Table Of Content“Pioneers in pediatric hypnosis - Drs. Kohen & Olness’s ‘Hypnosis with Children’ is an essential
reference, a source of ongoing inspiration for every pediatric professional, and a wonderful read!”
Dr. Leora Kuttner (Clin.Psych.); Clinical Professor,
Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Department,
BC Children’s Hospital and University of British Columbia
“It is truly unimaginable that the field of pediatric hypnosis would not be anchored by this seminal
text by Drs. Daniel Kohen and Karen Olness. Our colleagues have again provided a newer and
greater edition for clinicians at every skill level. Drs. Kohen and Olness continue to excel at
updating their book, helping those who help children learn how to help themselves.”
Bob Deutsch, PhD
“Daniel Kohen and Karen Olness are the ‘founding parents’ of pediatric hypnosis worldwide. In
this classic handbook, they use their outstanding expertise to provide the reader with an excellent
overview of the principles of hypnotherapy in children and its scientific evidence, combined with
numerous practical case studies.”
Arine M. Vlieger, MD, PhD; Pediatrician, Department of Pediatrics,
St. Antonius Hospital Nieuwegein, The Netherlands; and
Co-founder and Chair, Dutch Foundation for Pediatric Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS WITH CHILDREN
Updated and revised in response to developments in the field, this fifth edition of Hypnosis with
Children describes the research and clinical historical underpinnings of hypnosis with children and
adolescents, and presents an up-to-date compendium of the pertinent world literature regarding
this arena.
The authors focus on the wide variety and scope of applications for therapeutic hypnosis;
including an integrated description of both clinical and evidence-based research as it relates to
understanding approaches to various clinical situations, case studies of practical aspects, and how-
to elements of teaching therapeutic hypnosis skills to clients. This new edition includes new
chapters on helping children in disasters and pandemics with hypnosis, and helping parents.
This book is essential for therapists and students who wish to gain a complete overview of
hypnosis with children and adolescents.
Daniel P. Kohen, MD, is a retired professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine and Community
Health at the University of Minnesota, a former director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at the
University of Minnesota, and a former president of the American Board of Medical Hypnosis. He is a
Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and the
Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He is Co-Founder of and Director of Education for
the National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute (NPHTI).
Karen Olness, MD, is a professor of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Global Health at Case
Western Reserve University, as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
She is also a former president of the American Board of Medical Hypnosis, the American Society
of Clinical Hypnosis, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and the International
Society of Hypnosis.
HYPNOSIS WITH
CHILDREN
Fifth Edition
Daniel P. Kohen and Karen Olness
Cover image: Getty Images
Fifth edition published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Daniel P. Kohen and Karen Olness
The right of Daniel P. Kohen and Karen Olness to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Grune & Stratton 1981
Fifth edition published by Routledge 2022
ISBN: 978-1-032-15068-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-15338-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-24368-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003243687
Typeset in Bembo
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Access the Support Material: www.routledge.com/9781032153384
CONTENTS
Note to the Fifth Edition ix
Preface xi
PART I
Introduction 1
1 Scenes of Childhood 3
2 Early Uses of Hypnosis with Children 7
3 Norms of Hypnotic Responsivity in Children 16
4 Correlates of Childhood Hypnotic Responsiveness 29
5 Hypnotic Invitations for Children: Techniques, Strategies, and
Approaches 46
PART II
Therapeutic Applications of Hypnosis with Children 73
6 General Principles of Therapeutic Applications of Child Hypnosis 75
7 Facilitating Effective Interpersonal Relationships with Hypnosis –
Language for Clinicians and Parents 85
8 Hypnosis for Psychological Disorders 96
9 Therapeutic Hypnosis for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders 133
10 Therapeutic Hypnosis for Habit Disorders 141
11 Hypnosis for Problems in Learning, Performance, and
Attentional Disorders 186
viii Contents
12 Hypnotic Approaches and Strategies in the Management of Pain 201
13 Therapeutic Hypnosis for Pediatric Medical Problems 219
14 Hypnotic Approaches for Pediatric Surgery, Anesthesia, and Emergencies 287
15 Value of Hypnosis in Pediatric Palliative Care, Grief, and Bereavement 313
16 Biofeedback, Other Mind-Body Interventions, and Hypnosis with
Children 330
17 Self-Hypnosis 341
18 Psychoneuroimmunology 347
19 Applications of Hypnosis with Children Globally 358
20 Ethics: Legal Considerations, Children, and Hypnosis 368
21 Helping Children in Disasters and Pandemics with Hypnosis 371
22 Teaching Pediatric Clinical Hypnosis to Child Health Clinicians 378
23 Helping Parents Help Their Children Help Themselves with Self-
Hypnosis 395
24 Looking to the Future 400
Index 409
NOTE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
After over 40 years of applying therapeutic clinical hypnosis strategies toward helping children and
adolescents help themselves, I remain immensely grateful and privileged to co-author this fifth
edition of what we evolved to now call Hypnosis with Children with my dear friend and colleague,
Karen Olness. I have never tired of my ongoing review of the vast array of research and clinical
papers that have contributed so substantially to our understanding of hypnosis with children. I am
thrilled to know that today, around the world, therapeutic hypnosis with children is evidence-
based medicine, that it has grown so substantially in scope and practice and that hypnosis is indeed
mainstream and in many places no longer considered alternative and complementary medicine;
and yet there is still much to be learned.
I am grateful to Karen Olness for her ongoing creativity, humble and steady leadership, and
continued visionary and optimistic approach and belief in what she told me when we first met
over 44 years ago: “We create our own reality.” I offer thanks especially to my earliest teachers
and friends and colleagues – may they rest in peace – Kay Thompson, Bob Pearson, Franz
Baumann, Bertha Rodger, Harold Golan, and many incredible others. Their words and models as
clinicians and mentors live on in the successes and growth of so many young people I have had
the opportunity to meet, teach, and help. Special thanks continue to go to all of the children,
adolescents, young adults, and their families through whose learning of hypnosis I have continued
to be inspired and through some of whose stories this volume teaches what really is possible.
I dedicate this book to my family as it continues to grow: to the memory of my parents,
Benjamin L. and Roselea Kohen (Z’’L), and my sister-in-law, Janet Kohen (Z’’L), whose love
always supported me; my brother Andy who has always been there for and with me, his children
and grandchildren and my sister Naomi, and her children and grandchildren. To our children,
Aaron and Sarah, and Joshua and Jessica for their independence, creativity, love, and confidence
in one another and me; to our grandson, Chai, a truly bright light and incredible person for whom
even the sky is not a limit; and to our newest grandchildren, Josh and Jessica’s two daughters,
Sophia Rae (almost 2-year-old) and Eden Belle (5 weeks old as I write this) whom I believe will
each take the world by storm; and to my partner and wife of 53 years, Harriet, for her love,
unwavering kindness to all, wise counsel, guidance, and sustained belief in my endeavors.
Daniel P. Kohen, MD, FAAP, ABMH
