The use of hypnosis for a patient with chronic pain

Abstract

To protect confidentiality, the patient will be referred to as Alice. Alice was a 58- year-old woman who had been experiencing chronic pain in her right arm since an operation two years previously for syringomyelia. The referral, from an anaesthetist, requested psychological input for Alice to help her cope better with her pain, and adjust better to pain-related losses, particularly the loss of her ability to engage in creative pursuits, and her vocational loss, having to leave her job as an art teacher. Hypnosis was used throughout six treatment sessions. She learned self-hypnosis and used a tape which she eventually returned. She was able to use hypnosis to create complex visual images as if she were painting a picture. She thus regained some ability to imaginally enjoy her work again. She also learned to lower her pain levels through displacement and psychologically induced analgesia. Her general morale was lifted and a 6-month follow-up showed that the benefit of therapy was maintained despite significant family stress. She was no longer using painkillers or sleeping pills. Extracts from the transcripts are included to illustrate therapeutic technique and progress. Copyright © 1999 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis