Hypnotherapy in Treating Chronic Pain in Cancer Survivors

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To test the feasibility (recruitment, attrition, adherence, logistical issues) of delivering the hypnosis (hypnotherapy) intervention to cancer survivors with chronic pain. II. To evaluate the acceptability of the hypnosis intervention among cancer survivors with chronic pain. III. To explore preliminary efficacy (estimate effect size) of hypnosis in relieving pain and improving associated anxiety and functional performance at 4 weeks and 8 weeks compared to a wait-list control. OUTLINE: Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 groups. IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION GROUP: Participants undergo hypnotherapy session over 20-30 minutes using a standardized script for pain reduction that contains post-hypnotic suggestions for permanence of hypnotherapy benefits. The hypnotherapy session is recorded and the participant listens to the recording daily for 4 weeks. WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUP: At week 5, participants undergo hypnotherapy session over 20-30 minutes using a standardized script for pain reduction that contains post-hypnotic suggestions for permanence of hypnotherapy benefits. The hypnotherapy session is recorded and the participant listens to the recording daily for 4 weeks.