History of Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been around for almost as long as man has been keeping any type of records. In ancient Egypt they had "Sleep Temples" where many would go to spend a few days in deep meditation. One famous Papyrus scroll discovered in the 19th Century makes reference to apparently sleeping figures with others making hypnotic passes over them with their hands.

Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)

An Austrian physician by the name of Anton Mesmer is regarded as the modern day grandfather of hypnosis. He published a thesis that strived to prove the existence of a magnetic fluid within the human body giving rise to what he called "Animal Magnetism". Mesmer believed that this fluid could be disturbed and give rise to illness. Using strong magnets he began passing them over patients with various illness and with one particular aristocratic lady cured her of "hysteria".

Soon his popularity spread far and wide and he moved to Paris to continue his work. So many poor people came to see him daily that he decided they could be treated "en masse" by attaching ribbons to a tree and getting them to hold them while he applied the magnetism. He also filled a large tub with iron filings and protruding metal rods which people could hold and receive treatment. Eventually the French Physicians turned against him and his treatment branding it a farce, and he fled Paris, returning to Germany. He continued to treat other patients, retiring to Meersburg on the Bodensee. Of course what he had really discovered was how to induce a hypnotic state by use of his hands and voice. We still use the term "Mesmerized" today in normal conversation to denote being fascinated, and engrossed in something which holds our total attention.

Marquis de Puysegur (1751-1825)

The Marquis de Puysegur, a good friend and colleague of Mesmer continued to practice and teach animal magnetism. Later, de Puysegur's student and friend, Professor Jean Deleuze began to use "Post Hypnotic suggestions" probably pioneering the technique which is in use extensively today by hypnotherapists.

James Esdaile (1808-1859)

James Esdaile, a doctor who was studying Mesmerism around the mid 1840's began to use it with patients in a British medical facility in India. At that time fellow surgeons were achieving a mortality rate of about 50 percent with major operations. Esdaile performed hundreds of operations including amputations and removal of huge tumours using hypnotic anaesthesia, achieving much improved mortality rates, losing only about 5 percent of his patients. Despite his successes the introduction of Chloroform in 1847 brought the use of hypnosis for anaesthesia to an end.

A fascinating book written by Dr Esdaile may be downloaded or viewed online at Google books Here

James Braid (1795-1860)

A scottish surgeon by the name of James Braid gave us the term Hypnosis from the Greek "Hypno" or God of Sleep. He described the onset of the hypnotic state as a sleep like state brought about by exhaustion of the nervous system due to staring at a bright object for long periods. Later he realized that the patients did not sleep but were concentrating on a single source of stimulation, and tried to change the name to Monoideism, however by that time hypnosis had been widely accepted as the term for the dream-like state.

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

Sigmund Freud the father of modern day psychology spent some time using hypnosis early in his career. Together with Breur they used hypnosis with psychotherapy successfully treating patients. it was during this early work that Freud discovered the rapport and transference between patient and doctor, and led him to explore the powers of the subconscious mind. He abandoned hypnosis in favour of his interest in a psychotherapeutic technique that we nowadays call "free association".

Milton Erickson (1902 - 1980)

A legendary genius in the world of psychotherapy and hypnosis, Milton Erickson had a unique manner and method of treating people which today is widely emulated and developed. He was plagued by ill health for a large part of his life, having suffered two bouts of polio. He was also dyslexic, and colour blind. During the periods of disability it is believed he gained much of his personal knowledge of human nature by observation, and during the second polio attack in his fifties he turned his mind to relief of pain by Hypno-anaesthesia. He pioneered many of the techniques and language patterns which today have been developed by others into what is known as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).

Dave Elman (1900-1967)

Dave Elman is best know for his work with the medical profession. Gil Boyne a legendary great in the field of hypnotherapy who knew Dave personally summed up the extraordinary talent of the man in this tribute ....

"When Dave Elman was eight years old, Dave saw his father wracked with the pain of terminal cancer. A famous stage hypnotist learned of the situation, and came to visit. In just a few minutes of hypnotic treatment the moaning and groaning was silenced and the pain was relieved. Little Dave was permitted to visit and play with his Dad. Dave Elman never forgot that his father was given relief by a stage hypnotist after the doctors had said there was no way to relieve his suffering. As a young man, Elman worked briefly as a stage hypnotist, and it was during this period that he developed the rapid induction techniques that made his later teaching demonstrations so extraordinary. In the ensuing years Elman became a successful writer, director and producer of network radio programs, and taught these subjects at Columbia University. He was forty-nine years old when he made the decision to change his profession and become an authority in the teaching of hypnosis. He met with medical specialists, researched the available literature and developed the Dave Elman course in clinical hypnosis. Although Elman had no advanced degrees and no scientific training, he restricted participation in his training courses to physicians and dentists. His reputation spread quickly and soon made him the best known and most successful teacher of hypnotism in America. For several years Dave taught his course to thousands of medical staff in every major city in the USA."

Gil Boyne - One of today's great therapists

G Gil Boyne il deserves a special mention. He has championed and taught the art of hypnotherapy for almost 50 years. Some of his techniques and approaches to hypnotherapy have been based on rapid results as opposed to the theoretical possibilities. He has taught several of the big names of the last century, including Charles Tebbetts who is well known for his work promoting and developing "Parts Therapy".

One of Gil's long time beliefs...

"The human mind knows not only all of the questions, but also all of the answers".

Gil continues to teach his "Transforming Therapy" course in USA.

Click HERE for Gil's Site.

What of the Future?

future There is no doubt that others are following in the footsteps of the great practitioners of hypnotherapy. Today's therapists continue to push the envelope with new techniques in the field of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. It is an exciting time for the therapist, with the Western world becoming more aware of the value of complementary and alternative medicine, and in particular the benefits to be gained from hypnotherapy as a natural, drug free therapy.