Autohypnosis in Functional Megacolon in Children

This article describes five children referred for hypnotherapy to treat stool holding and soiling. All had undergone long periods of medical and surgical management without positive reinforcement of their own abilities to overcome this problem. Four of the children developed confidence in their ability to control bowel movements as they continued to practice self-hypnosis. The fifth was not treated with hypnosis because initial physical examination indicated the presence of an organic problem. In spite of prior reports that pre-school children do not ordinarily respond well to use of hypnotherapy for habit changes, three of the children successfully treated were ages 3 1/2 years, 4 and 5 years. Apparently, they were able to change a habit (e.g., stool holding) when convinced that the change was of their own making.