International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
Effectiveness of Hypnosis
in Reducing Mild Essential
Hypertension: A One-Year Follow-
Up
a
Marie-Claire Gay
a
University of Paris 10, France
Published online: 29 Oct 2010.
To cite this article: Marie-Claire Gay (2007) Effectiveness of Hypnosis in Reducing Mild
Essential Hypertension: A One-Year Follow-Up , International Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis, 55:1, 67-83, DOI: 10.1080/00207140600995893
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information
(the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor
& Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties
whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose
of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the
opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by
Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and
Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands,
costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused
arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the
use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.
Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-
licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly
forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Intl. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 55(1): 67–83, 2007
Copyright © International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
ISSN: 0020-7144 print / 1744-5183 online
DOI: 10.1080/00207140600995893
EFFECTIVENESS OF HYPNOSIS IN
REDUCING MILD ESSENTIAL
HYPERTENSION:
A One-Year Follow-Up
Marie-Claire Gay1,2
University of Paris 10, France
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Manuscript submitted January 1, 2006; final revision received May 18, 2006.
1
The author would like to thank Ms. Jean Pietrowicz for proofreading the manuscript
and Pr. Dr. Pierre Vrignault for verifying the statistics.
2
Address correspondence to Marie-Claire Gay, Ph.D., University of Paris 10,
Psychology department, 92001 Nanterre cedex, France. E-mail: Marieclaire.gay@free.fr
67
68 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Rudy, Lewlis, & Murphy, 1992), as has the use of self-hypnosis (Case,
Fogel, & Pollack, 1980), which has also established its effectiveness.
Although studies using hypnosis are successful in lowering blood
pressure in the short and middle term, they do not give any indication
of effectiveness over a longer period of time. Therefore, it is of relevant
interest to prove the long-term efficacy of hypnosis on hypertension.
Another important factor in establishing the efficacy of a clinical
intervention is to determine whether there are individual differences in
responses to the intervention. This question seems particularly relevant
for hypnosis, because large individual differences exist in imagery
skills (Denis, 1991; Lang, 1979, 1980; McKelvie, 1995), and because
research on hypnotic susceptibility—a stable individual difference—
has shown that hypnotic response is correlated with imagery factors
(for a review, see Nadon, Laurence, & Perry, 1987).
The first aim of the present study is to investigate whether a
controlled hypnosis treatment is effective in reducing mild essen-
tial hypertension. To this end, two experimental groups were
created: a waiting-list control condition and a hypnosis condition in
which participants followed a standardized eight-session hypnosis
treatment.
The present study also addresses the question of whether hypnosis’s
effectiveness is modified by individual differences in hypnotic suscep-
tibility and mental imagery. To assess individual differences in
imagery and hypnotic skills, we used several tests with which to eval-
uate the imagery skills in standard and in hypnotic conditions and the
ability to respond to hypnotic suggestions.
Method
Participants
Thirty adults with high blood pressure volunteered to participate in
the study, referred by their general practitioners. The participants were
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 69
condition, M = 153 mmHg (SD = 7.7), for the control condition, M = 159
(SD = 12.1), t(28) = 1.60, p = .251, ns.
Twenty participants out of 30 took medicine: 15 were on beta-
blockers (7 in the experimental condition, 8 in the control condition);
3 on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (1 in the experimental
condition, 2 in the control condition), 1 was taking diuretics (in the
experimental condition), and 1 taking vasodilators (in the experimental
condition). There was no difference in blood pressure level between
the participants according to the medication status, neither for the
diastole, t(28) = 0.403, p = .69, nor for the systole, t(28) = 0.293, p = .77,
ns (see Table 1 for the sample characteristics).
