A Short History of Hypnosis

 

In some ways, talking about the history of hypnosis is a bit like talking about the history of thinking or the history of breathing. Hypnosis is a universal human trait, so its history is the history of humanity itself. We might think of hypnotherapy - the use of hypnosis for healing or therapeutic purposes - as a very recent development, but its roots stretch deep into the past. Ancient Chinese, Hindu and Egyptian texts all mention healing procedures that are hypnotic inductions by any other name.

Called yar-phoonk in Hindu, voodoo, magic, incantation, magnetism

That said, it's interesting to examine the development of hypnotherapy as a profession, as it shows an increasingly sophisticated understanding of what hypnosis is, and what it can be used for.

The modern era really begins with the Austrian physician Franz Mesmer (1734-1815). Indeed, for a very long time hypnosis was known as "mesmerism", a word that's still in use today. Mesmer worked with psychiatric patients, and achieved remarkable results. Perhaps his most famous case was that of Miss Paradis, a concert pianist who suffered from a psychosomatic vision disorder - "hysterical blindness" in 18th century parlance. Mesmer worked with Miss Paradis for days on end, inducing trance with his "mesmeric pass", an extraordinarily complex and lengthy set of hand movements across the body, and by encouraging her to follow the movements of a stick reflected in a mirror. With admirable dedication and persistence, he retrained her to perceive motion and distinguish color, and to endure daylight.

The story didn't end happily, as Miss Paradis' parents demanded the return of their daughter, on the grounds that her pension would be stopped if she recovered! Her blindness returned once she was back in the bosom of her loving family, and Mesmer was denounced as a charlatan and a quack. Mesmer had always been a controversial figure, and was dogged by accusations of fraud for the rest of his life.
Of course, from our perspective, his theories dosound like quackery - he believed that he achieved results by recharging his patients' magnetic field with his own "animal magnetism", which he was able to transmit across the ether with the mesmeric pass. That may not be true physically, but his approach was true psychologically. What he did worked, if not for the reasons he thought it did. He deserves to be better remembered, as a true pioneer of hypnosis.

Mesmer's theories were picked up and developed throughout the 19th century by figures such as John Elliotson (1791-1868) and James Esdaille (1808-1859), British surgeons who used mesmeric techniques to perform surgery, including amputations. James Braid (1795- 1860) is another important figure, often regarded as the "father of hypnosis", since his investigations established hypnosis as an area of scientific, rather than occult, interest. He also coined the word "hypnosis" itself, taking it from the Greek word for sleep (hypnos), after discarding neurypnology, or "nervous sleep".

Braid was a physician, and his interest in the phenomenon was aroused when he arrived late for an appointment and discovered his patient staring in intense fascination at the flickering flames of an oil lamp. The man proved very amenable to suggestions whilst in this state of locked attention. This experience, together with subsequent experiments, demonstrated to Braid that hypnosis is nothing more than a fixation of the attention, and that a number of remarkable things can be achieved whilst in this state. In his book, Neurypnology, Braid describes a number of cases, including that of a 33 year old woman who had mobility restored to her paralyzed legs, and that of a 54 year old woman who was cured of severe headaches and a skin disorder after receiving hypnotic treatment.

Moving into the 20th Century, practitioners such as Pierre Janet (1859-1947) and Clark L. Hull (1884 - 1952) advanced the scientific and academic study of hypnosis. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) also used hypnosis in some of his early research, but soon abandoned it in favor of free association techniques. Another significant name is that of Emile Coué (1857-1926), who is best remembered for the phrase “day by day in every way I am getting better and better.” Coué promoted the idea of auto-suggestion, something which we might better understand as self-hypnosis. He also recognized the role of the imagination in solving problems, and was one of the first to realize that hypnosis is something which the client participates in, rather than something which is done to them by a hypnotist.

The two major figures of modern hypnotherapy, however, are Milton H. Erickson (1901-1980), and Dave Elman (1900-1967). Erickson pioneered "indirect hypnosis", the subtle language patterns designed to shift a patient's perception of themselves and their problems, without necessarily resorting to formal, eyes-closed inductions. More importantly, he understood that for hypnotherapy to be truly effective, it needs to be meaningful to the individual. His whole approach was based on understanding and working with the individual client's view of the world.

Elman is perhaps less well-known, but his book Hypnotherapy is regarded as a classic in its field. He bridged the gap between stage hypnotism and hypnotherapy, adapting and developing the short, sharp techniques of the stage hypnotists for therapeutic purposes. That which took the early mesmerists hours to achieve could now be done in seconds.

Hypnosis in the 21st century tends to follow the pattern laid down by Erickson and Elman, and the others who followed in their wake. It is a brief, solution-focused practice, using rapid or indirect techniques, and totally guided by the client. In this respect, it is different from the authoritarian and lengthy methods of the 19th century, but it's essentially doing the same thing - bringing about profound healing and change.

