The History of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

While hypnotherapy is a relatively new addition to the various ‘talking therapies,’ hypnosis in different forms goes back a little further. It can be traced back at least to the 18th century and its roots are probably in ancient times. Hypnosis in Ancient Times Although not referred to as hypnosis, healing utilising trance can be traced back over 4,000 years to ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians had healing sanctuaries where people with a variety of problems, both physical and mental, could seek aid. These sanctuaries attached to temples were known as ‘Sleep’ or ‘Dream Temples’ where the sufferer would be put into a trance-like sleep. Their dreams would be interpreted and forms of words probably thought of as spells, would be used to affect a cure. Today we might refer to these spells as hypnotic inductions. Ancient Greece had similar Sleep Temples dedicated to the god of healing, Asklepios. Trance states are often likened to sleep, indeed the term hypnosis is derived from the Greek word Ὕπνος (Hypnos) for sleep. The Romans absorbed much of Greek culture including the concept of Sleep Temples which spread with the empire. There are even reputedly the remains of a Roman Sleep Temple in the UK today at Lydney in Gloucestershire. There is further documentary evidence from ancient Indian, Chinese, Persian and Sumerian cultures indicating the study and knowledge of altered states and the process we now refer to as hypnosis. The Development of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy In modern times, an Austrian doctor, Franz Anton Mesmer (1733-1815), is often referred to as the father of hypnosis although it can be argued he had no interest in hypnosis itself. He introduced a theory of “animal magnetism“. He believed that there was a kind of magnetic energy around us and a cosmic fluid that could be stored in baths of water or inanimate objects and that this energy could be transferred to patients thereby curing them of illness. Mesmer attempted to manipulate this magnetic energy by making slow, wafting motions or “passes” with his hands, sometimes for several hours at a time and it is quite possible that he succeeded in boring his patients into a trance! He was very popular in his own time, however, and claimed considerable success. After Mesmers died in 1815 one of his followers, Armand, Maquis de Puysegur carried on his work and discovered that the spoken word and direct commands could induce trance easily and noticeably faster than mesmeric passes and that pain could be controlled while a person was in trance. Pain-free surgery is recorded as being practised in France by Dr Cloquet as early as 1821, and in England by Dr Elliotson, and Dr Parker who achieved the enviable nickname of “Painless Parker.” Dr James Esdaile, an English physician working in India performed an incredible 300 major operations and over a thousand minor procedures using hypnosis, or Mesmerism as it was still called at that time. Soon after Chloroform was discovered and sadly pain control while in a hypnotic trance became sidelined. The next important figure in the history of hypnosis is the Scottish optometrist, Dr James Braid. He discovered by accident that a person could easily go into trance simply by fixing their eyes on a bright object, and without the need for mesmeric passes. In 1841 after time spent experimenting and studying Mesmers’ theories he published his findings, and it was he who first introduced the use of the terms “hypnosis” and “hypnotism” into the English language. Even though the term hypnosis is a misnomer, as a hypnotic trance is not a sleep state, the name remained and “mesmerism” became “hypnotism.” By the 1870s two schools of hypnosis were established in France, one Dr Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris and the other in Nancy by Auguste Ambroise Leibault and Hippolyte Bernheim. Dr Charcot was a neurologist who used hypnosis to treat hysterics and believed hypnosis to be an abnormal neurological activity, the result of physical or neurological stimulation. While the Nancy school under Messrs Leibault and Bernheim held that hypnosis is a natural state available to everyone using free will and that as such it was a normal phenomenon. Some twenty years later in 1891, the British Medical Association drafted a resolution in favour of the use of hypnosis in medicine but it was not approved until 64 years later! Hypnotherapy Vs Analysis Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, became interested in hypnosis after reading Berheim’s book “De la Suggestion.” He used hypnosis in his early work but soon became disillusioned by the concept. It is believed he did not have the patience necessary for hypnosis and was not a good hypnotist! However, his observation of patients entering a hypnotic state may have contributed to his recognising the existence of the subconscious mind. Freud rejected hypnosis, instead favouring his techniques of analysis and free association. In many ways, his change of heart was damaging to hypnosis, particularly in the context of psychology as it created enduring prejudices and misconceptions, many of which have continued till the present day. With the rise of psychoanalysis in the first half of the 20th century1950s hypnosis declined in popularity. Modern Development of Hypnotherapy The modern study of hypnosis is generally considered to have begun in the 1930s with Clark Leonard Hull at Yale University. His work “Hypnosis and Suggestibility” (1933) was a rigorous study of the phenomenon, and important because perhaps for the first time statistical and experimental analysis was used. Hull’s studies further demonstrated that hypnosis has no connection with sleep: “Hypnosis does not sleep… it has no special relationship to sleep, and the whole concept of sleep, when applied to hypnosis, the 1950s obscures the situation.” In the 1950’s the medical profession started to use hypnosis for therapy. In 1955 the British Medical Association recognised hypnosis therapy and in 1958 the American Medical Association approved a report on the medical use of hypnosis. Two years after AMA approval, the American Psychological Association endorsed hypnosis as a branch of psychology. Milton H. Erickson (1901-1980) was an American psychiatrist who made extensive use of hypnosis in his work and is often referred to as the father of modern hypnotherapy. He was a great and gifted observer of people who could rapidly build rapport with his clients. Metaphors and stories, memorable imagery, surprise and humour and a deceptive conversational style were all part of his therapeutic tools. His hypnotic techniques have undoubtedly added another dimension to modern hypnotherapy. He developed many techniques in hypnosis that are very different from what was or is usually practised. His style is known as ‘Ericksonian Hypnosis’ and has greatly influenced many modern schools of hypnosis and NLP. Dave Elman was also one of the latter-day pioneers of the medical use of hypnosis. Elman’s hypnotic techniques are still widely used among many professional hypnotists. He is known for having trained most physicians, dentists and psychiatrists in the use of hypnotism. He is also known for introducing rapid inductions to the field of hypnosis. One method of induction that he introduced more than fifty years ago is still one of the favoured inductions used by many practitioners today. Hypnosis and NLP In conclusion, I must just mention the introduction and development of NLP by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s. NLP was created, in large part, by its two founders studying, understanding and developing the methods used by Milton Erickson in psychotherapy. NLP is a set of tools and techniques for self-improvement, using our neurology and thinking patterns (neuro), our way of expressing our thoughts through language (linguistic) and their influence on us, and our patterns of behaviour learned through experience (programming). There is a direct link, through Milton Erickson, between NLP and hypnotherapy and many of its techniques employ the use of trance and can be used with hypnosis or as an aid to hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is a field that is still developing and growing in popularity as the public becomes better informed and aware of the positive benefits and effectiveness of hypnosis as a powerful tool for change.