Hypnosis with children (2024)
Karen Olness, M. D.
Case Western Reserve University
Keywords: children, development, self-hypnosis
Children learn hypnosis easily and can benefit in many ways from doing so. Their use of self-hypnosis provides them with a sense of mastery and competency, and recognition that they participate in their own treatment. They may learn hypnosis as a primary or adjunct therapy for problems such as chronic illness, habit problems, performance anxiety, sleep problems, anxiety, acute or chronic pain, warts, and enuresis (Kohen & Olness 2023).
The child health professional who teaches self-hypnosis to children must, first, be knowledgeable and competent with respect to the presenting problem. For example, if the presenting problem is headaches, there should be a careful evaluation to rule out causes such as an infection or tumor. The choice of approaches for teaching hypnosis should depend on the child’s age and developmental stage. Preschool children are concrete thinkers. For this reason, the therapist should choose words carefully. An 8-year-old-child is unlikely to respond to an approach that they enjoyed at age 4. It is also important to take time to learn about the child before teaching hypnosis. What are the child’s interests, strengths, fears, or past experiences with medical procedures? What does the child know about hypnosis?
Neurotypical children use their imagination when playing; this talent can be adapted to help them learn skills in hypnosis. Useful guidelines for teaching hypnosis to a child include: 1) emphasizing that the child is in control; 2) offering to be the teacher or coach; 3) offering choices or options; and 4) emphasizing that the child can use hypnosis when s/he chooses (Olness & Kohen, 2022).
Children ages 6 to 11 years usually enjoy approaches that relate to their favorite places or activities. Preschoolers generally are not comfortable closing their eyes during hypnosis and respond best to concrete suggestions. It is important to offer adolescents choices. After the first hypnosis experience, the clinician should ask the child what was enjoyable and what might be changed. There should be some discussion about a reminder system for practice.
What appeals to the child? Some children like to have recordings of hypnosis training sessions. Others benefit from the addition of biofeedback monitoring of peripheral temperature or electrodermal activity. This demonstrates that the child, by changing her thinking, caused the observed change.
Research related to children and hypnosis include controlled studies demonstrating the efficacy of hypnosis for treatment of recurrent abdominal pain (Vlieger et al., 2007), and migraines (Olness et al., 1987). Controlled laboratory studies show that self-hypnosis practice in children relates to changes in humoral immunity (e.g., Hewson-Bower & Drummond, 1996).
Child health professionals who wish to learn to teach children hypnosis should attend workshops taught by faculty experienced in working with children and that emphasize practice sessions. One example is the annual three-day workshop taught by the National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute in the USA (www.nphti.org).
References
Hewson-Bower, B., & Drummond, P. D. (1996). Secretory immunoglobulin A increases during relaxation in children with and without recurrent respiratory tract infections. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 17(5), 311-316. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004703-199610000-00004
Kohen, D. P., & Olness, K. (2023). Hypnosis with children. 5th Ed. Routledge.
Olness, K,. & Kohen, D. P. (2022). Hypnosis with children. In G. R. Elkins (Ed.), Introduction to clinical hypnosis: The basics and beyond. Mountain Pine Publishing.
Olness, K., MacDonald, J., & Uden, D. (1987). A prospective study comparing self hypnosis, propranolol and placebo in management of juvenile migraine. Pediatrics, 79, 593-597. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.79.4.593
Vlieger, A. M., Menio-Frankenhuis, C., Woltkamp,, S. C., Tromp,, E., & Benninga, M.A. (2007). Hypnotherapy for children with functional abdominal pain or irritable bowel syndrome: A randomized controlled trial. Gastroenterology,133(5), 1430-1436.