Hypnosis in History

Hypnosis in History – Contents
Introduction.................................................................................3
5,000 Years Ago – Ancient Hypnosis .........................................4
1774 – The Birth of Mesmerism.................................................9
1784 – The Fall of Animal Magnetism.....................................13
1819 – The Pioneers of Mesmerism .........................................17
1843 – Hypnosis Gains Credibility...........................................21
1850 – The Nancy School.........................................................24
1882 – Charcot's School ...........................................................28
1885 – Freud and Coue.............................................................32
1890 – Shamanism and Trance Traditions................................37
1920 – Hypnosis in the Modern Era .........................................41
2012 – Hypnosis in History Credits..........................................44
Free Online Video Courses from the AHA ...............................47
The Hypnotherapy Channel™ ...................................Back Cover
Hypnosis in History
Free Hypnosis in History Course
The American Hypnosis Association (AHA) in conjunction
with HMI’s Accredited College of Hypnotherapy is proud to
present this FREE online course, Hypnosis in History.
This 40 minute video documentary presents the revealing

and fascinating history of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.
Starting with the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, our story
guides you through the pivotal pioneers of Mesmerism and
Hypnosis in Europe, and then into the 20th Century.
This illuminating story is a must see for any student of

Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy.
To take the online exam and receive your FREE CEU

Certificate go to the American Hypnosis Association.
3 Hypnosis in History
5,000 Years Ago
Ancient Hypnosis
To better understand the position
of Hypnosis in our world today,
and the possible paths of its future,
it is useful to examine the history
of the many ways that humans have used hypnotic states of
consciousness to understand themselves, and the world around them.
00:01:41
The history of Hypnosis is similar to the history of sleep –

documenting the cultural use of an inherent, universal biological
response for therapeutic purposes. The use of hypnotic states for
healing has been perhaps, a part of every culture throughout time.
00:01:57
Some of the first recorded information comes from over 5,000

years ago, from the time of Egypt's Old Kingdom. The Temple of
Imhotep in the ancient city of Saqqara was an important healing
center in the late 3rd Century BCE.
Temple Sleep
00:02:11
Notable among its practices was a tradition called "temple sleep."

Ailing individuals would journey to the temple in search of a cure
from the gods.
After long rituals involving the ingestion of herbs, and hours of

rhythmic recitation of prayers, the individual was led to a special
darkened chamber to sleep and await a dream revealing a cure.
Sleep Temples
00:02:31
This practice eventually spread to Greece, where special "sleep

temples" were built, dedicated to the god of healing, Aesclapius.
Ailing individuals journeyed to the temple to undergo the proper
rituals and dream of a cure in the sleep chamber, which was filled
with snakes, the symbol of the God.
00:02:49
We can now understand the divine answers and feelings of

reassurance experienced by ancient peoples as the product of
sensory overload, expectation and direct suggestion, but that does
not diminish the physical and emotional healing that took place
because of it.
Oracles
00:03:06
The use of hypnotic states was also exemplified in the ancient

practice of oracles – individuals employed by temples to divine
the future.
00:03:14
Like Sleep Temples in Egypt and Greece, individual expectation

and overload were essential ingredients for both the oracle and
the subject.
These were accomplished through preparatory processes
including the drinking of herbal mixtures and being led by priests
through chambers filled with candles and brightly painted images.
The result of this process was a heightened suggestibility in the
mind of the subject, creating a receptive environment for a
profound emotional experience.
Oracle at Delphi
00:03:41
By far the most well-known in the ancient world was the Oracle
at Delphi in central Greece, which was in continuous use for over
a thousand years. The philosopher Heraclitus described it in the
6th Century BCE:
00:03:54
"The lord whose is the Oracle at Delphi neither speaks nor hides
his meaning, but gives a sign. And the sibyl with raving lips,
uttering things mirthless, unadorned and unperfumed, reaches
over a thousand years with her voice thanks to the god inside her."
The God Apollo

