Can Hypnotherapy Help with Recovery?
So many treatment options are available to those who are starting their healing journey, and it’s important to explore them all. One approach that can work for many is hypnotherapy. In this blog, we will take a look at how successful it is for those in recovery.
If you or a loved one could benefit from 12 Steps to Recovery, contact Myrtle Beach Recovery to learn about our comfortable residential setting.
What Is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is not actually mind control–like making someone cluck like a chicken. Clinical hypnotherapy is a simple, structured therapeutic technique conducted by trained professionals. It creates a trance state that allows you to be relaxed enough to be receptive and open up. During hypnotherapy, the barriers between the conscious and subconscious are lowered, helping you see things in yourself that you might otherwise not allow yourself to see.
How Does It Work for Addiction?
Hypnotherapy can help you identify and modify patterns causing addiction, create new mental associations to support recovery, address triggers, enhance motivation, and develop coping mechanisms. It can even help you change negative beliefs and reduce the appeal of substances.
What Does the Research Say?
The evidence for hypnotherapy in substance use recovery is promising, though it varies by substance:
For Smoking Cessation: The research is particularly strong. A 1992 University of Iowa study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology analyzed over 600 studies involving 72,000+ participants. They found hypnosis was over three times more effective than nicotine replacement methods and 15 times more effective than willpower alone.
For Alcohol and Other Substances: The evidence is more nuanced but still encouraging. A comprehensive 2024 meta-analysis found that hypnosis demonstrated positive impacts on various mental and somatic treatment outcomes. Many of these effects were medium to large, suggesting meaningful clinical benefits.
Safety Profile: One significant advantage of hypnotherapy is its excellent safety record. That same 2024 meta-analysis found zero reports of serious adverse events.
Limitations to Consider
Despite the promising evidence, there are important negatives to consider. Individual responses vary, and some find it impossible to reach a trance state. There also needs to be a willingness to believe in the process. Furthermore, there needs to be much more rigorous studies to really understand how hypnosis works for people through their sobriety. All of this suggests that hypnotherapy should be something to add to a treatment plan, not the total treatment plan.
Is Hypnotherapy Right for Your Recovery Journey?
When combined with other approaches, hypnotherapy might be right for you. Consider sober living homes, short-term rehabs, AA meetings, coaching, medications, and therapy alongside hypnotherapy.
Finding the Right Support
If you’re considering hypnotherapy as part of your recovery plan:
- Seek certified hypnotherapists who specialize in addiction
- Ensure they work with your other treatment plans
- Discuss your expectations and any concerns beforehand
- Remember that it’s most effective as part of the bigger plan
Short-term rehab, like our 28-day plan at Myrtle Beach Recovery, is a great first step, but here is more information on how support groups can help. Hypnotherapy could be a technique to add once you have reached equilibrium with these other methods.
Find Support in Myrtle Beach
The evidence suggests that hypnotherapy can indeed help with recovery and sobriety, particularly as part of an overarching treatment approach. As research in this field discovers more, the role of hypnotherapy in addiction treatment may become more defined. For a more comprehensive level of support, consider our individualized therapeutic approaches in a short-term rehab first. Contact us today to find out more.
