Persistent Pain & Women’s Health

Clinical hypnosis has been studied as an adjunctive approach to pain management. A 2024 systematic review covering 70 randomised trials found small additional reductions in chronic pain when hypnosis was added to usual care, while also noting that the certainty of the evidence was very low.

In my work, I don't approach persistent pain as something a woman simply needs to “think away.” Pain is real. My interest is in the relationship between pain, attention, emotion, anticipation, stress and the way the brain processes threat and bodily sensation.

Clinical Hypnotherapy can therefore sit alongside medical care as one part of a broader pain-management approach.

The evidence specifically for hypnotherapy and endometriosis is still developing, so I would never tell a woman that hypnotherapy treats or cures endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a chronic medical condition that can cause significant pelvic pain, bowel and bladder symptoms, fatigue and fertility difficulties.

Where Clinical Hypnotherapy may have a role is in supporting the experience of persistent pain: pain-related anxiety, anticipation of flares, emotional distress, sleep disruption and the relationship a woman develops with her body after living with pain for years.

Deakin University is currently researching hypnotherapy for persistent pelvic pain including endometriosis, IBS and painful bladder syndrome, which makes this an important emerging area of mind-body research.

There is emerging evidence that hypnosis may have a role within multidisciplinary care for chronic pelvic pain, although the research remains preliminary.

A 2026 review of hypnosis for chronic pelvic and urogenital pain in women found promising early findings but emphasised that studies remain heterogeneous and more rigorous randomised trials are needed.

That nuance is important to me. I am interested in where hypnotherapy can genuinely contribute, without pretending it replaces gynaecology, pelvic-floor physiotherapy, pain medicine or psychological care.

Pain is not simply a direct measurement of tissue damage. It is an experience created through complex interactions between signals from the body, the nervous system, the brain, attention, context and previous experience.

In hypnosis, we may use focused attention, imagery and therapeutic suggestion to work with aspects of the pain experience such as perceived intensity, fear, anticipation, attention and emotional response.

That doesn't mean the pain was “psychological” or imaginary. It means pain is complex enough that the way it is processed matters as well as what is happening physically. Healthdirect similarly describes persistent pelvic pain as involving physical, psychological and social factors.

No.

This is one of the most damaging misunderstandings women with persistent pain can encounter.

Chronic pain can involve inflammation, medical conditions, nerve sensitisation, changes in pain processing and many other biological factors. Endometriosis, adenomyosis, IBS, pelvic-floor dysfunction and other conditions can all contribute to persistent pelvic pain.

Acknowledging that thoughts, emotions, sleep, stress and attention can influence pain does not make the pain imaginary.

My approach begins with believing the woman experiencing it.

6. Stress and anxiety can influence how pain is experienced, but that does not mean they caused the underlying health condition.

Persistent pain itself can also create anxiety: anticipating the next flare, worrying about work, sex, sleep, plans or whether your body will cooperate today.

I therefore don't ask, “Is this physical or emotional?”

Often the more useful question is:

How are the physical and emotional experiences interacting with each other?

Clinical Hypnotherapy does not treat the hormonal mechanisms underlying PMDD.

What it may provide is complementary support for some of the emotional experiences surrounding the menstrual cycle, including anxiety, overwhelm, stress and recurring emotional patterns.

PMDD is the severe end of the premenstrual-symptom spectrum and can involve significant anger, anxiety, depressed mood and disruption to daily life. Appropriate medical assessment remains important because evidence-based medical treatments are available.

My role is not to replace those treatments. It is to support the emotional experience around them.

Gut-directed hypnotherapy has one of the stronger evidence bases within clinical hypnosis.

It is a recognised psychological therapy for IBS and focuses specifically on communication between the gut and brain. Monash University describes gut-directed hypnotherapy as an established treatment option for IBS, and Australian health guidance includes it among psychological therapies used for IBS.

My broader women's-health work is not identical to a formal gut-directed hypnotherapy protocol, so where IBS is the primary concern I would be clear about what approach is most appropriate.

That distinction is part of responsible practice.

This is an emerging rather than established area of evidence.

Pelvic pain can involve the bladder, bowel, pelvic-floor muscles and surrounding nervous system, and Deakin University is currently studying hypnotherapy in people experiencing persistent pelvic pain including painful bladder syndrome.

I would therefore describe Clinical Hypnotherapy as complementary support, particularly around pain, urgency-related anxiety, fear, bodily vigilance and quality of life - not as treatment for an undiagnosed bladder condition.

New or unexplained urinary symptoms should first be medically assessed.

This is one of the areas I am particularly interested in.

When your body has repeatedly hurt, surprised you or prevented you from doing the things you want to do, it is understandable to begin monitoring it closely.

You may brace for the next flare.

Cancel plans pre-emptively.

Fear sex or movement.

Become anxious about every new sensation.

Or feel betrayed by the body you live in.

For me, women's-health hypnotherapy is not only about pain scores. It can also be about exploring whether you can develop a less adversarial relationship with your own body.

No.

I see Clinical Hypnotherapy as complementary to appropriate medical and allied-health care, not a substitute for it.

Persistent pelvic pain may require input from GPs, gynaecologists, pain specialists, pelvic-health physiotherapists, psychologists or other practitioners depending on the cause and presentation.

I do not advise clients to stop medication or abandon medical treatment.

Good women's-health care should be collaborative.

Hypnosis is generally considered a complementary therapy, but suitability should always be assessed individually.

Australian health guidance specifically recommends that unexplained chronic pain be medically investigated before hypnosis is used, and that clients tell their healthcare providers about complementary therapies they are using.

That fits how I work.

I want to know your diagnosis, medical history, current treatment and what your healthcare team is already doing before deciding where Clinical Hypnotherapy may appropriately fit.

There is no responsible universal answer.

Persistent pain can involve different medical conditions, different durations, different emotional contexts and very different treatment histories.

I therefore don't promise that one or three sessions will “remove” years of chronic pain.

We begin by understanding what you are experiencing, what has already been investigated and treated, and what you would actually like to change.

For one woman, the priority may be pain-related anxiety.

For another, sleep.

For another, fear of intimacy.

For another, learning ways of responding differently during a flare.

The treatment plan should follow the woman - not a predetermined sales package.

I offer in-person Clinical Hypnotherapy for women from Bardon Counselling & Natural Therapies Centre in Bardon, Brisbane, with online appointments available throughout Australia.

My practice has a particular professional focus on the intersection between women's emotional wellbeing and physical health, including the emotional experience of persistent pain, endometriosis, pelvic-health concerns, PMDD, gut and bladder symptoms and other chronic women's-health experiences.