Hypnotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomised Trial

The original paper

Shestopal I, Bramness JG. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 2019. Effect of Hypnotherapy in Alcohol Use Disorder Compared to Motivational Interviewing: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Read the original paper on the publisher's site →

Summary

31 adults in a Norwegian inpatient treatment programme for alcohol use disorder were randomly given five individual sessions of either hypnotherapy or motivational interviewing, a well-established counselling approach.

One year later, both groups had dramatically reduced their drinking. In the hypnotherapy group, 82% of those followed up reported no alcohol at all in the previous month, compared with 54% in the motivational interviewing group. The study was small, so the difference between groups wasn't statistically significant — the authors conclude hypnotherapy was at least as effective.

Key finding

Hypnotherapy was at least as effective as an established counselling approach for alcohol use disorder at one year.

Why this matters

Addiction often does an emotional job — numbing, soothing, escaping. Hypnosis works with the part of you that learned to need it.

Research is summarised in plain language for a general audience. Hypnotherapy and energy healing are complementary approaches and are not a substitute for medical or psychiatric care.

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