Cultivating Comfort: Examining Participant Satisfaction with Hypnotic Communication Training in Pain Management

Éloïse Cardinal,1,2 Karine Bilodeau,2,3 Julie Lebeau,2,3 Maryse Aubin,2 Joséphine Guiné,2 Odile Dutey-Harispe,2 Julie Delage,1,2 Rémi Caron-trahan,1,2 Jade Véronneau,2 Mathieu Landry,1,2 David Ogez2,4 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 2Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 3Faculty of Nursing Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 4Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaCorrespondence: David Ogez, Tel +1 (514) 252-3400 X 4443, Email [email protected]: One in four Canadians experiences chronic pain, yet insufficient services and restrictions surrounding prevailing treatments result in inadequate management and significant negative consequences for these individuals. Previous work indicates that hypnotic communication represents a promising complementary treatment; however, training protocols for healthcare professionals are underdeveloped and understudied.Aim: To evaluate the level of satisfaction for a training program on hypnotic communication in pain management clinics.Design: Qualitative study.Methods: Six health professionals who first completed the hypnotic communication training participated in 30 minutes virtual semi-structured interviews. These testimonials allowed them to elaborate on their user experience and potential areas for improvement. Thematic analysis using qualitative data management software NVIVO was conducted on the interview data.Results: Two themes emerged from the interviews. 1) Satisfaction: Participants expressed satisfaction on various structural aspects of the training, including the provided materials, atmosphere, training structure, presentation modalities, practical workshops, acquired knowledge, trainer quality, and training duration. 2) Areas for Improvement: Five main improvement suggestions were identified (providing more material; more practical workshops, more concrete and adapted; testimonials from former patients; follow-up training meeting; and continuing education).Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care and Conclusion: The results improved the training program to help minimized inherent biases related to this technique, cut associated costs, and identify reasons that would explain its underutilization among medical professionals in Quebec. Our work highlights that healthcare professionals in chronic pain management clinics (eg, respiratory therapists, nurses) can incorporate this simple hypnotic communication technique into their usual care and contribute to the well-being of patients.Impact: This study aimed to address the lack of training protocols for healthcare professionals, that are underdeveloped and understudied. The main findings on participant’ satisfaction and the areas of improvement for the training will help the refinement of the training to better suit healthcare professional’s needs in hospitals and chronic pain facilities.Keywords: chronic pain, non-pharmacological treatment, hypnosis, communication, training, qualitative research, satisfactio

[The cancer, a defeat of the psyche?]

Patients and families often put forward psychosocial determinants to explain occurring or progression of cancer disease. The idea of a psychogenesis in cancer is widely spread by the surrounding culture. Nevertheless, the scientific research in this field brought very contradictory results, and often rests on debatable methods, Some authors hypothesize that a type C personality predisposes to cancer. But so far, most of Prospective studies analysing the association between C traits and this disease have been negative. Results of semi-prospective studies in which patients are enlisted before a diagnostic investigation, are difficult to interpret, because the starting features can partly result from the stress of this investigation, The same problem interferes with most studies about the association between alexithymia and cancer. The reliable works analysing the impact of depression most often conclude in favour of a non-existent ora weak risk, and do not allow defining it as a well established risk factor. Most of prospective studies about the link between stress and cancer are negative, Moreover, they index stressful life events occurred for a few years before the diagnosis, that is to say during a too short delay to be allowed to incriminate them in the supervening of the disease. The question of the possible impact of coping styles with cancer on its evolution also remains debated. Some studies for instance plead in favour of a beneficial effect of fighting spirit or denial, hut they are contradicted by other studies. All this forces us to be very careful when discussing the possible links between psyche and cancer. It is important to underline the hypothetical nature of these relationships. Psychosomatic explanations risk to be used to fill in gaps of knowledge, and to give us the illusion that we can avoid or control a disease which escapes us, They especially risk to make the patients guilty of their cancer or its evolution, through an inadequate point of view which does not take the complexity in stake into account

Quand le psychologue rencontre systématiquement le patient : quelle place pour une demande personnelle ? Expérience auprès de patients atteints d’un cancer

L’analyse de la demande constitue une démarche essentielle en psychologie clinique. Le patient se doit d’être investi dans le désir de cette rencontre. À l’hôpital général, il en est autrement: la demande d’intervention émane principalement de l’équipe médicale. Le patient consulte dans le but de traiter une maladie somatique. Ainsi, il n’est généralement pas demandeur d’une prise en charge psychologique. Toutefois, l’annonce d’un diagnostic de cancer a des conséquences sur l’équilibre psychique du patient. La démarche systématique permet éventuellement au malade de susciter une demande d’intervention psychologique. À travers cette approche, créons-nous de la demande ou permettons-nous à celle-ci d’émerger