Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder which can cause people to have changes in the way they understand the world and their senses. It can also cause social withdrawal. The main treatments for schizophrenia in developed countries are various antipsychotic medications although not everyone responds to these drugs. Other interventions such as talking therapies, relaxation, hypnosis and other alternative therapies have been suggested to be of help, mostly in addition to medication. This review looks at the use of hypnosis in the treatment of schizophrenia, which was compared, in the trials identified, to relaxation, listening to music and standard treatment. Three trials were identified containing a total of 149 people. All of these studies were carried out before 1983 and were relatively short (eight weeks, four weeks and one week). Due to the way the data were reported in these studies and their size, there was no conclusive evidence that hypnosis was better than the other interventions. Very few people left the trials suggesting that hypnosis, relaxation and listening to classical music (Sibelius) were at least acceptable interventions. In order to draw better informed conclusions regarding this potential treatment option in schizophrenia, well conducted trials are required, that measure well outcomes such as improvement in symptoms, functioning and quality of life of the people involved.
(Plain language summary prepared for this review by Janey Antoniou of RETHINK, UK www.rethink.org).