Hypnosis as A Complementary Therapy for Promoting Well-Being in Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Review of The Literature

Objectives: Hypnosis showed beneficial effects in terms of symptom relief in patients suffering from neurodegenerative conditions. Little is known about the effects of hypnosis on well-being, quality of life and personal resources of these patient populations. This narrative review aimed to summarize and discuss existing studies, which investigated improvements in well-being in patients with neurodegenerative disorders following hypnosis treatment.

Methods: A narrative review was performed in English databases with specific keywords “neurological disease or illness and hypnosis”, “hypnosis and positive psychology” and “hypnosis and well-being”. Eleven studies (with a total of 178 patients) were found which applied hypnosis for neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.).

Results: Hypnosis demonstrated beneficial effects, improving patients’ physical well-being and quality of life. Hypnosis was also found to promote existential well-being and resilience.

Conclusions: The majority of studies produced improvement in patients’ well-being. This points to the possibility of applying hypnosis aimed at increasing well-being as a complementary therapy for patients with neurodegenerative disorders. More controlled investigations are needed.

Keywords:Neurodegenerative disorders; Hypnosis; well-being; Embodiment; Relaxation; Complementary therapy