Hypnotherapy plus CBT for anxiety: adjunct, not replacement

The honest comparison is hypnosis with other psychological work versus hypnosis alone, not “hypnosis beats CBT.”

Key evidence

Valentine 2019 reported that hypnosis reduced anxiety more when combined with other psychological interventions (for example CBT or biofeedback in the included trials) than when used as a stand-alone treatment. That is the adjunct finding this page is willing to print.

The authors also placed their no-contact-control effect next to published CBT-versus-wait-list numbers from other disorders. That is a cross-meta-analysis sketch, not a randomised head-to-head in GAD. This wiki does not turn it into “hypnosis equals CBT.”

NICE CG113 remains the UK stepped-care document for GAD and panic. We do not cite it as recommending hypnotherapy.

Limitations

An add-on in a mixed anxiety sample is not a dismantling trial that isolates hypnotic suggestion from extra sessions of attention.

What we don't know yet

Whether adding a hypnosis module to a full, guideline-dose CBT course for DSM-diagnosed GAD improves remission at six months is unanswered.

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