The History of Hypnosis

Hypnosis has a history as long as the human race. There is evidence that most ancient cultures used hypnosis in some form as either healing or to promote religious belief through 'magic'. Indeed many ethnic groups of today still use hypnosis, often in the form of the traditional Shamanic healing.

Scientific study of hypnosis was first carried out by the Austrian Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. He used hypnosis (Mesmerism) on psychiatric patients with some success. However Mesmer was portrayed by the media as a fraudster and was ostracised by the conservative medical community. Mesmer's work was taken forward by an Englishman, John Elliotson. He was a professor of medicine and a radical thinker in his time. He used Mesmerism and left evidence of its effectiveness for such things as anaesthesia and pain control. His eminent position meant that the techniques were actually in widespread use until the development of chemical anaesthetics. In turn Elliotson influenced James Esdaille, a British physician in India who also used hypnosis for anaesthesia on numerous occasions.

The first attempt at a psychological explanation for hypnotic phenomena was carried out by an English physician, James Braid in the mid 19th century. He was highly regarded by the British Medical Association and his research led to hypnosis being accepted as a clinical technique. Many practitioners used hypnosis in the years that followed, albeit most of the medical community often ridiculed it.

The next significant leap in our understanding of hypnosis came from studying the American hypnotist, Milton Erickson who practiced hypnosis from the 1930s to his death in 1980. Erickson suffered from Polio, and developed his hypnotic skills to heal himself. He developed an indirect style of hypnosis that contrasted to the authoritarian approach that had preceded it. This resulted in an approach that encouraged clients to use their own potential to solve problems in their own way. This underpins the work of modern hypnotherapists. Erickson is credited with completely rejuvenating the field of clinical hypnosis. Erickson was one of the therapists studied by Richard Bandler and John Grinder when they were studying excellence in therapeutic work, and so hypnosis became part of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ (NLP™) model they subsequently developed. Bandler has since taken the use of hypnosis still further and continues to teach at the leading edge of the field.

NLP and Neuro-Linguistic Programming are trademarks of Richard Bandler.