Hypnotherapy has many uses in pediatrics, and its value, not only as a adjunct but also as a primary therapy for certain conditions, justifies its inclusion in pediatric training programs. Suggestion and expectation have long been related to therapeutic outcomes in medicine, but not all physicians know how to apply them constructively and systematically in communication with patients. In pediatrics there is a tendency to overlook opportunities in which hypnosis might be the treatment of choice. Because children engage in imagination and fantasy easily without the cognitive inhibitions of adults, they are able to use hypnosis more readily than adults. More research into the imaginative skills of children may facilitate understanding of learning mechanisms and make it possible for professionals to prevent the loss of the natural imaginative capacities in children and, therefore, enhance the ability of mature members of society to use these skills. In addition to reduction of specific symptoms through hypnotherapy, children benefit by the sense of mastery which they acquire, a sense which is surely needed to overcome the feelings of hopelessness, loss of control, and depression induced by many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in medicine.

Pediatrics. 1978 Aug;62(2):228-33. Olness K, Gardner GG.

Full Title: Obsessive-compulsive tendencies and undermined confidence are related to reliance on proxies for internal states in a false feedback paradigm.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We have previously hypothesized that obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies are associated with a general lack of subjective conviction regarding internal states, which leads to compensatory seeking of and reliance on more discernible substitutes (proxies) for these states (Lazarov, A., Dar, R., Oded, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 516-523). This article presents two studies designed to provide further support to this hypothesis by using false biofeedback as a proxy for internal states. METHODS: In Study 1 we presented high and low OC participants with pre-programmed false feedback showing either increasing or decreasing levels of muscle tension. In Study 2 we presented similar false feedback on level of relaxation to non-selected participants, half of which received instructions that undermined their confidence in their ability to assess their own level of relaxation. RESULTS: In Study 1, high OC participants were more affected by false biofeedback when judging their own level of muscle tension than were low OC participants. In Study 2, undermined confidence participants were more affected by false biofeedback when judging their own level of relaxation as compared to control participants. LIMITATIONS: Our findings are based on a non-clinical, highly functioning, largely female student sample and their generalization to OCD requires replication with a sample of OCD patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide converging evidence for our hypothesis by replicating and extending our previous findings. We discuss the implication of our hypothesis for the understanding and treatment of OCD and outline directions for future research.

J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2011 Jul 22;43(1):556-564. Lazarov A, Dar R, Liberman N, Oded Y. Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.