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Table 1
Characteristics of the Samples
N 30 15 15
Women 18 10 8
Men 12 5 7
Mean Age 47.2 (11.76) 47.9 (11.03) 46.6 (12.5)
Marital Status
Married 25 12 13
Divorced 2 2 0
Single 3 1 2
Professional activity
Yes 19 9 10
No 11 6 5
Hypertension Meds 20 10 10
Beta-blockers 15 7 8
Diuretics 1 1 –
Vasodilators 1 1 –
ACE inhibitors 3 1 2
Mean Yrs of Hypertension 5.8 (7) 7.5 (2.06)
M Systolic Pretreatment 156 (10.4) 153 (.76) 159 (1.21)
M Diastolic Pretreatment 88 (.73) 89 (0.72) 87 (0.75)
M Anxiety Intensity (VAS) 7.50 (3.15) 8.33 (2.44) 6.66 (3.61)
M SHSS:C 4.49 (3.03) 3.17 (2.35) 5.80 (3.12)
QMI 110.17 (18.22) 110.73 (19.40) 109.6 (17.63)
IDQ Imagery 15.73 (3.72) 15.06 (4.18) 16.40 (3.20)
IDQ Verbal 14.87 (6.41) 12.47 (6.61) 17.26 (5.92)
Vividness of Imagery 3.10 (.99) 2.78 (1.25) 3.42 (.51)
Note. No differences in any variable describing participants’ characteristics were
observed between the two groups, according to ANOVAs for parametric measures
and Mann-Whitney’s test for nonparametric measures, except for IDQ-V, p < .05
and SHSS:C, p < .05. VAS = Visual Analogue Scale; QMI = Questionnaire on
Mental Imagery; IDQ = Individual Differences Questionnaire.
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 71
Measures
Health Status
Blood pressure was assessed independently by the general practi-
tioner (GP) before treatment, at the end of the treatment, and at 6- and
12-month follow-ups.
Medication was reported at each assessment (type and dosage).
A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess anxiety. ranging
from 0, no anxiety, to 10, extreme anxiety, because the reliability and
validity of the VAS has been established (Huskisson, 1983). We chose
such a scale rather than an anxiety questionnaire for two reasons:
(a) we did not want the participants to focus on their anxiety, because
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
anxiety was not our main target; (b) it was easier to use such a simple
scale over the telephone for the control condition during the sessions
and for both conditions during follow-up.
Cognitive Status
Hypnotic susceptibility was assessed by the Stanford Hypnotic
Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C; Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard, 1962,
French version from Baroussa & Leclerc, 1991). This 10-item scale
assesses motor and cognitive responses to suggestions. It comprises
three factors: (a) ideomotor inhibition (negative visual hallucination,
arm rigidity, arm immobilization, anosmia), (b) difficulty factor (hand
lowering, moving hands apart, dream, age-regression), and (c) positive
hallucinations (hallucinated voice, mosquito hallucination, taste hallu-
cination). It is based on relaxation induction and contains inhibitory
suggestions (e.g., eyes closing, arm rigidity), and cognitive sugges-
tions (e.g., visual hallucination, amnesia). The induction and the 10
suggestions take an hour to administer.
Imagery ability under hypnosis was measured in a procedure lasting
about 20 minutes. It was similar to the therapeutic hypnotic session
with the exception that no hypertension adaptation was suggested.
Immediately after opening their eyes, participants answered questions
assessing imagery vividness. The questions are directly derived from
Sheehan’s Questionnaire of Mental Imagery: 0, no image; 1, not vivid;
2, moderately vivid; 3, vivid; 4, as vivid as reality.
Measures of imagery ability using questionnaires were the following:
the Betts’s Questionnaire of Mental Imagery, (QMI; Betts, 1909;
Sheehan, 1967), reviewed by Sheehan (1967), and the Individual Differ-
ence Questionnaire, (IDQ; Paivio, 1991).
Self-Hypnosis
Frequency of self-hypnosis was measured by self-report in two
different ways. During the 8-week training sessions, self-hypnosis was
measured at every session, using a scale from 0 to 7, corresponding to
72 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Experimenter
The experimenter was a postdoctoral clinical psychologist. She
assessed all psychological measures and had treatment guidelines
specifying the content of each intervention session.
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Procedure
All 30 selected participants who came to the medical office took part
in two pretreatment sessions of 2 hours each. They gave their informed
consent to the research duration (14 months) and to the necessity of
maintaining their medical treatment during the experiment. They were
also informed that they would be randomly assigned to one of the
conditions and that the control group would not comprise any psycho-
logical treatment. They were also informed of the confidentiality of
the study and that they would be fully debriefed at the end of the
follow-up period, according to deontological rules (Caverni, 2000).
