Anyone interested in taking part in the study will be contacted by telephone or e-mail and offered a face-to-face appointment to carry out the screening (T0). During the appointment, screening (cf. inclusion criteria) will be carried out, socio-demographic data (age, sex, education, nationality, history of hypnosis practice, etc.) and randomization will also take place at this time. At this time, the investigators will assess psychological flexibility and psychologigal well-being, and participants will do a cognitive flexibility task (T1). If people meet the inclusion criteria, the investigators will schedule an appointment for a session to take place roughly a week later.

During this session, the investigators will start by reviewing beliefs about hypnosis, assessing participants' expectations of the study, their absorption and dissociation trait, their positive and negative affects and their anxiety. Next, the investigators will perform a 15-minute resting electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. We will then administer the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale. A 30-minute break will be taken. Next, the investigators willperform a hypnotic induction followed by a mystical experience suggestion for the experimental group. The control group will simply receive a reading of the mystical experience suggestion without hypnosis. The rest of the procedure is the same for both groups. EEG activity will be recorded during the mystical experience suggestion (± 15 minutes) in hypnosis and outside hypnosis (ordinary state of consciousness). Directly afterwards, participants will be asked to orally explain their subjective experience during the suggestion of mystical experience. Then the investigators will assess the positive and negative affect in addition to these outcomes: the mystical experience, the ego dissolution, the psychological flexibility, the cognitive flexibility, the altered state of consciousness, the near-death experience, alterness, absorption state, dissociation state, time perception (T2).

Three months after receiving the experimental session, participants will be seen again for a follow-up session (T3). During this session, we will ask: "Since the experimental session, have you observed any changes in your behaviors, emotions and beliefs? If so, can you tell us about them?". The investigators will assess the positive and negative affects and psychological well-being.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Aminata Bicego; Phone Number: +3243663499; Email: abicego@uliege.be
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse; Phone Number: +3243238033; Email: avanhaudenhuyse@chuliege.be

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Liège, Belgium, 4000
    • Recruiting
    • University of Liege
    • Contact: Aminata Bicego, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• at least 18 years old
• good comprehension of French

Exclusion Criteria:

• Psychiatric history
• History of neurological disorder
• Psychoactive medication
• Addiction
• Alcoholism

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control; The control group will simply receive a reading of the mystical experience suggestion without hypnosis.	Behavioral: Control; We will propose the neutral reading of a mystical expetience suggestion (based on Lynn & Evans, 2017).
Experimental: Experiemental; The experiemental group will receive a suggestion of the mystical experience in hypnosis.	Behavioral: Hypnosis; We will propose a hypnotic induction followed by a suggestion of mystical experience (based on Lynn & Evans, 2017).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mystical experience	The 30-item revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire will assess the occurrence and intensity of mystical-type experiences. It is comprised of four factors: mysticality, positivity of mood, transcendence of time and space, and ineffability. A mystical experience is defined as having a score equal or above 60% on all factors.	During the procedure
Hypnotizability	The susceptibility one has concerning hypnosis. Will be assessed with the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale. A score : 0-3 : low hypnotizability 4-7: medium hypnotizability 8-11 : high hypnotizability 12 : very high hypnotizability.	During the procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Ego Dissolution	The Ego Dissolution Inventory will assess the occurrence of ego dissolution.	During the procedure
Alteration of consciousness	The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory will allow to empirically quantify the subjective experience in terms of pattern and intensity parameters. It is composed of 53 items consisting of 12 major dimensions (e.g., positive affect), and 14 minor dimensions (e.g., absorption) (annex). Graphs will be constructed to represent the intensity and pattern of relationships between pairs of dimensions.	During the procedure
Psychological flexibility	Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory.	Before the procedure and direclty after the procedure
Cognitive flexibility	Cognitive flexility will be assessed with the Test of Attentional Performance which is an informatized cognitive task.	Before the procedure and direclty after the procedure
Psychological well-being	Psychological well-being will be assessed with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale	Before the intervention and after 3 months
Modification of mood, cognition, emotion and behavior	We will ask an open-ended question "Since the experimental session, have you observed any changes in your behaviors, emotions and beliefs? If so, can you tell us about them?".	After 3 months
Phenomenal experience	Phenomenal experience will be assessed by the recording of the narrative experience.	During the procedure

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Socio-demographics	age, sex, éducation, nationality, prior practice of hypnosis or other non-ordinary states of consciousness, prior mystical experience.	At screening
Psychiatric screening	Psychiatric screening will be assessed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview	At screening
Beliefs about hypnosis	Beliefs about hypnosis will be assessed with an open-ended question "What are your beliefs about hypnosis?"	Before the procedure
Expectancies about the study	Expectancies about the study will be assessed with an open-ended question "What are your expectancies about the study?"	Before the procedure
Phenomenal control	The phenomenal control will be assessed with the Phenomenological Control Scale.	During the procedure
Positive and negative affects	Positive and negative affects will be assessed with the Positive Affect and Negative Affect.	Beforethe procedure, During the procedure, direcly after the procedure, and after 3 months
Absorption trait	The absorption trait will be assessed with the Tellegen Absorption Scale which consists of 34 true/false items, aiming to measure the absorption of a person, meaning the disposition for having episodes of a deep involvement that engage all the subject's resources (perceptual, imaginative, and cognitive). The total score range is from 0 to 34. The higher the score, the more one has a high propensity for absorption.	Before the procedure
Dissociation trait	The dissociation trait will be assessed with the Dissociative Experience Scale. It is a self-reported questionnaire used to evaluate the presence, quantity, and type of dissociative experiences one might live in daily life. It consists of 28 items arranged on an analog scale (from 0 to 100% measuring the frequency of dissociative experiences), and the total score ranges from 0 to 100. There is a cutoff of 45 as a mean score to suggest a dissociative disorder. This questionnaire is not a diagnostic instrument; it is designed only for screening, but it can suggest that a specific clinical assessment is needed.	Before the procedure
Anxiety state	Anxiety will be assessed with a numerical rating scale.	Before the procedure and during the procedure
Absorption state	Absorption will be assessed with a numerical rating scale.	During the procedure
Dissociation state	Dissociation will be assessed with a numerical rating scale.	During the procedure
Alertness	Alertness will be assessed with a numerical rating scale.	During the procedure
Time perception	We will ask the participants how long they thought the intervention lasted.	During the procedure
Near Death Experience	The near death experience will be assessed with the The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) Scale.	During the procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Liege

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 2, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 24, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 30, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 6, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 5, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2022-213

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No