Hypnotherapy for the Management of Chronic Pain

Abstract

This article reviews controlled prospective trials of hypnosis for the treatment of chronic pain. Thirteen studies, excluding studies of headaches, were identified that compared outcomes from hypnosis for the treatment of chronic pain to either baseline data or a control condition. The findings indicate that hypnosis interventions consistently produce significant decreases in pain associated with a variety of chronic-pain problems. Also, hypnosis was generally found to be more effective than nonhypnotic interventions such as attention, physical therapy, and education. Most of the hypnosis interventions for chronic pain include instructions in self-hypnosis. However, there is a lack of standardization of the hypnotic interventions examined in clinical trials, and the number of patients enrolled in the studies has tended to be low and lacking long-term follow-up. Implications of the findings for future clinical research and applications are discussed.

A case study illustrating traps, pitfalls and concerns for the hypnodontist

“…Its future also shows great promise (Chaves, 1997;Elkins, Jensen and Patterson, 2007;Abrahamsen, Baad-Hansen and Svensson, 2008;Liossi, Santarcangelo and Jensen, 2009). This case report examines a situation in which hypnosis was chosen to relieve the chronic pain of anaesthesia dolorosa.…”

Empleo de metáforas en las sugestiones hipnóticas para manejar el dolor articular : estudio de caso = Use of metaphors in hypnotic suggestions for joint pain management : a case study

“…Dentro del arsenal terapéutico de la psicología clínica se encuentra la hipnosis, procedimiento bien estudiado y que ha demostrado una efi cacia bien contrastada en el manejo del dolor (véase, por ejemplo, Elkins, Jensen y Patterson, 2007;Fernández, Vidal y Fernández, 2000;Jensen et al, 2006). Dicha efi cacia también ha sido verifi cada en el caso del dolor articular en pacientes con AR (Horton y Mitzdorf, 1994;Horton, Mitzdorf y Melchart, 2000), si bien la evidencia disponible todavía es escasa.…”

The use of suggestive methods, including hypnotherapy, in obstetric practice

“…Первоначально гипноз использовался для анестезии при меди-цинских вмешательствах, однако в последние де-сятилетия появились исследования, демонстри-рующие эффективность гипнотерапии в лечении хронических болевых синдромов [6,8], в том чис-ле при терминальных стадиях злокачественных новообразований , нейропатических болевых син-дромах, головной боли [9][10][11][12]. При этом в части исследований показана высокая эффективность гипнотерапии в сравнении с негипнотическими техниками [13,14].…”