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Hypnosis for kids with burns
Researchers have looked at whether this therapy can ease pain and anxiety in these young patients.
Stephen Chester Photo: University of Queensland
Hypnotherapy may reduce anxiety and pain in children being treated for serious burns, a new study has found.
Study lead Stephen Chester, a PhD candidate with the University of Queensland( UQ), said previous research had shown adults with burns benefited significantly from hypnotherapy
through reduced pain and anxiety, lower medication usage and shorter hospital stays, and added that the UQ research team was keen to investigate medical hypnosis in children as they are generally more responsive to hypnotherapy and therapeutic suggestion than adults.
“ We are not replacing pain and anxiety-relieving drugs, but examining whether medical hypnosis and medication together can help these young patients who have often been through a very traumatic time,” Chester said.
The research team conducted a randomised controlled trial at Brisbane’ s Lady Cilento Children’ s Hospital involving 62 burns patients aged 4 – 16. Children were randomly assigned to either the hypnotherapy or standard care group. The team measured pain, anxiety, stress and wound healing at each dressing change.
Chester said:“ Children in the hypnotherapy group reported 70 per cent lower pain and 67 per cent lower anxiety scores on average, compared with those receiving standard care before their second dressing change.
“ Before the third dressing change, the hypnotherapy group had 90 per cent lower pain and 84 per cent lower anxiety. These results are clinically significant.”
Last year, Chester trained as a hypnotherapist with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He said while he initially approached it with some scepticism, he soon realised anaesthetists and dentists already use these techniques without labelling them as hypnosis or hypnotherapy.
“ One of the great things about it is that it has no side-effects and it’ s completely safe.” ■
Insights into eating disorders s
A new resource advises health professionals on how to support patients with these complex conditions.
More than 100 Australians who have experienced an eating disorder have lent their voices to a new guide that aims to help healthcare professionals adopt a person-centred, recovery-oriented approach to care.
There are almost a million Australians living with an eating disorder, yet only 27 per cent access treatment, said Christine Morgan, chief executive of the Butterfly Foundation.
The group developed the new resource, funded by the Mental Health Commission of NSW and titled Insights in Recovery, using feedback from online surveys and focus groups with people who have experienced an eating disorder to find out what helped and hindered their recovery.
Morgan said:“ People who have walked the path of recovery from an eating disorder have a lot to teach us about how we could help others return to physical and mental health, and we’ ve captured that expertise in this resource.” The team found that people want health professionals to walk them through what recovery entails, help them to feel safe, use mindful language, discover who they are beyond the eating disorder and connect them with healthy supports in everyday life.
NSW mental health commissioner John Feneley said the new publication shows health professionals – who often express a lack of confidence in their knowledge and training in this area – some things they can do to help people feel safe.
“ This wise first-hand advice, coupled with a guide to evidence-based treatment, should give health professionals the foundation they need to respectfully support people experiencing a complex condition that has been the subject of a great deal of public misunderstanding,” Feneley said. ■
4 | nursingreview. com. au