Hypnotherapy provides help for children with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Functional Abdominal Pain.

An article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology has been following a study of 53 children ages ranging from 8 to 18 years old, suffering from IBS and FAP where conventional methods of treatment were insufficient.

According to the article the children participated in six sessions of hypnotherapy over a three month period and were provided with a self-hypnosis relaxation CD for use at home.

The randomized study, which took place at St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein in the Netherlands, revealed that 68% of the children who were hypnotized were relatively free of their abdominal pain after five years.

This compared with only 20% of the group who had received standard treatment alone.

The article reports 'Hypnotherapy was highly superior, with a significantly greater reduction in pain'