Psychosocial therapy of some benefit in recurrent abdominal pain in childhood

There was some evidence for beneficial effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and hypnotherapy in reducing pain in the short term in children and adolescents presenting with recurrent abdominal pain. There was little evidence of long-term benefit. There was no evidence for the effectiveness of yoga therapy or written self-disclosure therapy. There were insufficient data to explore effects of treatment by recurrent abdominal pain subtype. The duration of the included studies ranged from 5 days to 3 months. There was little evidence that CBT or hypnotherapy affected school functioning, psychological wellbeing or quality of life.