Hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety- and stress-related disorders (original) (raw)

The effectiveness of hypnosis for the treatment of anxiety: a systematic review

Primary Care and Community Psychiatry

Background & aim: Therapeutic hypnosis has been regaining popularity as an anxiety treatment in mainstream and alternative healthcare. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness evidence from randomised clinical trials (RCTs) for both standalone and adjunctive hypnosis for the treatment of anxiety. Methods: Six electronic databases were searched from inception until February 2007. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand-searched. There were no language restrictions. Two reviewers independently identified 14 RCTs of hypnosis for the treatment of anxiety, assessed trial quality, and extracted data. Where possible, between-group analyses were extracted or conducted for this review using software from the Cochrane Collaboration (RevMan 4.2). Methodological heterogeneity of trials precluded meta-analysis. Data were synthesised in a narrative summary. Results: The contribution of many trials was limited by a lack of between-group analyses or because relevant statistical in...

The Efficacy of Hypnosis as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis

International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2019

This meta-analysis quantifies the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating anxiety. Included studies were required to utilize a betweensubjects or mixed-model design in which a hypnosis intervention was compared with a control condition in alleviating the symptoms of anxiety. Of 399 records screened, 15 studies incorporating 17 trials of hypnosis met the inclusion criteria. At the end of active treatment, 17 trials produced a mean weighted effect size of 0.79 (p ≤ .001), indicating the average participant receiving hypnosis reduced anxiety more than about 79% of control participants. At the longest follow-up, seven trials yielded a mean weighted effect size of 0.99 (p ≤ .001), demonstrating the average participant treated with hypnosis improved more than about 84% of control participants. Hypnosis was more effective in reducing anxiety when combined with other psychological interventions than when used as a stand-alone treatment. Anxiety problems and anxiety disorders are some of the most impairing and costly mental health conditions in the United States. As a group, the anxiety disorders are also the most common of the mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), with the lifetime prevalence in the US estimated to be approximately 29% of the population (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005). No doubt, there are many other individuals who suffer from significant anxiety symptoms but who do not qualify for a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder according to the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (American Psychiatric Association). According to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (Kessler et al., 2005), among individuals with an anxiety disorder, an estimated 23% had serious impairment and 34% had

Hypnosis to manage distress related to medical procedures: a meta-analysis

Contemporary Hypnosis, 2008

The authors concluded that hypnosis should be used to reduce the emotional distress associated with medical procedures. The results of this review should be interpreted with caution due to a number of methodological issues. Study selection To be eligible, studies had to be published in a peer reviewed journal; have a full abstract available online; be a randomised controlled trial; have hypnosis as at least one of the intervention conditions; be related to a medical or dental procedure, other than childbirth; include a measure of distress or emotional well-being as an outcome variable; be a primary analysis; have sufficient data to calculate an effect size; and be an original publication. Trials describing suggestion as an intervention rather than hypnosis were also included. In the included trials, patients underwent a variety of medical procedures, with some trials focusing on adults, some on children, and some covering both. The patient age range was 4.8 to 70.3 years and the sample size ranged from 20 to 200 patients. Timing and delivery of the intervention varied across the trials. A variety of distress outcomes were measured, with anxiety being the most common. Four authors were involved in selecting trials and disagreements were resolved by consensus. Assessment of study quality The authors did not state that they assessed validity. Data extraction Interventions were coded as hypnosis or suggestion and control conditions were either standard care or attention. Hypnosis could be either live or recorded and the timing could be prior to a medical procedure, during the procedure, or both. The authors noted where effect sizes had to be imputed. They extracted between-group results to calculate the effect sizes for each intervention compared with control and for each distress outcome. Once the initial effect sizes were established, a mean effect size for each comparison for each trial was calculated, across the distress outcome variables. Two authors independently extracted data for the review and discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Methods of synthesis Meta-analysis was conducted both without weights applied to the trials and with weights based on sample sizes, using a random-effects model. Tests of heterogeneity (Q statistic) were conducted and the results were used to investigate variables that might affect the overall effect size. Publication bias was assessed using Orwin's fail-safe N. Results of the review Twenty-six randomised controlled trials were included in the review (n=2,398 patients). Hypnosis was found to have a statistically significant, large, beneficial effect on emotional distress from medical procedures. Using a random-effects model, the authors found a mean effect size of 0.88 (95% CI 0.57 to 1.19). Using a

On the efficacy of hypnosis: a meta-analytic study

Contemporary Hypnosis, 2003

From 444 studies published until 2002 that investigated the efficacy of hypnosis, 57 randomised clinical studies were selected that compared patients treated exclusively by hypnosis to an untreated control group (or to a group of patients treated by conventional medical procedures). The 57 studies were integrated into a meta-analysis that yielded a weighted average post-treatment effect size of d = 0.56 (medium effect size). For hypnotic treatment of ICD-10 codable disorders (32 studies) the calculation of the weighted mean effect size resulted in d = 0.63. These estimates are conservative since all variables of a given study were used. Most of the studies employed methods of the classic approach to hypnosis. In order to obtain an estimate to which extent non-clinical factors (design-quality, way of comparison of dependent variables) have an influence on the effect sizes, effect sizes were computed for all studies of the original 444 studies that reported the necessary statistical information (N = 133). For those studies with an average effect size of d = 1.07 a massive influence of non-clinical factors was demonstrated with a range from d = 0.56 for randomised studies with group comparisons to d = 2.29 for non-randomised studies using pre-postcomparisons. Out of the 57 randomised studies, only 6 studies reported numerical values for the correlation between hypnotic suggestibility and treatment outcome with a mean correlation of r = .44.

The Additive Benefit of Hypnosis and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Treating Acute Stress Disorder

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2005

This research represents the first controlled treatment study of hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of acute stress disorder (ASD). Civilian trauma survivors (N ϭ 87) who met criteria for ASD were randomly allocated to 6 sessions of CBT, CBT combined with hypnosis (CBT-hypnosis), or supportive counseling (SC). CBT comprised exposure, cognitive restructuring, and anxiety management. CBT-hypnosis comprised the CBT components with each imaginal exposure preceded by a hypnotic induction and suggestions to engage fully in the exposure. In terms of treatment completers (n ϭ 69), fewer participants in the CBT and CBT-hypnosis groups met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up than those in the SC group. CBT-hypnosis resulted in greater reduction in reexperiencing symptoms at posttreatment than CBT. These findings suggest that hypnosis may have use in facilitating the treatment effects of CBT for posttraumatic stress.

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness Magnitude of Hypnosis on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

2018

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness Magnitude of Hypnosis on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment by Gueorgui Koiov Klissourov MA, Walden University, 2014 MS, University of Mining and Geology, 1997 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University November 2018 Abstract The increased intensity of modern life and the experiences in combat situations has brought on enormous stress and has led many individuals to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hypnosis is one of the treatment methods available to professionals and has been proven to provide fast, reliable results in multiple studies. Despite these results, the lack of understanding of the physiological effects of hypnosis on the brain has prevented its use as a common treatment method for PTSD. By examining the differencesThe increased intensity of modern life and the experiences in combat situations has brought on enormous str...