 

 

History of Hypnosis - Cheat sheet

1. As old as civilization.

2. Early History - Village Medicine Men, Tribal Shamans, Egyptian  Greek Roman Sleep Temples

3. The Middle ages, Sorcerers & Wizards kept hypnotism alive. (Considered the evil times)

4. Modem Hypnotism started with Mesmer around  1734 - 1815

5. Dr. James Braid — Gave hypnosis it's name 1795 -1860

6. James Esdaile (Approximately 1880) 1808-1859

a. Head surgeon at a prison in Calcutta India

b. Performed thousands of operations using only hypnosis for anesthesia

c. Was told to cease and desist by the Royal Society of Medicine — Pain was created by God and to remove it was against God's will.

d. One year later Chloroform was invented and first time ever, GOD CHANGED HIS MIND.

7. Dr. Hyppoloyte Bumheim (1840-1919)

a. Accidentally discovered the ingredient to a powerful induction.

b. Enabled the Law of Compounding Suggestion to be developed.

8. World War I

a. A small group of British Corpsman had previous nonmilitary training in hypnotism.

b. During the battle of Stone the only anesthesia was ether. The Corpsman's supply was used up rapidly.

c. They used their hypnotism skills to stop bleeding and eliminate shock.. .Many soldiers were saved.

9. World War II

a. A small segment of British corpsmen and American soldiers knew hypnotic techniques.

b. These Soldiers used their skills in the Pacific Theater without permission of their superiors.

10. The Korean Conflict.

a. Again, hypnotism was used in the forward combat areas without permission of superiors.

b. Hypnotism was used primarily to control shock and frostbite.

11. In 1958 - after much deliberation, the American Medical Association declared, "Hypnotism is a useful tool."

12. Today:

a. Training to the medical profession was by "Lay" hypnotists until the physician developed their own programs in the 1970's.

b. Professional hypnosis organizations began to be developed. (NGH, ACHE, AAEH, and etc.)

c. Education of non-medical professional hypnotists has been carried on by professional hypnotists (non-medically trained).

Medical Profession:

1892 The British Medical Association (BMA) commissioned a committee to investigate hypnosis. Their report, published in the British Medical Journal, stated that they “satisfied themselves of the genuineness of the hypnotic state” and recognized that hypnotism is “frequently effective in relieving pain, procuring sleep, and alleviating many functional ailments.”

1955 A BMA subcommittee issued a report in the British Medical Journal endorsing the 1892 report and stating that hypnosis is a effective in treating psychosomatic disorders, revealing unrecognized motives and conflicts, removing symptoms, changing morbid thoughts and behaviors, and alleviating pain. The report also recommended that medical students be introduced to hypnosis as part of standard psychiatric training, and that specialists in psychology should receive instruction in hypnotism.

1958 The American Medical Association (AMA) approved a study by its Council on Mental Health, which recognized hypnotherapy as an orthodox medical treatment (as opposed to an “alternative” or “complementary” treatment). The AMA committee stated their agreement with the report of the BMA, and it recommended that instruction in hypnosis be included in the curricula of medical schools and postgraduate training centers. [In 1987 the AMA rescinded almost all policies from 1881–1958. As a result of that decision the AMA now has no official position on the use of hypnosis.]

1960 The American Psychological Association endorsed hypnosis as a branch of psychology (it should be understood that the practice of psychology emerged from the field of hypnosis)

1961 The AMA Council on Mental Health recommended that medical students should receive 144 hours of training in hypnosis over a 9- to 12-month period at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

1978 The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) formed a section for “Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine”.

1983 The RSM approved a diploma level training course of hypnotherapy.

1984 The RSM commissioned a report entitled “Symposium on Psychological Influences and Illness: Hypnosis and Medicine.”

1986 The BMA emphasized that hypnotherapy is “part of orthodox medical treatment.”

1995 The United States’ National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an extensive report, which concluded that hypnosis is effective in alleviating chronic pain associated with cancer and other conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and tension headaches.

2000 BMA stated to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology that “Hypnotherapy and counseling may be considered as orthodox treatments.”

2001 The British Psychological Society commissioned a group of psychologists to publish a report on The Nature of Hypnosis, which reported that hypnosis is a proven therapeutic medium. The report stated that “hypnotic procedures may be beneficial in the management and treatment of a wide range of conditions and problems encountered in the practice of medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy.”

2005 The American Psychological Association published a formal definition of hypnosis.

 

 in the beginning of modern science -  scientific practice and theory were considered 'the work of the devil'  and against biblical teaching

 

BACK

 

---