Pioneering clinical study on the effects of trance learning for oncology patients: search for volunteers
Dr Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse (Centre Interdisciplinaire d'Algologie, CHU & GIGA Consciousness) and Dr Olivia Gosseries (FNRS qualified researcher, GIGA-Consciousness, ULiège and Brain Center2, CHU) are joining their expertise to launch an innovative project on the effects of cognitive trance practiced by oncology patients. This project is supported by Télévie and the Fondation contre le Cancer.
A
udrey Vanhaudenhuyse, in collaboration with Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, hypnosis specialist, and Pr Guy Jerusalem, oncologist, has already conducted studies on the effects of learning self-hypnosis combined with self-care by patients suffering from cancer or chronic pain. The results of these studies confirm that this learning leads to an improvement in the emotional management of the disease, a reduction in pain, fatigue and anxiety, as well as an improvement in quality of life.
Like hypnosis, cognitive trance is a practice that voluntarily induces a modified state of consciousness. Corine Sombrun, who inspired the story of Fabienne Berthaud's movie "Un monde plus grand", has been collaborating with researchers since 2006 with the aim of understanding the cerebral mechanisms related to trance states. The results of these studies have initiated new research protocols, notably at the CHU and the University of Liège under the direction of Dr. Olivia Gosseries and Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, in collaboration with Prof. Steven Laureys. Corine Sombrun, expert in cognitive trance, has developed a technique allowing individuals to induce a trance-state by listening to a loop of sounds and then by will alone.
Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, in collaboration with Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, hypnosis specialist, and Pr Guy Jerusalem, oncologist, has already conducted studies on the effects of learning self-hypnosis combined with self-care by patients suffering from cancer or chronic pain. The results of these studies confirm that this learning technique leads to an improvement in the emotional management of the disease, a reduction of pain, fatigue and anxiety, as well as an improvement in quality of life.
Like hypnosis, cognitive trance is a practice that voluntarily induces a modified state of consciousness. Corine Sombrun, who inspired the story of Fabienne Berthaud's movie "Un monde plus grand", has been collaborating with researchers since 2006 with the aim of understanding the cerebral mechanisms related to trance states. The results of these studies have initiated new research protocols, notably at the CHU and the University of Liège under the direction of Dr. Olivia Gosseries and Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, in collaboration with Prof. Steven Laureys. Corine Sombrun, expert in cognitive trance, has developed a technique allowing individuals to induce a trance-state by listening to a loop of sounds.
Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Olivia Gosseries and Charlotte Grégoire (post-doctoral researcher) will study the effects of learning cognitive trance on emotional management, pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression, compared to those induced by the practice of self-hypnosis or meditation in patients with cancer. While hypnosis is based on relaxation and suggestions to induce a state that will generate mental imagery, trance will be based on movement, singing and body expression. Numerous observations suggest that cognitive trance could have an interesting therapeutic potential but no scientific study has been conducted at this time. This study results from a collaboration between ULiège, the CHU and the Institut TranceScience (Paris) and will be the first worldwide study on clinical application of cognitive trance.
Search for volunteer
GIGA-Consciousness researchers are therefore looking for volunteers to participate in the study. Participants will be trained either in self-hypnosis or in cognitive trance.
The conditions for volunteering for this study :
- To be over 18 years old
- Have had a cancer recently and must have completed treatment less than a year ago.
- Not have a regular practice of hypnosis, cognitive trance or meditation
In practice, participants in the self-hypnosis group will have to come to the CHU for several hypnosis sessions. For the cognitive trance, it will be 2x2 full days of learning. Questionnaires will be submitted to each participant before and after these sessions. A follow-up will be done 3 months and one year after the end of the training to evaluate the duration of the potential effects. Some participants will also undergo electroencephalograms (EEG) to evaluate possible neurophysiological changes following trance/hypnosis learning.
Contact
Charlotte Grégoire
ch.gregoire@uliege.be
