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Forget everything pop culture has told you about hypnotherapy. Despite what cartoons and sitcoms might have us believe, there are no swinging pocket watches or people clucking like chickens when it comes to hypnosis. Rather, hypnotherapy can be a legitimate and serious form of treatment for everything from anxiety to sleeplessness – and there is real potential in the use of hypnotherapy for pain relief.
Right now, Deakin Associate Professor Subhadra Evans is breaking new ground with her research into the relationship between hypnotherapy and pain control. But how might hypnotherapy actually work for pain control, and who stands to benefit? We sat down with Evans to find out.
Hypnosis is described as a ‘state of focused concentration that involves becoming less aware of your surroundings’. The technique of hypnosis has existed for thousands of years and has been practiced by ancient cultures like the Druids and ancient Egyptians. When we talk about hypnotherapy, though, we’re referring specifically to the much more modern use of hypnosis as a type of psychological therapy. Evans explains:
‘Hypnotherapy is a psychological technique that uses focused attention and suggestion to help people change their thinking, feeling, or behaviour,’ says Evans. ‘A therapist, or recording, guides someone into a hypnotic state and uses structured suggestions or imagery to help with anxiety or stress, chronic pain or sleep difficulties. The idea is that when attention is focused and critical filtering is reduced, it’s easier to reframe thoughts, change emotional responses, and build new behavioural patterns.’
Hypnotherapy is usually conducted by an experienced hypnotist (such as an accredited member of the Australian Hypnotherapists Association), but it can also be self-induced. Importantly – and contrary to the images of nefarious, spiral-eyed cartoon hypnotists – hypnosis can’t be performed against someone’s will.
As Evans explains, hypnotherapy can have benefits for a wide range of conditions and concerns, such as ‘experience of pain, stress, anxiety, gut issues and sleep,’ in particular. But hypnotherapy has also been used to help people stop smoking, treat depression (with mixed results) and encourage weight loss for the overweight and obese.
For Evans specifically, though, there’s one big question she has dedicated her research to exploring: can hypnotherapy help with chronic pelvic pain?
‘Persistent pelvic pain affects up to 20% of Australians,’ Evans says. ‘It is associated with poor quality of life and psychological health, but effective treatment is lacking.’
Evans’ study further explains the troubling reality of persistent pelvic pain, noting that the condition ‘encompasses male and female anatomy of intermittent or constant pain between the hips and below the umbilicus for at least 3 months. Pain can involve the anal, scrotal, bladder, prostate, perineal and vaginal/vulval regions, with and without obvious pathology.’
Considering how many of us live with chronic pelvic pain, the seriousness of the condition and how few effective treatments exist, Evans’ study explores whether hypnotherapy for pain control could be a viable option.
‘Hypnotherapy is known to improve mental health and pain, yet limited research has been conducted for people with persistent pelvic pain,’ Evans says. ‘Because hypnotherapy can change neural processes associated with pain intensity and unpleasantness, it may be useful for people with pelvic pain, where pain and distress are commonly reported.’
Evan’s hypnotherapy research (a randomised control trial which has finished recruitment, with data still to be analysed) compares e-hypnotherapy with relaxation and waitlists to determine the efficacy of hypnotherapy for pelvic pain. E-hypnotherapy, according to the study, uses a ‘“choose your own adventure” technology to closely replicate the personalised and tailored aspects of face-to-face hypnotherapy.’
The question on the lips of pain sufferers is: does hypnotherapy actually work for pain control? As Evans explains, the answer is generally yes – with a few caveats.
‘There is reasonably good evidence that hypnotherapy can reduce pain, but the strength and consistency of that evidence varies a lot depending on the type of pain, the population, and study quality,’ Evans says. ‘Some persistent pelvic pain conditions, such as IBS, show strong benefits.’
Other chronic pelvic conditions – especially in women’s healthcare, with conditions like endometriosis – are also often effectively treated with ‘adjunct therapies’ like hypnotherapy that go beyond (or complement) medication and surgical procedures.
It’s worth noting, though, that while hypnotherapy can control pain effectively for some of us, some research suggests that only around two thirds of adults are able to be hypnotised at all – and there seems to be some genetic factors at play in determining who is and isn’t receptive to the treatment.
Anyone living with persistent pain could be forgiven for searching for the promise of salvation anywhere it’s advertised. But, while hypnotherapy promises pain control for some people in some instances, Evans recommends keeping a few things in mind about hypnotherapy before jumping in.
‘It can help, but hypnotherapy is not a cure-all,’ she says. ‘It is a legitimate, evidence-supported pain management tool, particularly as part of a multimodal treatment approach delivered by a health practitioner such as a psychologist or a doctor who received hypnotherapy training.’
