Clinical hypnosis with children: first steps toward empirical support.

A review of controlled studies on the efficacy of clinical hypnosis with children reveals promising findings, particularly for reduction of acute pain, chemotherapy-related distress, and enuresis. However, no child hypnosis interventions currently qualify as "efficacious" according to criteria for empirically supported therapies (EST). A major limitation of the existing literature relative to EST guidelines is the lack of treatment specification via a manual or its equivalent.