The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy in Reducing Symptoms and Treatment of Anxiety

Abstract

Introduction: The level of anxiety plays an important role in people's life, and decreasing it can be effective in improve of quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy in reducing symptoms and treatment of anxiety. Materials and Methods: This was an applied research by using semi-experimental, pre-test and post-test and control group. The population of the study were all patients with anxiety referred to hospitals and psychiatric and counseling centers of Tehran/Iran. They were selected by random sampling and then divided into two groups of 15 subjects. The experimental group enrolled in cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy intervention for five sessions. Data collected via Depression, Anxiety and Stomping Scale of Levi Bond (DASS) which its validity evaluated and confirmed by Cranach's alpha of 0.87. Data analyzed in two levels of descriptive and inferential using analysis of covariance in SPSS software. Results: The level of calculated anxiety in the experimental group in the post test (14.87) was significantly lower than the pretest (24.93) (P=0.00). Also, there was a significant difference between the control and intervention group, while was significantly lesser in intervention group. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy therapy is effective in reducing the anxiety and symptoms of stress.