A recent study examined the effects of six 90-minute sessions with autogenic training (Schultz 1932) or hypnosis (Erickson and Rossi 1979) on patients with anxiety/panic disorders.

Twenty seven outpatients were recruited by newspaper articles. Most of them had not received any prior treatment. The treatments consisted of 6 weekly group sessions (4-6 patients in each group). Psychological examinations were carried out before and after treatment and at a follow-up after 3 months.

Trait anxiety, panic attacks and psychosomatic complaints all significantly decreased in both groups following treatment. The improvements were even more significant during the 3 month following treatment. The success of the treatment was found to be influenced by the frequency of autosuggestive exercises carried out by the patients at home.

The researchers concluded that whilst autogenics and hypnosis could not be claimed to be sufficient for all patients with anxiety disorders, the results of the study should encourage the use of autogenic training and hypnosis as initial therapeutic approaches for such patients and to combine them with other therapeutic interventions.