HYPNOTIC TREATMENT OF HEADACHE AND VERTIGO IN SKULL INJURED PATIENTS

Symptoms of headache and vertigo were treated using direct hypnotic suggestions of symptom relief in 155 consecutive skull injured patients. Posttraumatic headache and vertigo were completely relieved after an average observation period of 1 yr, 10 mo. in 50% and 58% of the patients and partially relieved in 20% and 16%, respectively. Most of the relief was achieved after about 4 weekly sessions and, particularly with the headaches, only if treatment began within a few weeks of the injury. Therapeutic outcome was correlated with depth of hypnosis achieved for both headache (r = .44, P < .0001) and vertigo (r = .47, P < .0001) symptoms. Patients who could not even achieve light hypnosis obtained no therapeutic improvement, but patients who experienced only light hypnosis were as clinically responsive as those achieving deep hypnosis.