A number of studies have examined the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating pain, either when used alone or alongside cognitive behavioural therapy. Pain is one of the best-researched areas - there have been a number of meta-analyses (literally a study of studies - one of the most a reliable ways to find out if there is an effect) of hypnosis for pain control.

Methods of pain control

Hypnotic approaches to pain relief take three forms:

• Direct suggestion for symptom change

• Dissociative approaches - encourages clients to mentally 'go elsewhere' and leave the pain behind

• Resource utilisation - a more Ericksonian approach

Meta-Analyses

Meta-analyses are essentially studies of studies. Where individual studies can sometimes show contradictory results, meta-analyses can be used to assess the performance of a treatment over a number of studies - this takes advantage of a larger sample size and hopefully leads to a more reliable result.

Montgomery, David, Winkel, Siverstein & Bovbjerg (2002)

This meta-analysis examined the results of 20 published controlled studies examining the use of hypnosis as an adjunct with surgical patients. In these studies hypnosis was typically administered to patients in the form of a relaxing induction phase followed by suggestions for the control of side effect profiles (e.g. pain, nausea, distress). Only studies in which patients were randomised to either a hypnosis or control group (no-treatment, routine care, or attention control group) were included. The results revealed that patients in the hypnosis treatment groups had better outcomes than 89% of the patients in the control groups. It was found that adjunctive hypnosis helped the majority of patients reduce adverse consequences of surgical interventions.

Montgomery, DuHamel & Redd (2000)

This meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of hypnosis in pain management. It compares studies that evaluated hypnotic pain reduction in healthy volunteers vs. those using patient samples, looks at the relationship between hypnoanalgesic effects and participants' hypnotic suggestibility, and determines the effectiveness of hypnotic suggestion for pain relief relative to other nonhypnotic psychological interventions. Examination of 18 studies revealed a moderate to large hypnoanalgesic effect, supporting the efficacy of hypnotic techniques for pain management. The results also indicated that hypnotic suggestion was equally effective in reducing both clinical and experimental pain.

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