They had then to answer questions about medication, health status,
anxiety, and the SHSS:C. During the second assessment session before
treatment, they all had to answer three questionnaires (QMI, IDQ) and
questions concerning the vividness of imagery. Vividness of imagery
and SHSS:C were assessed at the end of each session because these
measurement procedures might induce a kind of somnolence and
could thus influence the response to other assessments.
Participants were then randomly assigned to one of the two condi-
tions and informed by telephone.
The participants in the hypnosis condition then took part in 8 weekly
individual sessions of 30 minutes each in a clinical consulting room
(the treatment procedure is described below). At the beginning of each
session, they reported on self-hypnosis practice.
The control condition participants only came for the two assessment
sessions before treatment.
After the treatment was discontinued (after 8 weeks) and at the
6- and 12-month follow-ups, blood pressure was assessed by the GP
for all participants. The psychologist called the participants to assess
the anxiety level on the VAS and, for the hypnosis condition, to assess
the level of self-hypnosis practice.
After the 12-month follow-up, participants were thanked and fully
debriefed by the psychologist at the medical office.
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 73
Treatment Procedures
Hypnosis condition. The procedure is based on an indirect proce-
dure. Hypnosis restricts the individual’s perceptions of the external
world by focusing his or her attention on specific internal stimuli,
such as breathing. This attentional focus results in feelings of
being removed from the environment and activates specific cogni-
tive processes involving mental imagery. Participants were asked
to sit in an armchair, close their eyes and tell the experimenter
about a pleasant vacation memory. The procedure started with a
standardized relaxation induction. We chose it because direct induc-
tions may generate resistance in patients. Participants were asked
to relax their muscles and to be aware of proprio- and interocep-
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
3
A standardized script can be obtained from the author.
74 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Results
The present study investigated (a) the efficacy of hypnosis in
reducing blood pressure and (b) the individual variables (hypnotic
susceptibility, imagery) that may mediate the potential effect of the
experimental manipulation. All analyses were computed using the
statistical software SPSS 14 for Windows.
Treatment Efficacy
To test for treatment efficacy, a 2 × 4 MANOVA was performed on
the systolic and diastolic scores, with the treatment group (control,
hypnosis) as a between-subjects factor and measurement time (8 weeks
after treatment onset, on the 6-month and the 12-month follow-up) as
a within-subjects factor.
Diastolic Pressure
The treatment group effect was significant in decreasing diastolic
blood pressure, F(1, 28) = 10.22, p < .003, but the measurement time
was not significant, F(3, 84) = 1.87, ns. It appeared to be significant
only when the first two measurement times were considered, using
a 2 × 2 MANOVA, F(1, 28) = 4.39, p < .045. That is, the diastolic blood
pressure remained stable after treatment in both conditions.
One-way ANOVAs were performed at each time of measurement
to examine the variations in the difference. As expected, no differences
were found at the first measurement time before the treatment was
initiated, F(1, 28) = .30, ns. Eight weeks after the treatment started,
a main effect in the treatment group was observed, F(1, 28) = 18.26,
p < .0001. The measurement taken 6 months after treatment onset also
revealed a main effect in the treatment group, F(1, 28) = 10.75, p < .003.
Finally, the hypnosis and the control groups also differed significantly
at the 12-month follow-up with a main effect of treatment group,
F(1, 28) = 10.78, p < .003. Table 2 illustrates the pattern of change in
diastolic blood pressure.
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 75
Table 2
Diastolic Scores at Baseline, During Treatment, and on
Follow-Up as a Function of Group and Measurement Time
Systolic Pressure
The treatment group effect was significant in decreasing systolic
pressure, F(1, 28) = 15.49, p < .001, as well as the measurement time,
F(3, 84) = 9.32, p < .001.
