A Clinical View of the Effectiveness of Hypnosis in Pain Control

Abstract

Hypnosis can be a useful tool in the control of many types of pain, if the practitioner first understands something of the dynamics of hypnosis. A lack of knowledge about the clinical hypnotic situation has been partially responsible for the delay in the acceptance of the professional use of hypnosis as a treatment for many problems regarding pain. It is a difficult subject to study scientifically because the hypnotic situation is not a constant It fluctuates with the needs of both the patient and the doctor. In treatment of pain, hypnosis, like aspirin, may not be appropriate or effective for many patients. It is, however, “one of the possible approaches to the handling of the patient’s problems that possesses special and highly significant values at both the psychological and physiological levels.”¹