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Hypnosis, or hypnosis-like techniques, appear to have been practiced since ancient times. From Hindu and Persian trance-inducing techniques, the sleep temples of ancient Egypt and Greece, the naturally occurring state of hypnosis has been utilized in many cultures.
Western scientists first became acquainted with this phenomenon through the work of the Austrian physician, Franz Mesmer, whose techniques became known as "mesmerism". Mesmer was reportedly very successful in "healing" various physical and mental problems and he developed a large following among the French aristocracy in the late 1700's. He later fell out of favor because of the political intrigues of people who did not like or accept what he was doing.
During the 1800's and English physician, Dr. James Esdaile, performed 345 major surgeries using mesmeric techniques as the sole anesthetic.
The first use of the term "hypnotism" is attributed to a Scottish surgeon named Dr. James Braid, who de-mystified mesmerism and ascribed the mesmeric trance to physiologic processes.
In France during the late 1800's, Charcot and Janet made major strides in the exploration of hypnotic phenomena, and the development of hypnotic technique.
The British Medical Association endorsed the theraputic use of hypnotism in 1892.
Sigmund Freud studied hypnosis under Charcot and had a deep interest in hypnosis for much of his life. He was reportedly a poor hypnotist and did not make use of it when developing his psychoanalytic theories.
During the 1920's and 30's much experimental research into hypnosis was done by Clark Hull and Milton Erickson. Erickson went on to develop clinical hypnosis technique and to make major contributions to both hypnotism and psychology. Ericksonian technique led to the development of neuro linguistic programming (NLP).
Intense scientific research into hypnosis led to the acceptance of hypnotism by the American Medical Association in 1958.
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| Franz Mesmer |
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| Milton Erickson |
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