Throughout history, hypnosis has been used in medicine in a variety of different forms. It is based on a philosophy that is common within many eastern therapies based on self-healing properties of the mind and body. Hypnosis stems from the Greek work ‘Hypnos’ which means sleep. Evidence of the use of hypnosis for healing dates back to ancient Egypt times. Sanskrit records reveal the use of sleep temples where trances were induced and used to heal the sick.
There are many other examples of the use of hypnosis in history, however, western scientists only begun to use hypnosis around the 1700s. Most frequently cited as being one of the first to use hypnosis, is Franz Anton Mesmer, who used magnets and the magnetic fields that reside in the body to heal the body. This was due to his strong beliefs that diseases are the result of blockages in the flow of magnetic forces around the body. This is a philosophy that is still continued among many alternative and complimentary therapies today. Mesmer would‘ mesmerise’ his patients by using rods and passing them over the body and thus putting them into a trance like state. Although very famous for his use of hypnosis, Mesmer lacked the modern day knowledge of hypnosis (because it was in early stages of use) and so could not promote its benefits to the medicine world successfully.
Although, Mesmer was unsuccessful in his plight, hypnosis has been used in medicine ever since. James Braid (1795-1860) is often viewed as the next pioneer for hypnosis in Britain when he discovered the use of fixation to induce a trance. He also discovered that you could give commands to people who were in a trance following fixation. James Esdaile (1808-1959) was one of the first people in Britain to use hypnotism for pain relief and as an anaesthetic. Although the use of hypnosis for pain relief and as an alternative to anaesthesia has been well documented, the medical world still does not use hypnosis for this purpose on a regular basis. For me, Braid and Esdaile are true pioneers of hypnotherapy and without their work, hypnotherapy may not be as well used as it is and there may not be as much knowledge surrounding it. Much research and teaching on this subject has been by David Elman. He has taught doctors and dentists the use of hypnosis for pain relief for many years. His work enabling him to prevent pain and induce a hypnotic state within only a few minutes is outstanding, and for this reason, you can understand why many people are very dubious. Particularly as modern medicine and dentistry is based on science. Hypnotherapy is not something that can be measured in a quantifiable manner easily. Reading some of Elman’s work, I am impressed and feel that for his pupils, his confidence and belief alone would be enough to dispel scepticism.
Moving out of the medical domain and into a more therapeutic direction was Emile Coue (1857-1926) who pioneered autosuggestion and mostly famously known for the phrase ‘Day by day in every way I am getting better and better’. Coue believed that he was facilitating self-healing and viewed all hypnosis as self hypnosis. This also caused more research into the effects of placebo’s. People are capable of causing their own problems, and they are also capable of fixing their own problems with their minds. For me, I find this the most interesting because up until then, most had used hypnosis for pain relief rather than healing of any of other sorts. For me, this is almost the beginning of hypnotherapy.
Clark Hull published the book ‘hypnosis and suggestibility’ which was one of the first books covering psychological research on hypnosis. Hull went on to teach hypnosis and one of his students Milton Erickson went on to practice as a hypnotherapist. Erickson used suggestion techniques and also developed the handshake technique of inducing a trance state. This is whereby you shake a person’s hand three times whilst making suggestion and by the third shake, they will be in hypnosis.
One of my favourites is Sigmund Freud whose early work in psychology used hypnosis as a tool for curing the mind. Freud was the first to introduce the concept of the unconscious mind and his theories regarding repressions, sublimation and projection were used to advance the use of hypnotherapy because of his beliefs regarding theory of mind and dynamics of human behaviour. Although many of his theories are today considered illogical, his work forms the major foundations of psychology as well as contributing to hypnotherapy. Freud studied Jean-Martin Charcot’s work on hysteria and hypnotherapy, and Freud used this as a pathway of exploration into the unconscious mind to find the source of dysfunction. Freud believed and made well known, the notion that what happens during our childhood influences who we become in our adult lives. This work is still practiced today in modern hypnotherapy by accessing the subconscious to allow the adult client to remember and deal with whatever is causing them problem.
World War One created demand for treatment of psychological issues and this is the turning point in history when hypnotherapy began to flourish. In 1949, John Watkin published his book ‘hypnotherapy of war neuroses’. This was a milestone in terms of literature on hypnosis. John Watkins was seen as a pioneer for his work with soldiers returning from war. Considering the relevance of war today and the prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) I view his work as inspirational and something that more doctors should consider when trying to identify and treat PTSD. Hypnotherapy was taken to a new level in the 1970’s with the development of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). NLP taught practitioners a greater degree of awareness in the use of language and how it can be used most effectively in hypnotherapy.
Over recent years, alternative and complimentary therapies have experienced an uprising in popularity. This is partially down to the advances in technology and the internet allowing information to get to a wider audience, and partially due to the distrust that has developed towards the state of the healthcare systems. This distrust has arisen because of media stories reporting horror stories of patients dying unnecessarily, being prescribed the wrong medication, and many people being described medication for mental health issues that could be treated with complimentary therapies.
Hypnosis has grown in popularity through the rise of media, TV and stage hypnosis. Although, portraying hypnosis as ‘mind control’ or ‘making you do something ridiculous’ is not favoured by hypnotherapists, stage hypnosis does have its place in history and has demonstrated so the mass market, how belief systems can change and be challenged, how behaviours are automatic, and how easily humans are influenced.
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