A Brief History of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

'Hypnosis' is the word we use to describe a particular, natural state of mind. The state of hypnosis is an inexorable function of the normal human mind, much like daydreaming, for example. It has therefore been utilised in many forms throughout history - and has been used for purposes of 'therapy' or 'healing'. Although this state of mind was not labelled until the early 19th Century, when a British physician named James Braid coined the term after using it clinically for the purposes of anaesthesia, it was still used prior to this point even if the practitioners using it were not aware of the 'hows and whys'. Various religious rituals across cultures have undoubtedly made use of hypnosis and produced beneficial results throughout history.

James Braid gave this state of mind the name 'hypnosis', derived from the Greek word for sleep, and quickly thereafter tried to change the name to 'monodeism' when he established that it was entirely different from sleeping. But the name stuck, and so we have our modern term, and of course the term used to describe therapy aided with the tool of hypnosis, 'hypnotherapy'. Braid discovered this beneficial state while watching a display of 'magnetism' given by the father of modern hypnotherapy, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer was the first celebrated pioneer of suggestion-therapy in the modern Western world, although ironically he probably didn't know that it was suggestion that was producing the fantastic healing that occurred in his patients, instead believing it to be the work of the magnets: his theory was that magnets could restore the natural magnetic flow of the body and produce healing, as illness was caused by a disruption of this natural flow. The process of hand-passes he made in order to heal a patient with magnetism and the resulting mental state of the patient would be known as 'Mesmerism', and the state of mind that we know as hypnosis was the 'Mesmeric state'.

Mesmer produced often miraculous results with magnetism and had thousands of devoted followers. Even though healing from all sorts of ailments was apparent in thousands of patients, the scientific community at the time were determined to prove that he was a fraud. Of course, when investigations were made into the power of magnets alone, and when subjects were demonstrated upon who deliberately resisted all efforts to produce healing, the scientists could claim that no effects were produced and Mesmer was humiliated. The fact that thousands of people had been cured of their illnesses (mental and physical) was overlooked, and Mesmer would be regarded by most as a fraud for the rest of his life.

It was because of the stigma of being associated with Mesmer that James Braid coined a new term, wholly unconnected with Mesmer. James Braid, and another eminent British physician, James Esdaile, had both however witnessed the power of hypnosis and experimented with it in secret. They independently produced amazing natural anaesthesia in their surgical patients, James Braid by using eye-fixation techniques after he witnessed a 'trance-like' state produced by a man staring at a candle, and James Esdaile by following the exact mechanics of Mesmer's rituals. Esdaile was so successful in carrying out involved surgeries (for example, amputations and abdominal surgeries) using hypnosis that a particular deep state of hypnosis in which natural anaesthesia occurs was named after him, the 'Esdaile' state. With the advance of chemical anaesthesia and the fact that it can take a longer time to achieve natural anaesthesia through hypnosis, there are few surgeons who still operate in this manner, however.

It was a select group of radical thinkers who set the stage for modern hypnotherapy. Sigmund Freud's ideas about the different parts of the mind and how they interact form the basis of the majority of modern psychological concepts. The idea of a subconscious level of thought and a part or parts of the mind not under conscious control was a huge leap forward in therapeutic terms. In addition, two Frenchmen, Emile Coué and J.M.Charcot, formulated ideas about healing with hypnosis that are now accepted as unwavering principles; that the client must be a willing participant in hypnosis and hypnotherapy, and that the power of imagination is a greater force than conscious will. Coué also advanced the general model of the individual's power for self-healing, with the therapist as a guide, rather than as a healer with intrinsic power. It was only the rapid advancement of science and medical technology, and a wave of defensive scientific scepticism, that hindered the progress of hypnotherapy from this point, for these ideas are some of the fundamental concepts of successful hypnotherapy today.

The next stages in the advancement of hypnotherapy came from two very different practitioners. Milton Erickson, (1901-80) was a psychologist and therapist who really was a master of the art of hypnotherapy. He was first and foremost a healer and a compassionate man, and produced elaborate permissive scripts (i.e. without direct commands and suggestion) for both inductions and therapies, making use of metaphor and entrancing ideas and language to produce awesome healing results. Erickson took both the creation of the hypnotic state and suggestive therapy to another level and is a major influence in the work of most hypnotherapists today.

At a similar time, Dave Elman (1900-67) was building quite a reputation as a healer and demonstrating this to the medical community. He was a major factor in the advancement of the recognition of hypnotherapy as a powerful and legitimate therapy. With a more authoritative approach to induction and therapy, Elman was the definition of raw confidence and his results were fantastic. Elman brought attention to the practice of hypnoanalysis, a technique unequalled in its healing potential in cases of neuroses and repressed emotions and memories, and the release thereof. The modern day hypnotherapist should have all of these tools at his or her disposal after such pioneering work by these two men. Today there is an increasing network of dedicated hypnotherapists helping innumerable people worldwide to overcome their problems and to maximise their potentials using the power of their minds.