Anxiety Control Center

I just received this information on research that is being done with children who are suffering with abdominal pain.  I was so excited to see this research showing positive results using guided imagery for children.

Guided imagery is one form of self-hypnosis that I have found is extremely powerful for children.  I am including the following study for anyone interested in the results.  In the study the children use their imagination to help reduce pain.

For many years the therapists at the Anxiety Control Center  have been using a hypnotic system developed specifically for children.  Visualization is just one of the hypnotic techniques we have found can help with social fears, speaking in public, fear of the dark and other fears, as well as pain.     We have found that children respond  quickly to this hypnotic method, even faster than adults.  Because children are naturally great at using their imaginations this method is very powerful for them.

The following is the information I just read.

“A study is scheduled to be published in the November issue of the journal
Pediatrics “Children can greatly reduce abdominal pain by using their
imagination” by Miranda van Tilburg, Ph.D., Denesh K. Chitkara, M.D.,
William E. Whitehead, Ph.D., Nanette Blois-Martin, and Martin Ulshen,
M.D.

Children with functional abdominal pain who used audio recordings of
guided imagery at home in addition to standard medical treatment were
almost three times as likely to improve their pain problem, compared to
children who received standard treatment alone.

And those benefits were maintained six months after treatment ended, a
new study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke
University Medical Center researchers has found.

“What is especially exciting about our study is that children can
clearly reduce their abdominal pain a lot on their own with guidance
from audio recordings, and they get much better results that way than
from medical care alone,” said van Tilburg. “Such self-administered
treatment is, of course, very inexpensive and can be used in addition to
other treatments, which potentially opens the door for easily enhancing
treatment outcomes for a lot of children suffering from frequent stomach
aches.”

The study focused on functional abdominal pain, defined as persistent
pain with no identifiable underlying disease that interferes with
activities. It is very common, affecting up to 20 percent of children.
Prior studies have found that behavioral therapy and guided imagery (a
treatment method similar to self-hypnosis) are effective, when combined
with regular medical care, to reduce pain and improve quality of life.
But for many children behavioral therapy is not available because it is
costly, takes a lot of time and requires a highly trained therapist.

For this study, 34 children ages 6 to 15 years old who had been
diagnosed with functional abdominal pain by a physician were recruited
to participate by pediatric gastroenterologists at UNC Hospitals and
Duke University Medical Center. All received standard medical care and
19 were randomized to receive eight weeks of guided imagery treatment.

A total of 29 children finished the study; 15 in the guided imagery plus
medical treatment group and 14 in the medical treatment alone group.

The guided imagery sessions, developed jointly by van Tilburg, co-
investigator Olafur Palsson, Psy.D. and Marsha Turner, the study
coordinator, were recorded on CDs and given to children in the study to
use at home.

The treatment consisted of a series of four biweekly, 20-minute sessions
and shorter 10-minute daily sessions. In session one, for example, the
CD directs children to imagine floating on a cloud and relaxing
progressively. The session then gives them therapeutic suggestions and
imagery for reducing discomfort, such as letting a special shiny object
melt into their hand and then placing their hand on their belly,
spreading warmth and light from the hand inside the tummy to make a
protective barrier inside that prevents anything from irritating the belly.

In the group that used guided imagery, the children reported that the
CDs were easy and enjoyable to use. In that group, 73.3 percent reported
that their abdominal pain was reduced by half or more by the end of the
treatment course. Only 26.7 percent in the standard medical care only
group achieved the same level of improvement. This increased to 58.3
percent when guided imagery treatment was offered later to the standard
medical care only group. In both groups combined, these benefits
persisted for six months in 62.5 percent of the children.

The study concluded that guided imagery treatment plus medical care was
superior to standard medical care alone for the treatment of functional
abdominal pain, and that treatment effects were sustained over a long period.”

M.Asad Khan, MD
C&A Psychiatrist
Jonesboro, AR

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