According to a British study, a few sessions of
behavioral therapy, even a “self-help” version, could help some women find relief from
menopausal hot flashes.
More than two-thirds of the women who underwent, through group sessions or self-help, had a “clinically significant” drop in problems related to hot flashes and night sweats, after six weeks of cognitive
behavioral therapy.
“These results suggest that
cognitive behavioral therapy delivered in group or self-help format is an effective treatment option for women during the menopause transition and postmenopause with problematic
hot flashes/night sweats,” wrote senior researcher Myra Hunter, at King’s College London. Hunter said the therapy “involves developing helpful, accepting approaches to
hot flashes and also using breathing exercises to focus attention away from the flashes and negative thoughts.”
“Women say that they might still have hot flashes but not notice them, and then they feel more confident about coping with them,” Hunter said.…