00:04:10
Seated over a crack in the earth which emitted intoxicating fumes,

the job of the sibyl inside was to hear the questions of supplicants
and open herself to receive an answer from The God Apollo.
00:04:21
Individual expectation was built into the ritual for both the sibyl
herself and the subject, given the oracle’s reputation.
00:04:29
Her proclamations were not taken lightly – she was consulted by

people from all levels of society, including rulers seeking advice
about matters of state.
Alexander the Great

Consulted an Oracle
00:04:39
Even the well-known conqueror Alexander

the Great consulted an oracle in Egypt
before embarking on a major campaign to
conquer Persia in the 4th Century BCE.
Had the oracle not spoken favorably, it is entirely likely that
Alexander would have cancelled or changed his campaign,
changing the course of history with it.
00:03:59
Many traditional European and Near Eastern trance traditions like

sleep temples and oracles ended with the advent of Christianity
over the course of the 1st Millennium CE.
00:04:08
Many Christian rituals and holidays specifically incorporated

local pagan traditions in order to make an easier transition to the
new belief system, often incorporating trance inducing elements
like incense, images, and singing.
Self Test
00:05:32
Question: Hypnosis took what form in Ancient Egypt?

A. Imhotep Healing
B. Temple Sleep
C. Dream Chamber
D. Prayer Ritual
1774 – The Birth
of Mesmerism
00:06:05
Hypnosis as we know it today

had its origins in the unique
medical practices of Dr. Franz
Anton Mesmer, a physician who lived in Vienna, Austria during
the mid 18th Century.
Mesmer was a fervent believer in the more esoteric aspects of
Western medical tradition, including the influence of astronomy
and magnets on human health.
Animal Magnetism or Mesmerism

00:06:32
In 1774 during a magnetic treatment with a female patient,

Mesmer felt that he perceived a fluid flowing through the
woman’s body whose flow was affected by his own will.
He eventually named this fluid and its manipulation “Animal
Magnetism” and developed an elaborate theory regarding its
affect on health.
00:06:49
Mesmer believed that every individual had magnetic fluid flowing

through channels throughout his body, and that blockages in the
flow of this fluid caused emotional or physical disease, and that
certain individuals had more or less innate animal magnetism –
the ability to manipulate the flow of this fluid.
Paris, France
00:07:07
He moved to Paris in the late 1770’s

and found more interested students
there than in Vienna. The process of
Animal Magnetism, or Mesmerism,
laid the foundations for the later
development of Hypnosis.
A contemporary English doctor described
Mesmer’s techniques in vivid detail:
00:07:25
His patients were received with an air of mystery and studied

effect. The apartment, hung with mirrors, was dimly lit. A
profound silence was observed, broken only by strains of music
which occasionally floated through the rooms. The patients were
seated around a sort of vat which contained a heterogeneous
mixture of chemical ingredients.
With this, and with each other, they were placed in relation by
means of cords, or jointed rods, or by holding hands; and among
them slowly and mysteriously moved Mesmer himself, affecting
one by a touch, another by a look, a third by passes with his hand,
a fourth by pointing with a rod.
One person became hysterical, then another; one was seized with
catalepsy; others with convulsions; some with palpitations of the
heart, perspirations, and other bodily disturbances.
00:08:19
The method was supposed to provoke in the sick person exactly

the kind of action beneficial to his recovery. To the ignorant the
scene was full of wonderment.
00:08:28
The extraordinary tales of Mesmer's personal power over

individuals are probably part exaggeration, part real results of his
confidence and skill in the use of the means he wielded.
King Louis XVI

