Evidence wiki
Anxiety
Graded evidence on anxiety. The hub grades generalised anxiety (GAD) as Grade B. Procedure-day distress is graded separately. Treatment and booking live on the clinic pages.
- Anxiety hypnotherapy: frequent questionsModerate evidenceShort answers on Grade B versus Grade A, the 0.79 misreading, CBT, dental anxiety, and sibling diagnoses.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Does hypnotherapy work for generalised anxiety?Moderate evidenceFor GAD: Grade B. Studied as an adjunct. Not a proven stand-alone replacement for CBT or medication.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for dental anxietyModerate evidenceGrade B: a few controlled dental trials sit inside Valentine 2019. That is not a withdrawn-Cochrane-sized synthesis.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for generalised anxiety: the evidenceModerate evidenceGrade B for generalised anxiety. That is the adult presentation this cluster grades. Valentine’s 0.79 is not a GAD cure rate, and it is not a 79% success figure.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy for procedural and medical-procedure anxietyStrong evidenceGrade A for adjunctive hypnosis around invasive or medical procedures. That grade does not transfer automatically to weekly clinic GAD work.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Hypnotherapy plus CBT for anxiety: adjunct, not replacementModerate evidenceThe defensible comparison is add-on, not instead-of. Valentine’s combined packages beat stand-alone hypnosis. That is not licence to drop CBT.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Lang 2000: self-hypnosis during invasive proceduresStrong evidenceLang and colleagues showed that self-hypnotic relaxation during invasive radiology flattened pain, reduced drug use, and shortened procedures versus standard care.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- Valentine 2019: hypnosis for anxiety meta-analysisModerate evidenceValentine and colleagues pooled 17 controlled trials of hypnosis for anxiety symptoms. The headline effect is real and easy to misread.Last reviewed 27 August 2026
- What we don't know about hypnotherapy for anxietyModerate evidenceOpen questions: GAD-only trials, add-on to full CBT, panic and social anxiety, and transfer from the procedure suite to the clinic chair.Last reviewed 27 August 2026