The randomized trial measured pain and suffering, frequency of pain and degree of constant pain among 124 women with metastatic breast cancer, according to Lisa D. Butler, first author of the study.
Researchers recorded levels of pain at four-month intervals for a year. Women who were assigned to the treatment group received group psychotherapy, as well as instruction and practice in hypnosis to moderate their pain symptoms.
They reported “significantly less increase in the intensity of pain and suffering over time,” compared with a control group, who did not receive the group psychotherapy intervention.
However, those using hypnosis reported no significant reduction in the frequency or constancy of pain episodes.
“The results of this study suggest that the experience of pain and suffering for patients with metastatic breast cancer can be successfully reduced with an intervention that includes hypnosis in a group therapy setting,” according to Butler. “These results augment the growing literature supporting the use of hypnosis as an adjunctive treatment for medical patients experiencing pain.”
The researchers also found that, within the treatment group, those patients who could be hypnotized more easily — a group the researchers said demonstrated “high hypnotizability” — reported greater benefits from hypnosis. These patients used hypnosis more overall, including outside of the group sessions, and in some cases used it to address other symptoms related to their cancer.
“These results suggest that although hypnosis is not at present standard practice for treating a wide range of symptoms that trouble cancer patients, it is worth examining that potential,” Butler says.
“Together, these findings suggest that there may be a number of benefits to the use of hypnosis in cancer care including, but not necessarily limited to, its more traditional application for pain control.”
References:
1. Lisa D. Butler, et al. Effects of Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy on Pain in Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer. Health Psychology, Volume 28, Issue 5, September 2009, Pages 579-587. doi:10.1037/a0016124
