Tele-hypnosis in the treatment of adolescent school refusal

Few studies have presented the use of hypnosis in the treatment of school refusal. These studies haven't approached the problem of self-hypnosis during the stressful morning hours. This paper introduces a therapeutic approach, which utilizes known hypnotic techniques, but rehearses them via the telephone, while the patient is at his/her house or on the way to school and the therapist is at the office. Twelve school-refusal adolescents were treated with different hypnotherapy techniques. Equipped with cellular phones and with the therapist's availability, these adolescents could benefit from hypnosis as an alternative coping strategy when the anxiety occurred. Results showed that 8 of the participants maintained full-time attendance, 3 showed partial improvement and 1 failed to improve his attendance. This study illustrates the benefits of self-hypnosis in the treatment of school refusal, while also enabling the patient to maintain the connection with the therapist so that the anxiety may be confronted when it arises.

Abarbanel Mental Health Center, Bat Yam, Israel. alexaviv@gmail.com