In the following I want to guide you in your understanding of clinical trials and evidence-based medicine by showing how we approached the testing of Comfort Talk ® methods on which this training module is based. Please reflect on some of the same questions we worked through when I started investigating how communicating with a patient would affect outcomes.

Since in those days we didn’t know exactly what to call the intervention, we just described it as “nonpharmacologic analgesia” or guidance in “self-hypnotic relaxation” with personnel acting as relaxation coaches for the patients during their procedures. One assumption we wanted to test was that patients would have less pain and anxiety with the intervention and thereby need fewer drugs, which should reduce complications and also speed recovery. The following reflection can also help you to design a formal clinical trial or quality improvement project, better assess the quality of papers you read, or even just pilot-test a communication intervention for yourself in your environment or your department.

Watch the video below to hear about Franz Anton Mesmer.

Video 1.4.1  Franz Anton Mesmer Video

R1.4.1  How could you standardize the talking intervention if you want to test? This is important in clinical trials so that others can reproduce it.

R1.4.2  To conduct our first larger clinical trial 17 years ago, we sought funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The reviewers insisted that we include in the design “control for the empathy of the provider” in the Self-Hypnotic Relaxation Group. How could you approach that? How would you feel if someone graded your level of empathy or how do you think your colleagues/team members would feel if you had to rank their levels of empathy? How could you satisfy that requirement?

R1.4.3  How would you check whether the test patients (but not the control patients) actually received the test treatment that they were supposed to get?

R1.4.4  How would you measure pain and anxiety during a procedure/surgery? What outcome measures would you choose? What could be problems when asking patients directly?

• Session 1 Segments
  • 1.1 Welcome
  • 1.2 Introduction
  • 1.3 Confidence
  • 1.4 Science and Background of Comfort Talk
  • 1.5 Experiencing Confidence and Self-Hypnosis
  • 1.6 Rapport
  • 1.7 Sensory Preferences
  • 1.8 Sensory Preferences—Eyes
  • 1.9 The Study Script
  • 1.10 Hypnoidal Language
  • 1.11 Negative Suggestions
  • 1.12 Touching
  • 1.13 Comforting Words
  • 1.14 Encouragement
  • 1.15 Frank's Method
  • 1.16 Anxiety Management
  • 1.17 Ideomotor Signals
  • 1.18 Pain Management
  • 1.19 Pitfalls
  • 1.20 Conclusion Session 1
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