1800: a young surgeon in London named James Braid went to see a demonstration by a

mesmerist named La Fontaine. In those days, the mesmerist used to stand near the head of
the patient and make downward passes over the body. What came to noticed by Braid that
the patient’s eyes during the process would remain in an upward lock stare, looking at the
mesmerist. Braid realise if the eyes are
fixed o something create the atmosphere to get into trance.
He coined the new term to describe the state as neuro-hypnosis. Braid found that
mesmerism did not involve energy transfer. He surmised that mesmerism worked simply
because suggestion
caused the patients to go into trance.
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1843: James Braid wrote the first book on hypnosis named ‘Neuryphnology’. In this book he
clarified that the fixation on a single point or idea is what causes hypnosis to occur.
Interestingly, Braid later decided that ‘Hypnosis’ is not the right term of the process, which
he took from the Greek God of sleep, “Hypnos”. Because ‘Hypnosis’ is not sleep, he tried to
change the name to ‘“Monoideaism’. However, the name ‘Hypnosis’ was so popular till that
time that nobody accept this new improved
name. Dr. James Braid is considered as the father of Modern Hypnosis.
During the same period, James Esdail, a medical doctor in Madras, India, wrote a book
entitled ‘Mesmerism’. Esdail did over 500 operations with the help of mesmerism for pain
control and trance formation for oprtion, many of which would have been extremely painful
without an aesthetic. But, chloroform was discovered almost immediately after this and so
all the findings of Dr. Esdail
remained unnoticed.
1864: Dr. Liebault, in the city of Nancy, France developed a system of therapy using hypnosis.
A medical colleague named Bernheim sent a patient to visit Liebault, and the patient was
cured overnight. Bernheim decided to investigate this thing called hypnosis and son after
formed a
partnership with Liebault to establish the Nancy School of Hypnosis.
Sigmund Freud studied with Bernheim at the Nancy School and initially used hypnosis in his
practice. But later on he stopped using hypnosis.
1943: Clark Hull at Yale University published his classic work ‘Hypnosis and Suggestibility’ the
first psychological study of hypnosis. He said, “Anything that assumes trance, causes trance”.
During the same period Milton Erickson who was influenced by Hull, practiced hypnosis
almost daily from 1920 to 1980. Erikson’s study change the face of hypnosis forever. George
Estabrooks is another major practioner of hypnosis.
1950: Dave Elman created a powerful set of rapid induction techniques which offer a
different
approach than those of Erikson and Estabrooks.
1964: Lesli LeCron was also a grounder breaker. LeCron popularised ideomotor finger signals.
There are many more contributors for different hypnotic techniques in the present time.
References:
1] Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Guide, Ted Jams, Crownhouse Publishing House, UK.
2] Secretes of Hypnosis, Dr. Bruce Goldburg, Jaico Publishing, Delhi.
History of Hypnosis
1500: Paracelsus, the Swiss medical doctor use magnets and hands on technique with passes
on
patients to heal them.
1600: Irishman Valentine Greatrakes healed people by laying hands on and using magnets
for
passes.
1725: Maximilian Helh was using magnets to help people. One of his student named Franz
Anton Mesmer watched the process and took the magnets to Vienna for use in practice. One
day he was unable to find his magnets so he just made some passes with his empty hands
over the patient, and the
patient was healed. This was simply a kind of non-verbal suggestion which cause a trance on
patient.
After his early successes, Mesmer claimed that it is his own bodily magnetism (energy)
which is curing patient and not the magnet. This creates a great controversy and problem for
Mesmer in
future. He started calling this energy as ‘Animal Magnetism’.
At the height of his fame in Vienna, Mesmer moved to Paris and became a favourite of the
French aristocracy. In the late 1700’s everyone who was anyone went to Dr. Mesmer for one
of his magnetic cures. Mesmer became very successful so much that the medical community
of the time
challenged his methods and claimed he was a fraud.