Hypnotherapy to stop drinking: what the evidence can and can't tell you

Why so many people are searching for this right now

Google searches for “hypnotherapy to stop drinking” rose sharply over the past few months. Over the same period, a Washington Post piece looked at what happens to the brain after you stop. Its message was hopeful: evidence suggests the brain can recover to an extent when people stop or cut back.^[4] If that article got you thinking about your own drinking, that is a good reason to look for help. The next question is which help.

What the one randomized trial found

Researchers in Norway randomized 31 patients in a six-week inpatient alcohol program. Everyone got the same intensive group therapy. The only difference was five individual sessions: 16 people got hypnotherapy (an Ericksonian, permissive style) and 15 got motivational interviewing, a standard counseling approach.^[1]

Both groups cut their drinking substantially. The hypnotherapy group did slightly better on the AUDIT, a standard drinking questionnaire, and marginally better at the one-year follow-up. But the difference was only a trend (p = 0.088), not a statistically significant result.^[1]

The authors offer three readings: hypnosis has a real effect that the study was too small to detect, neither add-on mattered much next to the group therapy everyone received, or hypnotherapy is at least as good as motivational interviewing. The data cannot tell these apart. What the trial does not show is that hypnosis on its own, outside a treatment program, helps people stop drinking.^[1]

What has stronger evidence

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) lists three kinds of help with good evidence behind them:^[2]

• Behavioral treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational enhancement, delivered by a health professional.
• Medications. Three are FDA-approved for alcohol use disorder: naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram. They are non-addictive and can be prescribed by a primary care doctor.
• Mutual-support groups, such as AA and other peer groups, often combined with the two above.

These medications are under-used. If you have searched for a “pill to stop drinking,” naltrexone is one of them. Ask your doctor whether any of them fit your situation.

Where hypnosis could fit

Hypnosis is a focused, absorbed state in which people respond more readily to suggestion. Applied to drinking, a session usually rehearses a specific moment: the drive past the liquor store, the first evening without a drink, the party where everyone else is drinking. That kind of mental rehearsal overlaps with relapse-prevention skills taught in counseling.

Used that way, as practice alongside a real treatment plan, it is reasonable to try. The risk is using it instead of a treatment plan, or using a promised “one-session cure” to put off talking to a doctor.

Questions to ask a hypnotherapist who treats drinking

• Do you screen for heavy daily drinking and refer people for medical withdrawal support?
• What does success mean to you, and how long do you follow up with clients?
• Will you work alongside my doctor, counselor, or medication rather than instead of them?
• What happens if I drink again partway through?
• Is your program based on any published trial? If you quote a success rate, who was counted?

Where to find help in the US

The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator helps you find and compare evidence-based providers.^[5] SAMHSA’s National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) is free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day.^[6]

What this means for Hypnova

Hypnova has not been studied for alcohol use and does not treat it. The trial above did not test an app. Hypnova's sessions are for general relaxation, such as winding down in the evening or getting back to sleep. Early sobriety often comes with poor sleep, which is covered in why you can't sleep at 3 AM. For how hypnosis compares on another habit, see what the quit-smoking evidence says.

For general relaxation, explore Hypnova's free stress-relief sessions.