Clinical Hypnosis for Pain Control: A Comprehensive Approach to Management and Treatment

This comprehensive guide shows how integrating hypnosis with psychotherapy and mindful meditation can help clinicians treat patients who suffer from chronic and acute pain.

David R. Patterson and M. Elena Mendoza present hypnotic analgesia as a viable alternative to psychopharmacological interventions for pain resulting from physical injuries, nerve damage, surgery, neurological problems, and other sources. They review research elucidating the neurophysiological and biopsychosocial roots of pain and provide clinical strategies that can be applied in a variety of settings.

Patterson and Mendoza adopt a nuanced treatment model that deemphasizes pain reduction, which can be counterproductive, and focuses instead on adaptive pain management through cognitive restructuring.

This second edition includes updated research findings and practice guidelines, including technological innovations like virtual reality hypnosis, and a new chapter on mindful meditation. The authors also add a step-by-step case example that walks readers through an integrative, eight-session process and brings the techniques described in this volume to life.

David R. Patterson, PhD, ABPP, is an emeritus professor from the University of Washington School of Medicine and the former psychologist for Harborview Medical Center’s Burn Center and Rehabilitation Psychology Consult Service. Dr. Patterson specializes in pain control and recovery from physical trauma, burn injuries, and other forms of disabilities. He is internationally known for his work in clinical hypnosis and has conducted NIH-funded studies on pain control since the 1980s. He has multiple peer reviewed publications in rehabilitation psychology and the use of immersive virtual reality for pain.

M. Elena Mendoza, PhD, LCP, is a research assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She has worked on the applications of hypnosis to smoking cessation, dentistry, and pediatrics at Indiana University. At the University of Valencia, Spain, Dr. Mendoza has conducted research on beliefs and attitudes toward hypnosis and the clinical applications of the Valencia model of waking hypnosis. Her research has been published in national and international journals. She is a founding member of the Association for the Advance of Experimental and Applied Hypnosis in Spain.