Hypnotherapy
| OUR RATING |  |
What is it?
Hypnotherapy involves the use of hypnosis in treatment. Hypnosis is a mental state in which a person focuses their attention and they become more responsive to suggestions. The state of hypnosis is rather like becoming engrossed in a good film or book. The person becomes so involved in the film or book that they respond to the emotions of the story, even though they know that the events in the story are not real.
How does it work?
Hypnosis can be used in various ways to help a depressed person. Probably the two most common uses are:
- as a way of producing relaxation and reducing anxiety. People who are depressed often experience anxiety as well.
- as a way to help the depressed person overcome negative thoughts. If the person can substitute more positive thoughts, this may help recovery.
Is it effective?
There have been no studies on the effects of hypnotherapy alone as a treatment for depression.
However, hypnotherapy might be helpful when added to a proven form of talk therapy called cognitive behaviour therapy (or CBT for short). Canadian researchers found that hypnotherapy combined with CBT reduced depression symptoms 6% more than CBT alone [1]. The benefits remained for at least 12 months.
Are there any disadvantages?
Some people can enter an hypnotic state more easily than others. Hypnotherapy will be difficult for those who are hard to hypnotise. Generally, hypnotherapists will not be medical practitioners, so treatment will not be covered by Medicare.
Where do you get it?
Hypnotherapists are listed in the Yellow Pages.
Recommendation
There is presently no evidence on whether hypnotherapy alone helps depression. It is possible that there are some small benefits of adding hypnotherapy to CBT. However, more research is required before hypnotherapy could be recommended as an add-on to CBT.
Key references
[1] Alladin A, Alibhai A. Cognitive hypnotherapy for depression: an empirical investigation. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 2007. 55:147-166.