Abstract
Chronic pain is a common condition that has significant negative effects on individuals and society. Opioids continue to be the primary treatment provided to the billions of individuals with chronic pain, despite their general lack of efficacy and significant negative side effects. A growing body of research supports the potential of therapeutic hypnosis for helping individuals better manage their chronic pain. However, access to this treatment is limited. The availability of a hypnosis digital therapeutic has the potential to address this access problem. The current study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of a digital therapeutic hypnosis prototype (not yet released to the broader public). Fifty-four individuals with chronic pain were randomly assigned to have (1) four weeks of access to the prototype or (2) two weeks of no access followed by two weeks of access. Feasibility and clinical outcomes were assessed by the prototype and at baseline and again two and four weeks after randomization. Medium or larger effect size pre- to post-session improvements in the study co-primary outcomes (current pain and feeling inspired; Cohen's d = 0.67 and 0.60, respectively) were observed when listening to a 10- or 20-minute therapeutic hypnosis session. In addition, medium or larger effect size benefits across several important pain-related variables were observed after four weeks of access and use. These preliminary findings support the continued development of the application in order to provide an easily accessible and highly scalable option for people wishing to gain control over their chronic pain.
Publication Date
3-20-2025
Document Type
Article
Department, Program, or Center
Interactive Games and Media, School of
College
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences
Recommended Citation
Jensen, M. P., Chan, J. F., Gottlieb, O., Sugarman, L. I., & Stensland, E. (2025). Use and benefits of a digital therapeutic for chronic pain management: A pilot study. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice. 12(4), 727–744.https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000425
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Included in
Anesthesia and Analgesia Commons, Industrial and Product Design Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Pain Management Commons, Therapeutics Commons
Comments
©American Psychological Association, 2025. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000425