Hypnotherapy with children.

Abstract

The application of hypnotherapy and related techniques with children can be traced to Mesmer's era in the late 18th century. Prior to the availability of anesthesia, British surgeons described the successful use of hypnoanesthesia with many children. During the 19th century, there were several reports of clinical applications of child hypnotherapy. However, from 1900 to 1946, there were no English-language reports about hypnotherapy with children (Olness & Gardner, 1988). In fact, clinical reports documenting the successful use of hypnotherapy with children did not begin to appear in the American medical literature until the 1960s and 1970s, at which time pediatricians and pediatric psychologists reported that children readily learned self-hypnotic skills and applied them successfully. In the 1 9 7 0 ~~ several research groups buttressed these clinical observations with carefully conducted prospective studies.In the 1960s and 1970s, there was also a proliferation of training workshops devoted to child hypnotherapy. These workshops stimulated a great deal of interest in the professional community and were instrumental in training hundreds of child health professionals in the use of hypnotic techniques with children. Today, most pediatric institutions in the United 357

Clinical Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents—What? Why? How?: Origins, Applications, and Efficacy

“…Amongst many, these included Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), the British Surgeon John Elliotson (1791–1868) who also introduced the stethoscope to Great Britain, James Braid (1795–1860) who coined the word hypnosis, and Jean-Martin Charcot (1835–1893) whose descriptions of hypnosis in neurological terms gave it a new measure of scientific respectability. Of import, Liebault (1823–1904) and Bernheim (1840–1919) founded the School of Nancy devoted to the scientific investigation of hypnosis and described the first research on children’s hypnotic susceptibility, describing over 750 subjects and the peak “susceptibility” thought in those days to occur between the ages of 7 and 14 years [2] (Kohen and Olness, 2011; pp. 7–12).…”

“…A more detailed description of the early history of hypnosis with children is beyond the scope of this article and can be found in Kohen and Olness’ text Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy with Children (4th edition, 2011) [2]. …”

“…Kohen and Olness (2011) note the apparent beginning of child hypnosis in the U.S. [2] with Baldwin’s paper entitled “Suggestion in Infancy” in Science published in 1891 [3]. By 1900, interest in child hypnosis in Europe and the U.S. had decreased and it was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that there was a resurgence of interest in research in Child Hypnosis.…”

AGRICOH, a newly formed consortium of agricultural cohorts

“…55 Hypnosis is defined variably by several professional societies. 56 Perhaps best stated, "when we are in hypnosis, we intensify our attention, decrease our peripheral awareness and become more receptive to new ideas and associations whenever we reinforce, rewire, reframe or otherwise alter the neurophysiological networks we call 'experience.…”

Theory of Mind: Towards an Evolutionary Theory

“…This view has recently been challenged by new findings, both clinical and experimental, that show that young children's relationship to hypnosis is of a more constitutional character (i.e., unlearned and self-generated) than that of adults and, therefore, difficult to ascertain with the help of standard techniques and measurements. The new consensus that is emerging is, instead, that young children's hypnotizability is on a par with, if not higher, than that adults (Kohen and Olness 2012). 29 Older children, that have learned to crawl or walk also like to be "scared" by their parents.…”