Self-hypnosis Training for Chronic Pain Management

The HYlaDo intervention comprises 8 90-minute sessions. Session 1 offers psycho-education on pain and medical hypnosis. Sessions 2 to 7 offer brief introductions followed by hypnosis induction, during which the CBT elements (exposure and cognitive restructuring) to be worked on during the session are introduced. The sessions are aimed at managing: 2- anxiety and mood; 3- pain dramatization; 4- and 5- pain perception; 6- kinesiophobia; 7- future projection and resource mobilization. Session 8 provides feedback and recommendations for independent practice. Each hypnosis follows the same pattern: induction, deepening, CBT-based hypnotic work, post-hypnotic suggestions and return to wakefulness, explanations of the exercise and recommendations for independent practice.

The psychoeducation-CBT intervention for pain and anxiety/depression consists of 8 90-minute sessions. It has already been implemented in HMR's pain clinic, and controls both the effects of time and repetition of measures, as well as non-specific factors including expectations associated with receiving active treatment, therapeutic relationship, frequency of encounters, and participation in a manualized intervention. It is designed to inform participants about pain, its costs, neurophysiology, nature and impact. It includes general information on pain, as well as information tailored to the participants' particular type of pain. The sessions are interactive, with the therapist stimulating discussion of the educational content and its relevance to the participants' lives.