Hypnotherapy For Children: Where The Evidence Is, And Isn't

No thanks to Hollywood, hypnosis is notoriously perceived as a brainwashing and manipulative scheme. Sandy Hui explains what's hypnotherapy and how children with anxiety and minor behavior issues can be treated without any side effects.

Clinical hypnotherapy for children has a more respectable evidence base than most people expect, and a much narrower one than most practitioners advertise. That distinction is one to get right.

What it is: a focused, relaxed state of attention in which a person is more responsive to suggestion. Not unconsciousness, not loss of control, and nothing like the stage version. Children generally enter it easily, because it’s close to how they already play.

Nobody can be made to do anything against their will, and a child can end a session at any point.

Where the evidence is reasonable

Delivered by a trained clinician, hypnotherapy has supporting evidence for several specific paediatric uses:

Procedural pain and distress: injections, blood tests, dressing changes, dental work. One of the better-supported applications.
Functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome in children, where gut-directed hypnotherapy has performed well in trials.
Bedwetting, as one option among several.
Needle phobia and medical anxiety.
Chronic headaches and some chronic pain.
Anxiety symptoms, generally as an adjunct to other treatment, not a replacement for it.

The common thread is that these are conditions where the mind’s influence on symptom experience is well established, and where relaxation and suggestion have a plausible route to helping.

Where it isn’t supported

Improving intelligence, memory or academic performance. No.
Fixing behaviour problems or making a child obedient.
Treating autism or ADHD. Not a treatment for either.
Recovering “repressed memories.” This one matters. Hypnosis can generate confident but false recollections, and using it this way with a child is actively harmful. Any practitioner offering it should be refused.
Replacing medical or psychiatric treatment for a diagnosed condition.

Choosing a practitioner

“Hypnotherapist” isn’t a protected title. There’s no requirement to hold a clinical qualification to use it, and the range of practice runs from paediatric psychologists using hypnosis as one technique, to people with a weekend certificate.

Look for a registered health professional, a psychologist, doctor, dentist or clinical therapist, who uses hypnotherapy within their clinical practice. Not someone whose only qualification is in hypnotherapy itself.

Questions to ask:

What’s your primary clinical qualification, and are you registered?
What experience do you’ve with children of this age and this problem?
How many sessions, and what does success look like?
Will you liaise with our doctor?
Can I stay in the room? The answer should be yes. A practitioner who wants to see a child alone is a reason to leave.
What will you teach my child to do for themselves?

Get your doctor’s view first. Not for permission, but because the important step is making sure nothing physical has been missed. Abdominal pain, headaches and bedwetting all have medical causes that need excluding before anything psychological is attempted.

What a session looks like

Nothing dramatic. Usually the child is invited to imagine a place or a story, with the therapist’s suggestions woven in: “your tummy feels calm and comfortable”. Children often keep their eyes open. Most of the value comes from what they’re taught to use themselves afterwards, which is closer to a self-calming skill than to anything mystical.

Typically a handful of sessions, not open-ended treatment. A practitioner proposing many months for a straightforward problem is one to question.

What you can try at home

Much of what makes this work you can do at home: focused attention, relaxation, guided imagery, slow breathing. It’s a good place to start for ordinary worries and bedtime anxiety.

Slow breathing, practised when calm, not mid-distress
A guided “safe place” story at bedtime
Progressive muscle relaxation, made into a game
Distraction and imagery during injections: imagining somewhere else, in detail
Free guided-relaxation recordings for children

Frequently asked questions

Does hypnotherapy work for children?

For specific things, yes. There’s reasonable evidence for procedural pain and distress, functional abdominal pain and IBS, bedwetting, needle phobia, chronic headaches and anxiety symptoms as an adjunct. There’s no support for improving intelligence, fixing behaviour, or treating autism or ADHD.

Is it safe?

In trained hands, yes. It’s a focused, relaxed state, not unconsciousness, nobody can be made to act against their will, and a child can stop at any time. The main risk is the practitioner, not the technique.

How do I choose a practitioner?

“Hypnotherapist” isn’t a protected title, so look for a registered health professional, psychologist, doctor, dentist or clinical therapist, who uses hypnotherapy within their practice, not someone whose only qualification is in hypnotherapy. Ask about their primary clinical qualification, experience with this age and problem, and whether they’ll liaise with your doctor.

Should I be allowed to stay in the room?

Yes, and this isn’t negotiable. A practitioner who wants to see your child alone is a reason to leave.

Can hypnotherapy recover memories?

It should never be used for this with a child. Hypnosis can generate confident but false recollections, and using it that way is actively harmful. Refuse any practitioner offering it.

Should I see a doctor first?

Yes, not for permission, but to make sure nothing physical has been missed. Abdominal pain, headaches and bedwetting all have medical causes that need excluding before a psychological approach.

The main points

Real evidence for a narrow set of things: procedural pain, functional abdominal pain, bedwetting, needle phobia, headaches. Nothing for intelligence, behaviour, autism or ADHD.

The technique is low-risk; the practitioner is the variable. The title is unprotected, so look for a registered clinician who uses hypnosis, not a hypnotherapist alone.

See your doctor first to rule out a physical cause. Stay in the room. And try the free version, slow breathing and guided imagery at bedtime, before paying for anything.