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the direct hypnotic suggestion used for
a young child undergoing an LP might be
‘‘
We will do some strong magic now . first
you have to make your low back go to sleep
for a few minutes . I’ll show you how to do
it . I’ll just put my hand on your back and
help it become sleepy and numb . soft and
sleepy.’’
17
Children can be taught self-hypnosis because
this has the potential to facilitate self-management
of symptoms, thus providing a sense of
self-efficacy and mastery over pain and distress.
Active participation in one’s own care
has been shown to have an additional beneficial
therapeutic effect in pediatric cancer
patients.
18
Vol. 31 No. 1 January 2006 Hypnosis Interventions for Pediatric Cancer Patients 71
Hypnotic ability is a trait that remains constant
over time,
19
and may be partly genetically
determined.
20
However, there is evidence that
response expectancy and motivation
21
enhance
hypnotic effect. There are various validated
scales that measure hypnotic ability
and correlate strongly with one another. The
Stanford Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility,
Form C, developed by Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard,
22,23
has become the ‘‘gold standard’’ research
tool. However, it is time-consuming
and therefore not practical to use in the clinical