Valentine 2019: hypnosis for anxiety meta-analysis

Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL. The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 2019;67(3):336–363. DOI 10.1080/00207144.2019.1613863.

This is a review explainer, not a new trial.

Key evidence

Inclusion required a between-subjects or mixed design comparing hypnosis with a control on anxiety symptoms. Of 399 records screened, 15 studies (17 trials) entered the analysis.

At the end of active treatment the mean weighted effect size was 0.79. At longest follow-up (seven trials) it was 0.99. The authors’ percentile gloss (more improvement than about 79% (or 84%) of control participants) is a conversion of that effect size. It is not the share of patients who remitted.

Split by type, post-treatment effects were 0.51 (three dental trials), 0.82 (three surgery/medical), 0.93 (four general anxiety), and 0.95 (seven test/performance). The set was heterogeneous. No-contact controls produced 1.12; contact controls produced 0.60. Packages that combined hypnosis with another intervention beat stand-alone hypnosis.

Limitations

Thirteen of 17 trials were acute problems. Four were general anxiety. That mix is why the hub stays Grade B for the clinic question “will this help my GAD?”

What we don't know yet

Re-running the analysis on DSM-diagnosed GAD-only trials would be a different paper. It does not exist as Valentine 2019.

This page is informational only. It is not personal medical advice.