Hypnotherapy compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation in a randomized controlled trial
Anil Batra1, Sandra Eck1, Björn Riegel2
1Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Section for Addiction Research and Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 13, 2024
Summary
Hypnotherapy (HT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) showed similar long-term smoking cessation rates in a randomized trial. However, CBT demonstrated better short-term abstinence when hypnotic suggestibility was considered.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Science
- Clinical Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Tobacco use causes over 8 million deaths annually worldwide.
- Many smokers desire cessation aids, with hypnotherapy being a popular choice.
- Existing research on hypnotherapy for smoking cessation has methodological limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of a hypnotherapy group program against a cognitive-behavioral group program for smoking cessation.
- To evaluate long-term abstinence rates and smoking intensity in a randomized controlled trial.
Main Methods:
- 360 smokers willing to quit were randomized into hypnotherapy (HT) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) groups.
- Both groups underwent a 6-week group program with weekly sessions.
- Outcomes measured included continuous abstinence (verified by CO) and 7-day point prevalence abstinence over 12 months.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in continuous abstinence rates between CBT (15.6%) and HT (15.0%) over 12 months.
- No significant difference in 7-day point prevalence abstinence between CBT (21.2%) and HT (16.7%).
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy showed significantly higher 7-day abstinence rates when controlling for hypnotic suggestibility.
Conclusions:
- Hypnotherapy appears comparable in efficacy to cognitive-behavioral therapy for achieving continuous abstinence in smoking cessation.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be more effective for short-term abstinence, particularly in individuals with higher hypnotic suggestibility.
- Further research is needed to clarify the role of hypnotherapy in smoking cessation interventions.
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