Hypnotherapy is a wonderful, safe treatment for depression, not an overnight process, but compared to the other treatments available, very fast and effective. Hypnotherapy is not about creating a band-aid, it's about changing life paths, growing, developing and maturing into the person you want to be. In short, learning how to live. The outcomes are always positive, freeing oneself from any past trauma, finding an internal peace, growing in confidence and self-belief, discovering a self-love and your magnificent worth, negating fears, gaining courage, resilience, and allowing contentment and happiness to enter your life again.
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"After reviewing the two RCTs and one case study, the results demonstrated that hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for depression". (Youssef)
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Alladin, Assen. (2010). Depression. In Barabasz, Arreed Franz (Ed);
Olness, Karen (Ed); Boland, Robert (Ed); Kahn, Stephen (Ed). Medical
Hypnosis Primer: Clinical and Research Evidence, (pp. 73-81). New
York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
This chapter will focus on hypnotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD).
MDD is among one of the most common psychiatric disorders treated by physicians
and psychologists. Although MDD can be treated successfully with costly
antidepressant medication and psychotherapy, a significant number of depressives
do not respond to these approaches. It is thus important for clinicians to continue to
develop more effective treatments for depression. This chapter describes cognitive
hypnotherapy, a multimodal treatment approach to depression that may be
applicable to a wide range of people with depression. Cognitive hypnotherapy
combined with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) demonstrates substantial benefits.
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Youssef,S (2013). Is hypnotherapy an effective treatment for depression?
PCOM
After reviewing the two RCTs and one case study, the results demonstrated that hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for depression. The studies also revealed that hypnotherapy is more effective in treating depression than anti-depressants or cognitive-behavioural therapy. Future studies should be performed comparing hypnotherapy and antidepressants using randomized groups rather than preference groups. This will eliminate bias and provide more significant results. Future studies would also benefit from using single aspects of cognitive hypnotherapy to treat depression in order to view the results of each specific method.
Alladin, Assen. (Dec 2009). Evidence-Based Cognitive
Hypnotherapy for Depression. Contemporary Hypnosis, Vol 26(4),
245-262.
Although depression is treated successfully with antidepressant medication and
psychotherapy, a significant number of depressives do not respond to either
medication or existing psychotherapies. It is thus important for clinicians to
continue to develop more effective treatments for depression. This article describes
Cognitive Hypnotherapy (CH), an evidence-based multimodal treatment for
depression, which can be applied to a wide range of patients with depression. The
components of CH are described in sufficient detail to allow for their replication
and validation. Moreover, CH for depression provides a template for studying the
additive effect of hypnosis as an adjunctive treatment with other medical and
psychological disorders.
Alladin, Assen; Alibhai, Alisha. (Apr 2007). Cognitive Hypnotherapy
for Depression: An Empirical Investigation. International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Vol 55(2), 147-166.
To investigate the effectiveness of cognitive hypnotherapy (CH), hypnosis
combined with cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), on depression, 84 depressives
were randomly assigned to 16 weeks of treatment of either CH or CBT alone. At
the end of treatment, patients from both groups significantly improved compared to
baseline scores. However, the CH group produced significantly larger changes in
Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Hopelessness Scale.
Effect size calculations showed that the CH group produced 6%, 5%, and 8%
greater reduction in depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, respectively, over and
above the CBT group. The effect size was maintained at 6-month and 12-month
follow-ups. This study represents the first controlled comparison of hypnotherapy
with a well-established psychotherapy for depression, meeting the APA criteria for
a “probably efficacious” treatment for depression.
Kohen, Daniel P.; Murray, Katherine. (2006). Depression in Children
and Youth: Applications of Hypnosis to Help Young People Help
Themselves. In Yapko, Michael D. (Ed), Hypnosis and Treating
Depression: Applications in Clinical Practice, (pp. 189-216). New
York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
In this chapter, the authors explore the phenomenon of child and adolescent
depression primarily from the standpoint of clinical intervention. Specifically, the
authors consider ways in which hypnosis may be applied in treatment to teach
specific skills, help reduce depressive symptoms, and encourage young people to
apply these skills in the service of self-help.
Alladin, Assen. (2006). Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Treating
Depression. In Chapman, Robin A. (Ed), The Clinical Use of Hypnosis
in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: A Practitioner’s Casebook, (pp. 139-
187). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co.
This chapter presents the treatment of depression using cognitive behaviour therapy
and hypnosis and offers a cognitive dissociative model of depression, which is
based on the negative self-hypnosis model. A review of other treatment approaches
and a description of the disorder are also offered. Cognitive restructuring using
hypnosis is described in the case presentation. Additionally, a brief report of a study
of this model is included.