The Effectiveness of Hypnotherapy on Psychological Distress, Functional Disability, and Death Anxiety in Heroin-Dependent Individuals

Objective: This present research aimed to determine the effectiveness of hypnotherapy on psychological distress, functional disability, and death anxiety in heroin-dependent individuals. Method: The study was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the current research included all heroin users referring to an addiction treatment camp in the city of Ghaemshahr in 2020. Among which, 32 heroin-dependent individuals were recruited and randomly assigned to two experimental (n = 16) and control (n = 16) groups. Subjects in the experimental group received hypnotherapy for eight 75-minute sessions. The research tools included the WHO functional disability assessment questionnaire, the depression, anxiety and stress scale, and the death anxiety questionnaire. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups, and hypnotherapy significantly reduced the scores of psychological distress, functional disability, and death anxiety in heroin-dependent individuals. Conclusion: Hypnotherapy can be used as a useful intervention method to reduce psychological distress, functional disability, and death anxiety.