Evidenced-based hypnotherapy for the management of sleep disorders.

There is a plethora of research suggesting that combining cognitive-behavioral therapy with hypnosis is effective for a variety of psychological, behavioral, and medical disorders. Yet, very little empirical research exists pertaining to the use of hypnotherapy as either a single or multitreatment modality for the management of sleep disorders. The existing literature is limited to a small subset of nonbiologic sleep disorders. The objectives of this paper are: to provide a review of the most common sleep disorders, with emphasis on insomnia disorders; discuss the cognitive-behavioral approaches to insomnia; and review the existing empirical literature on applications of hypnotherapy in the treatment of sleep disturbance. The overreaching goal is to educate clinicians on how to incorporate sleep therapy with hypnotherapy. There is an immediate need for research evaluating the efficacy of hypnotherapy in the management of sleep disturbance.

Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Chicago, Illinois. USA. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Jul;55(3):288-302.