Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

The roots of hypnosis can be traced back into in ancient times.

There are ancient hieroglyphs in Egypt depicting hypnotic inductions that are still in use today.

The Greeks had ‘sleep temples’ where patients visited for their ailments. The priests used to put them to sleep before giving healing suggestions.

Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)

Hypnosis as a formal phenomenon was identified by this Austrian physician. He is widely acknowledged as the 'Father of Hypnosis'. He believed that there was a quasi-magnetic fluid in the air we breathe and that the body absorbed this fluid. He considered disease to be caused via a blockage of the circulation of this magnetic fluid in the blood and the nervous system. This is how he formulated the theory of "Animal Magnetism".

Louis XVI (1784)

He appointed two commissions to investigate Mesmerism and its healing effects. Both the commissions disapproved his theory which led to decline of its popularity and practice.

James Braid (1795-1860)

A Scottish surgeon working in Manchester studied the phenomena and

provided a physiological explanation. He coined the term ‘hypnosis’ in 1843 and considered it as a type of sleep.

James Easdaile (1818 - 1859)

A colleague of James Braid experimented with hypnotic anesthesia while serving the British East India Company in Calcutta, India. His success resulted in lowering

the surgical mortality rate to less than 5 percent in over 300 surgical operations.

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893)

A leading neurologist and head of the neurological clinic at the Saltpetiere in Paris, used hypnosis to treat hysteria. He concluded that hypnosis was an induced seizure.

Hippolyte Bernheim (1837-1919)

A professor of medicine at the University of Nancy regarded hypnosis as a special form of sleep where the subject's attention is focused upon the suggestions made by the hypnotist. He emphasized the psychological nature of hypnosis.

Breuer and Freud (1893-1895)

They practiced age regression through hypnosis to treat hysterical symptoms. They formulated their theory of unconscious determinants of symptoms. Sigmund Freud abandoned hypnosis and capitalized on free association.

For the first three decades of the 20th Century, interest in hypnosis as a therapy remained in decline. The only reason hypnosis probably even survived, was due to the Stage Hypnotist.

Clark L. Hull (1884-1952)

His book entitled “Hypnosis and suggestibility: An experimental approach” was instrumental in rekindling interest in the topic. This renewal of interest was short lived. Hull had to abandon the study of hypnosis and turn his attention to learning theory.

Dave Elman (1900-1967)

Dave Elman was an entertainer and radio broadcaster before becoming fully involved with Hypnosis. As a small boy he was deeply impressed when a visiting stage hypnotist, who helped his terminally ill father achieve sufficient pain relief to allow Dave to spend quality time with him. In later years he taught hypnosis to medical doctors and dentists for pain relief and removal of conditions such as allergies, stuttering and obesity. There are very little materials available, save for a book and some audio recordings of his trainings.

Ormond McGill (1913-2005)

From 1947 to 1954, McGill performed stage hypnotism and magic under the stage name of Dr. Zomb. In addition to his career as a world-traveling magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled hypnotherapist.

Milton Erickson (1932-1974)

A psychiatrist who pioneered the art of indirect suggestion in hypnosis. He is considered to be the father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through the use of both verbal and nonverbal pacing techniques including metaphor, confusion, and many others. He immensely influenced the practice of contemporary hypnotherapy.

During World War II army psychiatrists successfully applied hypnotic techniques for treating “traumatic neurosis”.

Serious laboratory investigations of hypnosis began in 1950s with the development of hypnotizability scales (Hilgard, 1965).

Hypnosis was officially recognized as a legitimate tool for therapeutic applications by British Medical Association in 1955 and American Medical Association in 1958. A division of the American Psychological Association (Division 30) is involved in the investigation and application of hypnosis in clinical and other areas.

If you would like to create a positive change in your life through hypotherapy just call North State Hypnosis 1-877-99-Trance