Stress ? Yes of course ! Who isn’t stressed these days? Not only are we all stressed, but in addition, we must remedy it. Letting people know you’re getting sophisticated stress treatment sounds at least as cool as being seen stressing out!
But is it really a good thing?
Some experts doubt it: first, a little stress is normal and maybe even desirable. Second, medicalizing every small alteration in well-being may not always be the best idea. And third, there are many inexpensive, non-medical ways to relax. Personally, I take a walk or spend half an hour behind my battery. Others are reading a book, gardening or listening to their favorite music.
In France, more and more people choose sophrology, which literally means “the study of consciousness in harmony”. The name has a cultured sound and probably conveys a sense of superiority to its followers. Already in 2018, 94% of the French population had heard of this treatment and 17% said they had tried it. Today, some claim that sophrology has become the most popular of all alternative treatments in France. The main appeal of this practice might be that it assembles many anti-stress methods into one easy-to-use package.
A cocktail of ingredients from East and West
To be more precise, sophrology has borrowed techniques such as:
– hypnotherapy
– autogenic training
– positive thinking
– visualization
– meditation
– tai chi
– muscle relaxation
– mindfulness meditation
– breathing exercises
– physical training
– body awareness
Sophrology is therefore a strange cocktail of ingredients from the East, the West, the modern and the ancient. It is said to help not only with stress and anxiety, but also with pain and insomnia. It would also strengthen physical performance, concentration, endurance, self-confidence and much more. It’s no wonder consumers have embraced sophrology in droves. All consumers, really? No, only the French, and not all the French but especially the French. In most other countries, the method is as good as unknown.
The man who invented this ingenious mix of anti-stress treatments is Colombian-born neuropsychiatrist Alfredo Caycedo (1932-2017). First associating simple hypnotherapy with humanistic psychology, in 1960 he founded his department of “Clinical Sophrology” at the University of Madrid and in 1964 published his first article on the subject entitled “Sophrology and psychosomatic medicine”. Later, he added ancient Indian, Tibetan and Japanese traditions to his therapy. From 1988 until his death, Caycedo refined his method from his new base in Andorra.
He defined three main states of consciousness:
1. Pathological consciousness: the presence of disease or instability.
2. Ordinary consciousness: the day-to-day way of being.
3. Sophronic consciousness: the balanced and empowered state of consciousness.
To reach this last stage, novices are encouraged to learn from a qualified sophrologist. Thereafter, the various techniques should be practiced regularly without supervision. A sophrologist will guide his “patient” through a few simple rituals which constitute the 12 levels of sophrology. A typical session consists of breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, visualization techniques and gentle movement.
Clinical trials rarer than gold dust
In general, these exercises consist of:
– awareness of different parts of the body,
– muscle contraction and relaxation,
– awareness of sensations or feelings.
Since sophrology is very popular in France, one would expect many French studies to demonstrate its value. However, Medline, the largest database of medical articles in the world, lists only a hundred articles on the subject. Most of them are opinion pieces devoid of data. There are very few clinical trials, and most are of such poor quality that they are not even worth mentioning. Controlled clinical trials testing the effectiveness of sophrology are rarer than gold dust.
In fact, I only found three such studies:
– The first try was carried out by French researchers and tested sophrology against a standard treatment in adolescents suffering from asthma. His results were encouraging. However, the study was loosely rigorous and did not take into account placebo effects.
– The second study was also conducted by a French team. This was a small trial that tested the effects of sophrology in patients with respiratory failure. Again, the results looked promising at first glance, but the study had significant shortcomings that prevented firm conclusions from being drawn.
– The third try was conducted by Brazilian researchers. She compared sophrology with resistance training in patients with fibromyalgia. The results showed no benefit of sophrology over resistance training.
exercise caution
If we then ask ourselves whether sophrology offers advantages over other relaxation treatments, we find a complete absence of data. I think one option is as good as another, but some – like “progressive muscle relaxation” – are supported by much stronger evidence.
Of course, this rather disappointing situation does not necessarily mean that sophrology is ineffective. It simply demonstrates that it is poorly researched and that the therapeutic claims often made for this practice are not based on solid evidence. I have no doubt that some people benefit from it. But, as with all treatments that aren’t evidence-based, it would be wise to err on the side of caution.
We all probably tend to assume that a therapy like sophrology can’t do much harm. However, this assumption is wrong. Consider the hypothetical example of a patient suffering from chronic pain, a condition that sophrologists currently seem to focus on. She was told to try sophrology and finds the treatment effective in controlling her pain. She uses it regularly for several months. Eventually, the pain worsens and she sees a doctor who, after some tests, diagnoses stomach cancer as the source of her pain. Tragically, the disease is now too advanced to be cured, and the patient eventually dies of her cancer. This story is fictional, but it is by no means a rare case, and it shows that even seemingly harmless treatments can be life-threatening.
Sophrology is highly publicized, while being devoid of evidence of effectiveness. If you’re in good health and just using it as a wellness option, there’s not much to say against it. If, on the other hand, you are sick and you hope to use it as a treatment for your pathology, you should definitely think twice. In this case, consult a doctor who will find the cause of your symptoms, and seek an effective causal treatment. Once all of this is in place and you still feel drawn to sophrology, you can consider using it – not as a cure but as one option among many to cope better with what life throws at you. send.
*Edzard Ernst, Emeritus Professor, University of Exeter, UK.