A Meta-Analysis for the Efficacy of Hypnotherapy in Alleviating PTSD Symptoms

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2016;64(1):116-36. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2015.1099406.

Abstract

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of PTSD used literature searches to obtain 47 articles. However, only 6 were experiments testing the efficacy of hypnosis-based treatments. A fixed-effects meta-analysis was applied to postintervention assessment results and 4-week follow-ups. A large effect in favor of hypnosis-based (especially manualized abreactive hypnosis) treatment was found for the studies that reported the posttest results (d = 1.17). The temporal stability of the effect remains strong, as reflected by the 4-week follow-up assessments (d = 1.58) and also by long-term evaluations (e.g., 12 months). Hypnosis appears to be effective in alleviating PTSD symptoms.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Hypnosis* / methods
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome