Psychological Effects of Group Hypnotherapy on Breast Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of group hypnotherapy on anxiety, depression, stress, self-esteem, optimism, and social support during chemotherapy, in patients with breast cancer, compared with a control group with standard medical care. Hypnotherapy consisted of 24 sessions that included suggestions to encourage relaxation, self-esteem, the resolution of past traumatic events, physical healing, and optimism. Results show that the hypnotherapy group significantly decreased anxiety, distress, increased self-esteem, and optimism in the first 12 sessions. However, at the end of the 24 sessions, only self-esteem and optimism remained significant compared with the control group. The convenience of using hypnotherapy to encourage optimism and self-esteem in patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy treatment is discussed given its protective effect on health.

Randomized controlled trial of a group intervention combining self-hypnosis and self-care: secondary results on self-esteem, emotional distress and regulation, and mindfulness in post-treatment cancer patients

“…First, our study showed the positive impact of a group intervention combining self-care and self-hypnosis on selfesteem and emotional distress. This is in line with other studies showing the impact of psychological interventions [26][27][28][29] and hypnosis [29,35,36] on these variables. Our intervention also allowed positive change in emotion regulation strategies.…”

“…Hypnosis is characterized by three components: absorption (in an imaginative experience), dissociation (from the environment), and suggestibility (to the therapist's suggestions) [33,34]. Some studies demonstrated the positive impact of hypnosis on cancer patients' emotional distress, whether taught alone or combined with cognitive-behavioral or self-care techniques [29,35], as well as first results on cancer patients' self-esteem [36]. However, most studies focussed on breast cancer patients and suffer from some methodological pitfalls such as a lack of randomization or small sample sizes.…”

The Effectiveness of Psychological Treatments in Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Moreover, our study considered only a few specific psychological approaches, but further studies could consider the benefits of other types of therapies [88]. For example, it has been shown that hypnosis-based psychotherapy is beneficial to reduce fatigue and cancer-related pain and to control sleep diseases [100][101][102]. Moreover, psychodynamic psychotherapy has resulted in a short-term improvement in patients' depressive symptoms [103], and interventions based on physical activity seem to improve health in cancer survivors [104].…”

Effectiveness of therapy group in women with localized breast cancer

“…Different studies have delved into the benefits that other less conventional or novel therapies can bring. It has been shown that hypnosis-based psychotherapy and CBT is beneficial, as it teaches patients in treatment and survivors to reduce fatigue, cancer-related pain and control sleep disturbances (Grégoire et al, 2017, Mendoza et al, 2016, Téllez et al, 2017). On the other hand, mindfulness based on stress reduction has been found to be effective in promoting QL for both patients (Haller et al, 2017, Johns et al, 2015, Kenne Sarenmalm et al, 2017, Lengacher et al, 2016, Park et al, 2018, Rosen et al, 2018) and survivors (Gonzalez-Hernandez et al, 2018, Lengacher et al, 2016).…”