ABSTRACT
We investigated whether adding hypnosis to CBT (CBTH) improved treatment outcomes for MDD with a two-armed, parallel-treated, randomized-controlled trial using anonymous self-report and clinician-blinded assessments. Expectancy, credibility, and attitude to hypnosis were also examined. Participants (n = 66) were randomly allocated to 10-weekly sessions of group-based CBT or CBTH. LMM analyses of ITT and Completer data at post-treatment, six-month and 12-month follow-up showed that both treatments were probably efficacious but we did not find significant differences between them. Analyses of remission and response to treatment data revealed that the CBTH Completer group significantly outperformed CBT at 12-month follow-up (p = .011). CBTH also displayed significantly higher associations between credibility, expectancy and mood outcomes up to 12-month follow-up (all p < .05 or better), while attitude to hypnosis showed one significant association (r = -0.57, p < .05). These results suggest that hypnosis shows promise as an adjunct in the treatment of MDD but a larger sample size is required to fully test its merits.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Depressive Disorder, Major , Hypnosis , Humans , Hypnosis/methods , Female , Male , Depressive Disorder, Major/therapy , Depressive Disorder, Major/psychology , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Adult , Middle Aged , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
In 1995, Kirsch and colleagues published an influential meta-analysis (k = 20, N = 577) which found that CBT enhanced with hypnosis (CBTH) was superior to CBT alone by at least d = .53. However, a lack of full replication and the emergence of new empirical studies prompted this updated analysis. A total of 48 post- (N = 1,928) and 25 follow-up treatments (N = 1,165) were meta-analyzed. CBTH achieved small to medium but statistically significant advantages over CBT at posttreatment (dIGPP/d = .25 to .41), and specifically in the management of depressed mood and pain. At follow-up, there was a medium sized advantage for CBTH (dIGPP/d = .54 to .59), and specifically for the treatment of obesity. These results further support the adjunctive use of hypnosis as an enhancer of CBT's efficaciousness and endurance as a treatment.
