The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis
-
Clinical evidence for the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of acute procedural pain was critically evaluated based on reports from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). Results from the 29 RCTs meeting inclusion criteria suggest that hypnosis decreases pain compared to standard care and attention control groups and that it is at least as effective as comparable adjunct psychological or behavioral therapies. ⋯ However, interpretations are limited by considerable risk of bias. Further studies using minimally effective control conditions and systematic control of intervention dose and timing are required to strengthen conclusions.
-
Int J Clin Exp Hypn · Jan 2012
ReviewHypnosis for the management of chronic and cancer procedure-related pain in children.
The aim of this study was to review published controlled trials of hypnotic treatments for chronic and cancer procedure-related pain in children. Trials were included if participants were 18 years of age or below, were randomized and had populations with chronic pain or cancer procedure-related pain. ⋯ Although the evidence is limited, the findings indicate that hypnosis is an effective pain-control technique when used with children suffering from cancer procedure-related pain or chronic pain. Further research into the use of hypnosis to manage chronic pain in children should be a priority so that empirically based conclusions can be drawn about the effects of hypnosis on children.
-
Int J Clin Exp Hypn · Jul 2007
ReviewEfficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of eating disorders.
Research on the efficacy of hypnosis in the treatment of eating disorders has produced mixed findings. This is due in part to the interplay between the characteristics of people with eating disorders and the phenomena of hypnosis. In addition, several authors have noted that methodological limitations in hypnosis research often make evaluation of treatment efficacy difficult. ⋯ Therefore, this paper only reviews literature with replicable methodological descriptions. It focuses on the three primary disorders of interest to clinicians: bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and obesity. The implications for evaluating treatment efficacy are discussed.
-
Int J Clin Exp Hypn · Oct 1997
Review Historical ArticleHypnotic control of pain: historical perspectives and future prospects.
Hypnotic analgesia has occupied a pivotal place in experimental and clinical hypnosis. It emerged early in the 19th century when effective clinical techniques for pain management had not yet developed, and the relief of pain and suffering had not even become a well-defined social goal. Its acceptance was further complicated by political struggles surrounding the humanitarian transformation of medicine during this era as well as a redefinition of the physician-patient relationship that wrested control from the patient. ⋯ While the evidence for the powerful effects of suggestion and related variables has often been observed and reported in nonhypnotic contexts, their relationship to hypnotic phenomena has often not been appreciated. Since the mid-20th century, scientific information about hypnotic analgesia has grown substantially and has had significant influence on strategies for acute and chronic pain management. If recent calls for its wider application in pain management are to succeed, it will require additional data from clinical populations and a balanced and scientifically prudent approach by its advocates.
-
Int J Clin Exp Hypn · Jan 1996
ReviewHypnosis treatment of clinical pain: understanding why hypnosis is useful.
Clinical and experimental research literature indicates hypnosis is very useful for severe and persistent pain, yet reviews suggest hypnosis is not widely used. To encourage more widespread clinical application, the author reviews recent controlled clinical studies in which hypnosis compares favorably with other interventions; links advances in understanding endogenous pain modulation to a neurophysiologic view of hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia; relates the neurophysiology of hypnoanalgesia to management of chronic pain; challenges the view that hypnotic pain control is only for the highly hypnotizable patient; and raises issues about how people learn to control pain with hypnosis. Training in hypnotic analgesia may usefully enhance nervous system inhibitory processes that attenuate pain.