How Sissoo rates the evidence

How we decide what the research says about each type of session, which sources we use and how we keep it up to date.

Our five ratings

• Good evidence it helps: several careful studies agree, or national guidelines recommend it.
• Some evidence it may help: a few careful studies found a benefit, and more are needed.
• Limited evidence: studies are small, early or mixed.
• No good evidence yet: no reliable studies yet. This does not mean it does not help; it has not been tested well.
• Good evidence it does not help: careful studies found little or no benefit.

We rate each type of session for each need, for example yoga for back pain, not yoga in general.

Where the evidence comes from

We use public health bodies and independent reviews: the NHS and NICE in the UK, the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), the World Health Organization and Cochrane. As we add other languages, we also use national bodies, such as gesundheitsinformation.de in Germany, Santé.fr and INSERM in France, and the Spanish health ministry’s CoNprueba reports.

We search research databases such as PubMed to find new studies, but we link to the reviewed summary or guideline, not to single studies. Every rating links to its source.

How we keep it up to date

Research changes. We check regularly for new reviews and guidelines and review every page at least every 6 months. We change a rating only when the evidence changes, and each page shows the date it was last checked.

What we never do

We never promise results or say a session cures or treats an illness. Sessions on Sissoo complement medical care and never replace it. Please don’t stop or change any treatment without talking to your doctor.

How we make money

Sissoo is a booking platform. We earn a commission when you book a session. This never changes the ratings, and practitioners can’t change them.

All research pages

By type of session

• Hypnotherapy: what the research says
• Counselling: what the research says
• Mindfulness: what the research says
• Reiki: what the research says
• Life coaching: what the research says
• Massage: what the research says
• Relaxation: what the research says
• NLP: what the research says
• Psychotherapy: what the research says
• CBT: what the research says

By need

• Sleep better
• Handle stress better
• Feel calmer
• A relaxed body
• Menopause wellbeing
• Grief and loss
• Lift your mood

Tell us

If something looks out of date or wrong, message our team.