One-way ANOVAs were performed at each time of measurement to
examine the variations in the differences. As expected, no differences
were found at the first measurement time before the treatment was
initiated, F(1, 28) = 2.63, ns. Eight weeks after the treatment started,
a main effect in the treatment group was observed, F(1, 28) = 10.22,
p < .0003. The measurement taken 6 months after treatment onset also
revealed a main effect in the treatment group, F(1, 28) = 13.98, p < .001.
Finally, the hypnosis and the control groups also differed significantly
on the 12-month follow-up with a main effect in the treatment group,
F(1, 28) = 13.87, p < .001. Table 3 illustrates the pattern of change in
systolic blood pressure.
Anxiety
As shown in Table 4, anxiety scores decreased dramatically in
the hypnosis condition, with a significant treatment group effect,
F(1, 28) = 85.83, p < .001, as well as a significant measurement time,
F(2, 56) = 37.36, p < .001.
One-way ANOVAs were performed at each time of measurement
to examine the variations in the difference. As expected, no differences
were found at the first measurement time before the treatment was
initiated, F(1, 28) = 2.19, ns. Eight weeks after the treatment started, a
main effect in the treatment group was observed, F(1,28) = 7.35, p < .01.
The measurement taken on the 12-month follow-up also differed signif-
icantly with a main effect in the treatment group, F(1, 28) = 13.32,
p < .001. Tables 4 and 5 show the evolution of anxiety scores at the
different times in the procedure.
76 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Table 3
Systolic Scores at Baseline, During Treatment, and on Follow-
Up, as a Function of Group and Measurement Time
Table 4
Anxiety Scores at Baseline, During Treatment, and on
Follow-Up as a Function of Group and Measurement Time
Table 5
Difference Scores of Anxiety at Baseline, During Treatment,
and on Follow-Up Compared to Baseline
Self-Hypnosis
Most of the participants in the experimental condition regu-
larly practiced autohypnosis between the hypnosis sessions, M = 3.89
(SD = 2.13): 40% trained at least five times a week, that is, almost every
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 77
Table 6
Characteristics of the Distribution of the Scores to the Different Scales and Question-
naires Used
Discussion
Summary and General Implications
The first aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of hypnosis
training for the treatment of essential hypertension. The present data
show that hypnosis is effective, as both the systolic and diastolic pres-
sure remained significantly lower after the training. This reduction was
significantly different from the control condition and was maintained
up to the 1-year follow-up. It is thus important to point out that indi-
vidual hypnosis training is very effective in the treatment of essential
hypertension and can be a real supplement to drug therapy. This kind
of training, which is passive, is not very demanding for patients; it
does not involve conscious-coping mechanisms and is therefore very
well accepted.
Anxiety
The decrease in blood pressure occurs independently of the evolu-
tion of anxiety, whether systolic or diastolic, and the data show no
significant relation between anxiety and blood pressure.
Hypnosis has a strong effect on anxiety: before the training, 80% of
the sample had high or very high anxiety scores, and at the end of
the training 77% demonstrated no further anxiety symptoms. Surpris-
ingly, the treatment effect improves in the long run, with 86.6% of the
people showing no anxiety. The effectiveness of the anxiety decrease
is independent of the initial level of anxiety. These results are in strong
contrast to the control condition, in which anxiety scores remain very
high and stable over time, significantly different from those of the
experimental condition.
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 79
Autohypnosis
The decrease in blood pressure occurs independently of autohyp-
nosis practice, whether systolic or diastolic, and the data show no
significant relation between autohypnosis and the evolution of blood
pressure.
The practice of self-hypnosis does not exert an impact on the evolu-
tion of the blood pressure, either during the 8 weeks of hypnosis
training or during the follow-up. These results tend to confirm those
obtained by Friedman and Taub (1977), who did not observe any influ-
ence of autohypnosis during the hypnosis training. This lack of impact
during the hypnosis sessions can be attributed to the hypnosis proce-
dure itself, which may have been strong enough to mask the effects
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Personality Factors
The personality factors traditionally associated with the hypnotic
scales do not show any impact on the therapeutic response. This
is probably because the participants are all hypnotizable and have
imagery ability. Indeed, several studies have shown an indirect asso-
ciation between imagery ability and therapeutic response. Thus, weak
imagery ability is connected with weak hypnotic scores (Council, 1999)
and if it is not necessary to be very hypnotizable to obtain thera-
peutic results, people who are hypnotizable tend to react more (Hall,
1983; Hall, Minnes, & Olness, 1993; Spanos, Victoria, & Gwynn, 1990).
