Virtual hypnotherapy in the pediatric intensive care unit - HypnoVR

This virtual hypnotherapy project is part of an overall medical and nursing team project. The aim is to improve pain management, comfort and prevention of post-traumatic stress in children, using non-medicinal means.

Prolonged and repeated use of analgesics and sedatives can lead to addiction, with the risk of withdrawal syndrome or even delirium. Several of the department’s caregivers have been trained in hypnosis, and have seen its effectiveness in pain management.

They were keen to acquire the virtual version, and thanks to Gefluc Grenoble, they were able to start using the HypnoVR headset. Its aim is to take the patient into a soothing environment and enable :

• – In the short term, reduce anxiety in children during painful treatment, both pre-operatively and post-operatively.
• – In the medium term, a less negative memory of the child’s stay in the pediatric intensive care unit, less anxiety, and therefore less apprehension about care for the child’s future development.
• – In the long term, we hope to use less sedation and fewer drugs to reduce the side-effects of treatment, possible complications and length of hospital stay for certain patients, particularly MEOPA (nitrous oxide) in children with sickle cell disease.