Effectiveness of hypnosis in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis in the French population. Current treatments are based on first-line trauma psychotherapies (CBT, exposure therapy, EMDR, and narrative therapy), accompanied by medication, particularly antidepressants. The role of hypnosis in the treatment of posttraumatic stress has been little studied and not yet defined in the literature, despite partially common dissociative processes between hypnosis and posttraumatic stress symptoms.

In our PRISMA systematic review, randomized or uncontrolled clinical trials were included from five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PsycInfo, PubPsy).

The 12 articles selected are heterogeneous in terms of population characteristics and study design. The excessive heterogeneity of the studies required the following individual description of the results and hypnosis protocols for each study.

A majority of the articles reported complete or partial effectiveness of hypnosis on posttraumatic symptoms and their progression, as well as an improvement in associated depressive and anxiety symptoms. The heterogeneity of methods raised questions about the criteria for assessing psychological trauma and its impact, hypnosis protocols, and the place of hypnosis among internationally recognized trauma therapies.