However, we could not confirm the results obtained in other studies,
which showed a connection between the vividness of imagery under
hypnosis and the therapeutic response (Spanos et al., 1990; Gay, 2004;
Gay, Philippot, & Luminet, 2002).
80 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Weaknesses
The present study suffers from a relatively limited number of partic-
ipants, a common limitation in studies recruiting patients. This small
number might have led to small effects, but one could then question
the clinical significance of such effects. However, more participants
might have helped to clarify the role of individual differences, such as
imagery and suggestibility in the therapeutic area.
and middle run but failed to demonstrate the stability of the result in
the long run. Considering these results, future studies might directly
manipulate the number and the rhythm of hypnotic sessions, to deter-
mine the best therapeutic pattern in the long run. It is also important
to determine the impact of home practice on the evolution of blood
pressure. To further explore the impact of autohypnosis on hyperten-
sion, future studies might also assign participants to conditions that
may or may not include home practice.
References
Agras, W. S., Southam, M. A., & Taylor, C. B. (1983). Long-term persistence of relaxation-
induced blood-pressure lowering during the working day. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 51, 792–794.
Ámigo, I., Fernandez, A., Gonzalez, A., & Herrera, J. (2002). Muscle relaxation and
continuous ambulatory blood pressure in mild hypertension. Psicothema, 14, 47–52.
Baroussa, M., & Leclerc, C. (1991). L’hypnose clinique en médecine dentaire [Clinical
hypnosis in dentistry]. Montreal, Canada: Méridien.
Betts, G. H. (1909). The distribution and functions of mental imagery. New York: Teachers
College, Columbia.
Case, D. B., Fogel, D. H., & Pollack, A. A. (1980). Intrahypnotic and long-term effects of
self-hypnosis on blood pressure in mild hypertension. International Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis, 28, 27–38.
Caverni, J. P. (2000). Pour un code de conduite des chercheurs en psychologie [Code of
conduct for psychological investigations]. Bulletin de Psychologie, 53, 47–51.
Council, J. (1999). Measures of hypnotic responding. In I. Kirsch, A. Capafons, E.
Cardeña-Buelna, & S. Amigo (Eds.), Clinical hypnosis and self–regulation: Cognitive
behavioral perspectives. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Denis, M. (1991). Image and cognition. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Erikson, M. H., & Rossi, E. L. (1979). Hypnotherapy. New York: Irvington.
Friedman, H., & Taub, H. A. (1977). The use of hypnosis and biofeedback procedures
for essential hypertension. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis,
25, 335–344.
Gay, M. C. (2004). Imagerie mentale et hypnose ou les deux faces d’une même médaille.
Bulletin de Psychologie, 57, 371–379.
Gay, M. C., Philippot, P., & Luminet, O. (2002). Differential effectiveness of psychological
interventions for reducing osteoarthritis pain: A comparison of Erickson hypnosis
and Jacobson relaxation. European Journal of Pain, 6, 1–17.
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 81
McCoy, G. C., Blanchard, E., Wittrock, D. A., & Morrison, S. (1988). Biochemical changes
associated with thermal biofeedback treatment of hypertension. Biofeedback and Self-
Regulation, 13, 139–150.
McGrady, A. V., & Higgins, J. T. (1989). Prediction of response to biofeedback-
assisted relaxation in hypertensives: Development of a Hypertensive Predictor Profile
(HYPP). Psychosomatic Medicine, 51, 277–284.
McGrady, A. V., Woerner, M., Bernal, G. A., & Higgins, J. T. (1987). Effect of biofeedback-
assisted relaxation on blood pressure and cortisol levels in normotensives and hyper-
tensives. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 301–310.
McKelvie, S. J. (1995). Vividness of visual imagery: Measurement, nature, function and
dynamics. Journal of mental imagery series, Vol.5. New York: Brandon House.
