ABSTRACT
We have brought together a variety of ideas concerning hypnotic responsiveness in childhood and the use of hypnotherapy in childhood disorders. In our attempt to integrate clinical observations with research studies, we have found that many have significant methodological shortcomings, including some of our own! The weight of evidence suggests that most children are responsive to hypnosis and that hypnotherapy can be useful in their treatment. At the same time, the data often raise more questions than they answer. A great deal of work remains to be done; however, many published articles do address evidence-based practice in clinical hypnosis, such as those in a special issue of the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, which was devoted to evidence-based clinical hypnosis for psychosomatic disorders, chronic pain, sleep disorders, medical procedures, eating disorders, cancer symptoms, and labor and delivery (Alladin, 2007). Several Cochrane Reviews have addressed the benefits of clinical hypnosis, including one on needlerelated procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents, which concluded that hypnosis was effective and the most promising of procedures reviewed (Uman, Chambers, McGrath, & Kisely, 2006).
