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Clinical Research and Development Background for the IBS Audio Program 60®

The hypnotherapy sessions were provided by clinical hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney, who developed and used the protocol with many children over the years. For the formal clinical research 16 children, 10 girls and 6 boys, aged 8yrs.  to 13 years were brought into the hypnotherapy setting as part of their holistic treatment for their condition, and these were used in the study.

The children received their hypnotherapy sessions at the Guardian Medical Centre, Warrington, Cheshire; the environment being a surgery office where they could sit or lay down.

They also listened to recordings of their session in their own home environment, under the supervision of their parent(s) or guardian where applicable.

An initial consultation and evaluation was given to each child to determine the nature and their perception of their condition, in most cases privately so that their responses were not driven or influenced.  Parents were also interviewed and apprised of the treatment protocol and their need for involvement.

Each child was asked to rate several symptoms or emotional / social areas of concern of their condition on a scale of 10 being very severe and affecting poor quality of life, and 1 being low, with 0 being non-existent. They were also asked to rate their general happiness with 1 being very low, and 10 being very happy. This was done to get a baseline of their condition, so that it could be evaluated with their rankings after the completion of the program.

The parent or child’s guardian

was put at ease and given a private introductory session fully explaining the nature of IBS, Functional Abdominal Pain and its related symptoms and emotional concerns as well as how the clinical hypnotherapy sessions would help their child reduce or alleviate these symptoms. It was fully expected that the parent would take part in their child’s therapy sessions by explaining any further questions, providing reassurance and to ensure compliance in listening to their sessions. Each live session was recorded for the child to listen to according to a specific schedule at home until the next scheduled appointment for the subsequent live session. All live sessions were recorded in this way.

Parents were apprised that IBS is still a major concern for the doctors, it is complex and there are still many more questions than answers.  This condition that may have started with what may have seemed a simple stomach ache, yet so often leads to the disruption of many parts of the child’s life, and the lives of those around them. This adult session empathizes with the parents’ experience of cancelled trips to school, their child often curled up in pain, and refusing to move or go out. Often this has a social impact too. The child may drop out of clubs, and after school activities, and even lose contact with friends.

Despair is felt, and confidence and self esteem are reduced and all attempts at reassurance falter. The parents are informed that once trust has been gained, the majority of children and teens are excellent to work with, they listen, they are honest and they often put in the time and effort to help themselves.

Further information is given on the frustrations of both child and parent, and how they can work together to help the situation not only on the level of obvious symptoms, but the emotional aspects as well.

Each child was also given a first introductory session

this  was not a hypnotherapeutic session, but rather one that explained the nature of their treatment, asked them questions about their pain and other symptoms, explained the brain-gut connection in simple terms and made them feel comfortable and cared for.

The second session with the child

was also introductory in nature and provided simple exercises for defining pain and thinking about it from a different perspective. The child was encouraged to think about their symptoms and problems in a new way, and to take ownership of them, as well as letting them know that they would be given the tools to do so in an easy, structured way.

The following six sessions for the child that were completed over several weeks, consisted of the actual hypnotherapeutic sessions where the work was done.

The first hypnotherapy session

helps the child learn to relax and become accustomed to the hypnotherapy process and to feel good about themselves taking time to get better.

The second hypnotherapy session

used a combination of gentle imagery as well as the child’s own answers to questions asked in the introduction to help address the child’s stomach discomfort and to let go of those things no longer needed, like the worry about their stomach, and any worries about going out or going to school, visiting people or doing new things or any other areas of concern for the child.

The third hypnotherapy session

assists the child in looking forward to the future without symptoms, feeling well and able to move forward in a whole and healthy way.

The child’s fourth hypnotherapy session

uses further gentle imagery to address concerns with digestive motility, so that the child uses their own natural abilities to balance the digestive system and reduce or eliminate unwanted digestive symptoms of IBS.

In the fifth hypnotherapy session

the child learns to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and processes and imagery is provided for the child to move even further into the future, removing any remaining areas of pain, looking forward to taking part in life without worry or fear of any situation at home or school, seeing themselves in everyday life living it as they want to free of IBS, pain and anxiety or worry from having the condition or activities that causes concern.

The sixth and final hypnotherapy session

encapsulates the previous sessions, embedding them further and helping to maintain the progress made through the program and to provide a means to continue with their improvement beyond the duration of the active sessions.
Participation for the child simply comprised attending the live session, then listening to the recording of that session according to a specific schedule in their own home environment until the next scheduled session.

Upon completion of the final session

the child was again asked to rank their progress by rating the 26 symptoms of emotional/social areas of concern of their condition on a scale of 10 being very severe and affecting poor quality of life, and 1 being low, with 0 being non-existent.

They were again also asked to rate their general happiness with 1 being very low, and 10 being very happy. Improvement was shown on all levels.

This was compared to their initial ranking from April 2005 with program ranking completed in November 2005. In order to determine maintenance and continued improvement, additional rankings were provided by the children in March, July and November 2006, which indicated even further progress.

The child’s journey through the program is guided gently by the therapist and the parent(s)/guardians, with support from the child’s physician, teacher and others as needed or appropriate.

In addition to improvements ranked, further feedback indicated secondary outcomes – parents became closer to their children, the children received validation for their condition, which in turn, further helped their progress. The children indicated that the sessions were pleasant and easy to do, and they were pleased that they were feeling better – and as indicated by feedback – much happier overall.

Ask your child’s gastroenterologist or physician if you are in doubt. Research shows that clinical hypnotherapy can be very effective in treating IBS and related symptoms of functional abdominal pain, missing school, etc. in children.

“Hypnosis can also help kids who have chronic stomach pain -- the type of pain that is real, but unexplained. The problem results in lost time at school, frequent doctor visits, as well as anxiety and depression, and can last into adult years. But through a combination approach -- relaxation, guided imagery, and hypnosis -- it's possible for kids to gain control over their pain.” From: Hypnosis: Focusing Subconscious on Change, Jeanie Lerche Davis, WebMD