Nadon, R., Laurence, J.-R., & Perry, C. (1987). Multiple predictors of hypnotic suscepti-
bility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 948–960.
Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory: Retrospect and current status. Canadian Journal of
Psychology, 45, 255–287.
Rutledge, T., & Hogan, B. E. (2002). A quantitative review of prospective evidence linking
psychological factors with hypertension development. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64,
758–766.
Sanderlin, M. A. (1991). The effects of open focused meditation versus progressive
muscle relaxation in blood pressure, heart rate and peripheral skin temperature.
Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(3-a), 807–815.
Sheehan, P. W. (1967). A shortened form of Betts’ questionnaire upon mental imagery.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23, 386–389.
Shliffer, R. I. (1930). The effect of the injection of adrenalin on blood pressure during
experimental sleep (hypnosis). Psykhoterapia, 167–172.
Spanos, N. P., Victoria, W., & Gwynn, M. I. (1990). Effects of hypnotic, placebo and
salicylic treatments on warts regression. Psychosomatic Medicine, 52, 109–114.
Steptoe, A., Patel, C., Marmot, M., & Hunt, B. (1987). Frequency of relaxation practice, blood
pressure reduction and the general effects of relaxation following a controlled trial of
behaviour modification for reducing coronary risk. , 3, 101–107.
Stern, J. A., Winokur, G., Graham, D. T., & Graham, F. K. (1961). Alterations in physi-
ological measures during experimentally induced attitudes. Journal of Psychosomatic
Research, 5, 73–82.
Tosi, J., Rudy, D. R., Lewlis, J., & Murphy, M. A. (1992). The psychobiological effects
of cognitive experiential therapy, hypnosis and attention placebo in the treatment of
essential hypertension. Psychotherapy, 29, 274–284.
Weitzenhoffer, A. M., & Hilgard, E. R. (1962). Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form
C. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
White, N. M. (1940). Blood pressure and palmar galvanic changes in normal and hypnotic
states. Psychological Bulletin, 37, 577.
82 MARIE-CLAIRE GAY
Young, L. M. (2000). The effects of guided imagery on the blood pressure of clients expe-
riencing mild to moderate essential hypertension. Dissertation Abstracts International:
Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 61(2-B), 787.
Zinkin, A. M. (1930). Blood pressure in hypnosis. Psykhoterapia, 123–140.
Die Effektivität von Hypnose bei der Reduktion von leichter essentieller
Hypertonie: Eine 1-Jahr-Folgestudie
Marie-Claire Gay
Zusammenfassung: Diese Studie untersucht die Effektivität von Hypnose
bei der Reduktion von leichter essentieller Hypertonie. 30 Teil-
nehmer wurden zufällig zu einer Hypnose- (standardisierte achtstündige
Hypnose-Einzel-Behandlung) oder einer Kontrollgruppe (keine Behand-
Downloaded by [Harvard College] at 13:07 17 September 2013
Marie-Claire Gay
Résumé: La présente recherche porte sur l’efficacité de l’hypnose dans la
réduction de l’hypertension artérielle essentielle bénigne. Trente partici-
pants ont été sélectionnés au hasard pour recevoir un traitement hypno-
tique (traitement individuel standardisé étalé sur huit séances) ou pour ne
recevoir aucun traitement (groupe témoin). Les résultats démontrent que
l’hypnose abaisse efficacement l’hypertension artérielle, non seulement à
court terme, mais aussi à moyen et à long terme. Aucun lien n’a pu être relevé
entre la pratique de l’autohypnose et l’évolution de la pression artérielle, ni
entre l’anxiété, les facteurs de personnalité et les résultats thérapeutiques.
Sont traitées dans cet article les implications des résultats du traitement
psychologique de l’hypertension artérielle.
Johanne Reynault
C. Tr. (STIBC)
Marie-Claire Gay
Resumen: Este estudio investiga la eficacia de la hipnosis para reducir
la hipertensión esencial menor. Asignamos aleatoriamente a treinta
HYPNOSIS AND HYPERTENSION 83