The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

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Hypnosis is not normally accessible to patients living in remote areas. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of providing hypnosis via videoconferencing, using ISDN at 384 kbit/s. Eleven of 15 patients invited to do so took part. Ten of the 11 stated that they were satisfied with the video-hypnosis session and all indicated that they would like to have further video-hypnosis sessions in the future. Sound quality and image quality were acceptable during nearly all sessions, in spite of some interference as a result of technical problems and weather conditions. The results suggest that hypnosis can be provided successfully via videoconferencing.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.