Hypnosis as an intervention in pain management: A brief review

While there is a consensus that psychosocial factors play an important role in the experience of pain, clinical interventions for acute and chronic pain remain primarily biomedical. This pattern persists despite a body of recent empirical work supporting the effectiveness of a number of behavioral and relaxation interventions for these problems. One of these interventions is hypnosis. We briefly discuss hypnotic analgesia and describe how hypnosis can be integrated into biomedical treatment for acute and chronic pain. Special attention is given to indications and contraindications, preparation of patients, and technique. (Int J Psych Clin Pract 2001; 5: 97±101) Keywords hypnosis chronic pain acute pain clinical studies hypnotic assessment I n 1966 a US National Institute of Health TechnologyAssessment Panel noted that despite the wide variety of surgical and pharmaceutical options available, certain types of pain continue to be a significant problem. 1 The experience of pain is a result of the complex interactionbetweenphysical sensation and psychosocial factors, with the physical awareness of noxious stimuli markedly influenced by the meaning of the pain for the patient. 2 ± 4 the NIH further cited hypnosis as one of several viable and effective interventions for alleviating pain in cancer and other chronic pain conditions. 1 Indeed, the property of hypnosis which has the greatest potential for social good resides in the ability of the hypnotizable subjects to radically reduce, or in some cases eliminate, both chronic and acute pain.Wehere briefly review hypnosis as an important adjunct to the successful management of acute and chronic pain