The biobehavioural effectiveness of spiritual-hypnosis-assisted therapy in PTSD with childhood trauma

Abstract

Abstract Background Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious psychological trauma disorder. Treatment of psychological trauma tends to focus on patients' memory. Clinical Spiritual-Hypnosis Assisted Therapy is a culturally sensitive treatment that combines elements of psychodynamic hypnosis, cognitive–behavioral and humanistic therapies. Methods The current interventional single-blind randomized control study assessed the biobehavioural effectiveness of spiritual-hypnosis on cortisol and PTSD symptomatology in adults with childhood trauma. Participants were divided into spiritual hypnosis (n = 15) and a control group (n = 14) that received fluoxetine. This study used PCL-C & CTQ to screen the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms. Results Spiritual hypnosis was significantly better than fluoxetine at reducing PTSD symptoms, while both treatments had similar effects on cortisol modification. Conclusions Spiritual-Hypnosis Assisted Therapy for PTSD patients with childhood trauma appears to have a noteworthy effect in reducing PTSD clinical symptoms and results in a comparable to the pharmacological treatment modification of the HPA axis cortisol markers.

Keywords

• Spiritual hypnosis
• SHAT
• Cortisol
• Fluoxetine
• PTSD
• Childhood trauma