Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed and tested a user-friendly, inexpensive, home-based, guided imagery audio protocol for children with functional abdominal pain and found it much more effective than treatment as usual.

Thirty-four children, 6 to 15 years of age, with a physician diagnosis of functional abdominal pain, were assigned randomly to receive 2 months of standard medical care with or without home-based, guided imagery treatment.

Children who received only standard medical care initially received guided imagery treatment after 2 months. Children were monitored for 6 months after completion of guided imagery treatment.

Subjects found the treatment materials self-explanatory, enjoyable, and easy to understand and use. The compliance rate was high at 98.5%.

Investigators from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, reviewed the research literature on efficacy of psychological interventions for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and Google Scholar identified 25 randomized trials comparing single psychological interventions with either usual care or placebo interventions in patients over 16 years of age, between the years 1966-2008.  

Hi there. I heard your interview on New Dimensions Radio and it really rang true that I have had issues with post traumatic stress. I was witness to a suicide bomb in Jerusalem a few years ago. I think that my jaw clenching, irritable bowel syndrome and possibly my quasi-addiction to pot are related to this incident. What CDs would you recommend? Likewise, I just wanted to thank you for your work.
Take care,
Curtis
 

In a randomized, controlled clinical trial, Dutch researchers from St. Antonius Hospital find that hypnotherapy dramatically decreases pain in children with irritable bowel syndrome or with functional abdominal pain

Researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands, conducted a randomized, controlled trial to look at the efficacy of gut-directed hypnotherapy (HT) for reducing abdominal pain in children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

A new study at the University of Birmingham in the UK shows that "gut-directed hypnotherapy" alleviates symptoms and improves quality of life in people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome who have not done well with conventional treatment..

In this randomized, controlled trial, researchers from the Department of Primary Care and General Practice at the University of Birmingham in the UK studied the efficacy of "gut-directed hypnotherapy" in alleviating symptoms of irritable bowel and improving quality of life.

Primary care patients between the ages of 18-65 years with a diagnosis of IBS of greater than 6 weeks'' duration, who had failed conventional management, were randomized to either an intervention group which received five sessions of hypnotherapy in addition to standard care, or to a control group which received standard care alone.

A number of newly archived studies show strong support for including hypnosis/imagery as an important and useful element in standard treatment for irritable bowel syndrome..

Researchers at Washington State in Pullman, Washington, conducted a modest, clinical pilot study in order to provide preliminary data on the effects of hypnosis on irritable bowel syndrome sufferers. Eight patients who were unresponsive to other forms of treatment were assigned to either individually tailored hypnosis or a generic form of hypnosis.

The study found that all 8 subjects showed favorable responses to treatment, immediately post treatment and at 10-month follow-up.

Citation: Barabasz A, Barabasz M. Effects of tailored and manualized hypnotic inductions for complicated irritable bowel syndrome patients. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 2006 Jan; 54 (1): pages 100-12. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

A randomized, controlled study at King’s College in London shows that cognitive behavioral therapy with anti-spasmodic medication works better than the medication alone, with positive effects lasting for at least 6 months..

In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, primary care researchers from King''s College in London, looked at the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating irritable bowel syndrome. From 10 different general medicine practices in London, 149 patients were recruited for the study. They had moderate or severe irritable bowel syndrome, resistant to the antispasmodic drug, mebeverine.

This study by Gonsalkorale et al investigated whether hypnotherapy improves negative cognitions - thoughts, ideas and assumptions about hypnotherapy. ns - about IBS, as well as helping with symptoms and quality of life.

A total of 78 irritable bowel syndrome patients completed a validated symptom-scoring questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale and the Cognitive Scale for Functional Bowel Disorders (FBDs), before and after 12 sessions of gut-focused hypnotherapy.

Treatment with hypnotherapy reduces the sensory and motor component of the gastrocolonic response in irritable bowel syndrome.

Researchers at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, conducted a randomized, controlled clinical trial to see if hypnotherapy could mediate the post-mealtime gastrocolonic symptoms typically suffered by many people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

The study included 28 patients with irritable bowel syndrome refractory to other treatments. They were randomized to receive gut-directed hypnotherapy 1 hour per week for 12 weeks (N = 14) or were provided with supportive therapy (control group; N = 14). Before randomization and after 3 months, all patients underwent a colonic distension trial before and after a 1-hour duodenal lipid infusion. Colonic sensory thresholds and tonic and phasic motor activity were thus assessed.