Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Management

Mark P. Jensen, PhD

Saturday, October 2, 2021
8.30 am – 4:30 pm

Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre
515 W. Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

This workshop will provide an overview of hypnotic strategies and suggestions for helping individuals better self-manage chronic pain conditions. While an overview of the neurophysiology of pain will be provided, the emphasis of the workshop will be on applied clinical techniques, demonstrations, brief hypnotic exercises and the opportunity for consultation. After participating in the workshop, participants will have the resources and skills to evaluate a patient with chronic pain for hypnosis treatment and design a treatment intervention that addresses the various problems identified.

Learning Objectives:

1. Design hypnotic suggestions that help clients shift from maladaptive to adaptive cognitive processes and pain management behaviors.
2. Evaluate the psychosocial factors influencing pain/functioning and design a treatment protocol that addresses each factor.
3. Integrate cognitive therapy and motivational interviewing with hypnosis to enhance treatment outcomes.

Mark P. Jensen, PhD, is a Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. He has been studying chronic pain and helping individuals better manage chronic pain for almost 40 years. He has been funded by the National Institutes of Health to study the efficacy and mechanisms of various treatments for chronic pain, including hypnosis. He has published extensively (nine books and over 550 articles and book chapters) on the topics of pain assessment and treatment. His 2011 book, Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Management: Therapist Guide, published as a part of Oxford University Press’s Treatments that Work series, won the 2011 Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Arthur Shapiro Award for Best Book on Hypnosis. 

Eligibility:

Open to members of regulated health professions including full time students, registered clinical counsellors, social workers, marriage & family therapists, psychologists, counsellors, therapists, physicians, nurses, naturopaths, dentists, social workers, and chiropractors.