Pain Management

Hypnotherapeutic methods for achieving pain relief are numerous and the choice may depend on the conditions and personality of the patient Suggestions may be direct or may utilize guided imagery, anesthesia or other procedures.

As is so important in hypnosis, attitude is a major factor. It is important that the patient accept that relief is possible. Constant pain needs to be approached on a different basis from interim pain.

Physical pain is seldom constant. The therapist will determine if the patient has experienced periods, however briefly, which were free of pain . If the patient claims the pain is constant, it is more likely to be psychological in origin and may indicate a constant pain syndrome Treatment will likely involve the establishment of rapport with empathy and appreciation of the value of pain. Hypnotic regressions to the cause of the problem can lead to understanding and relief.

A reasonable hypnotherapist usually will not work with physical pain without being in communication with an appropriate physician, for the simple reason that pain is more of a symptom than a condition Pain indicates that something is wrong somewhere and that is true whether the pain is physical or mental . It would be the height of folly to treat a migraine headache only to have it turn out to have been a brain cancer. It is important to remember that some patients value their pains highly, just as a hypochondriac can be said to enjoy poor health. Through hypnosis patients frequently van be shown that they can control their pains,a nd being able to do so they also can diminish pain to tolerable levels or turn it off completely at will.

Negative attitudes must be dealt with, and again the capability of hypnosis to modify trends of thought becomes important. In difficult cases the power to cope can be programmed into the patient's mind, possibly together with cues to make the process more or less automatic. in dealing with pain situations, teaching the patient the use of sell-hypnosis techniques can be highly beneficial, reinforcing the programming that has been done in the case.

This information was researched by the educational faculty of the National Guild of Hypnotists, the oldest and largest professional organization of its kind, for its members.