Suggestive therapy is probably the oldest of all therapeutic methods and the history of hypnosis dates back as far as recorded history. Currently, hypnosis is widely, and often successfully, used in a variety of paediatric disorders to modify and sometimes eliminate symptoms, behaviour and perceptions. In this talk a) our current understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms of hypnosis will be presented drawing mainly from the research of mechanisms of hypnotic analgesia in adults and b) the current research literature regarding the use of clinical hypnosis in paediatric care will be reviewed.
Neuroimaging studies in adults have shown that hypnotic suggestions can target specific areas in the brain, depending on the content of those suggestions, although frontal areas of the brain appear to be involved across different hypnotic treatments and suggestions. A growing body of evidence in paediatrics supports the effectiveness and safety of the intervention. However, current evidence comes mostly from case reports and uncontrolled studies. Clinical hypnosis is a powerful therapeutic technique for the management of acute and chronic paediatric pain, although the quality of evidence for its efficacy varies, depending upon the type of pain. Hypnosis is an evidence-based intervention for procedure-related pain and appears promising in the management of chronic pain.
In paediatric care in general, clinical hypnosis is a highly effective tool for helping children in many areas, both physical and emotional. However, large, well-designed, high-quality RCTs are still needed to develop a firm research evidence base.