the pain and relaxing the mind. The number of hypnotherapy sessions varies according to the patient and their susceptibility to hypnosis. Generally, the patient would be ready for hypnosurgery after 6 weeks of training. Post-operative hypnosis Hypnosis may also be helpful post-surgery in helping to facilitate faster healing in patients, with one study reporting faster tissue healing in patients who use hypnosis during surgical recovery. Several other studies have shown a psychological link with healing and recovery. In a study of patients up to seven weeks after undergoing a surgical procedure, researchers found greater healing and improvement in patients who had used hypnosis over those who only received supportive attention or standard "standard postoperative care". A recent Cochrane review on the efficacy of various psychological therapies (including hypnosis) on post-surgical outcomes concluded that "the strength of evidence is insufficient to reach firm conclusions on the role of psychological preparation for surgery" and the quality of the evidence was reportedly "very low." See also Surgery Cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery Trauma surgery References Hypnosis Surgery