Magnetism: Fact or Fiction?
00:08:38
By the mid 1780s, Mesmer’s dramatic practices had drawn the

amazement and scrutiny of the citizens of Paris, including that of
King Louis XVI himself, who commissioned a panel of renowned
scientists to examine Animal Magnetism as fact or fiction, once
and for all.
Self Test
00:08:59
Question: Where was Franz Mesmer living when he first developed

his theory of Animal Magnetism?
A. Paris
B. Berlin
C. Vienna
D. Geneva
1784 – The Fall of
Animal Magnetism
00:09:31
Louis XVI’s panel included

medical doctors from the Royal
Faculty of Medicine in Paris as
well as respected scientists from other fields.
These included the chemist Antoine Lavoisier – discoverer of
oxygen and hydrogen; Dr. Joseph Guillotin – co-founder of the
Academy of Medicine in Paris and the inventor of the guillotine;
astronomer Jean Bailly – a senior member of the French Academy

of Sciences who studied the moons of Jupiter; and American
scientist and Ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin.
00:10:12
After months of investigation and observation, the commission

determined that Mesmer had not discovered a real physical fluid,
that the human body did not contain previously undiscovered
channels, and that any effects of his treatments were due to solely
to the "imagination" of the subjects.
00:10:27
His reputation ruined by the commission's findings, Mesmer

returned to Vienna the following year, eventually returning to the
countryside near his place of birth, living out the last 30 years of
his life in near total obscurity.
00:10:40
Though the idea of Animal Magnetism had been debunked within

scientific circles, a number of individuals continued the practice
into the 19th Century, many making their own unique changes to
the underlying theories and procedure, some performing it in
stage Mesmerism shows.
The Marquis de Puysegur

00:10:56
Mesmerism took a turn toward something

closer to modern Hypnosis with one of
Dr. Mesmer’s followers, the Marquis de
Puysegur, a lower nobleman of the French
aristocracy. The story of his session with
a peasant named Victor is widely thought
to be the first use of Mesmerism to
improve the mood or psychological state of a person.
The story is described in detail by an English doctor of the time:
00:11:21
“He took occasion to mesmerize the daughter of his agent and

another young person, for the toothache, and in a few moments,
they declared themselves cured. This questionable success was
sufficient to lead M. de Puysegur, a few days after, to try his hand
on a young peasant of the name Victor, who was suffering with a
severe fluxion on his chest.
What was M. de Puysegur's surprise, when, at the end of a few
minutes, Victor went off into a kind of tranquil sleep, without
crisis or convulsion, and in that sleep began to gesticulate and
talk, and enter into his private affairs.
Then he became sad; and M. de Puysegur tried mentally to inspire
him with cheerful thoughts; he hummed a lively tune to himself
inaudibly, and immediately Victor began to sing the air.
Victor remained asleep for an hour, and awoke composed, with his
symptoms mitigated.”
Artificial Somnambulism
00:12:12
While reflecting upon this episode, the Marquis noted a

connection between some of Victor's reactions and sleepwalking,
and became the first person to refer to this reaction as "Artificial
Somnambulism,” a term which has carried with us to this day.
Self Test
00:12:29
Question: Which French Nobleman first used the term

"Somnambulism" in connection to Hypnosis?
A. de Cuvillers
B. de Puysegur
C. Lavoisier
D. Victor
1819 – The Pioneers
of Mesmerism
00:13:00
Though Mesmer's theories about

the mechanics of animal magnetism
were proven to be false, many early
Mesmerists continued to practice and expound upon their own theories
and procedures into the 19th Century.
Abbe Faria
One of these early practitioners was a man named Abbe Faria,
who wrote a book on the subject in 1819 entitled, "On the Cause
of Lucid Sleep."
The Count of Monte Cristo
00:13:29
Abbe Faria was near the end of his life when he wrote this work,
and the road which led him there reads like a novel - literally.
He was the real-life basis of a character of the same name in the

Alexandre Dumas classic "The Count of Monte Cristo." But the
real-life Abbe Faria did not die in prison like in the novel, but
eventually served out his prison sentence and moved to Paris,
where he became fascinated with Mesmerism.
Chateu d'If Prison

00:13:54
Born in a Portuguese colony on the coast of India in 1746, he

spent the majority of his life as a Catholic Priest and a Doctor of
Theology. In his 40's he became involved in an attempted revolt
in his native India and fled to France, which itself was in the
throes of its own revolution.
He befriended many notable revolutionaries during this time,

which was suspicion enough for Napoleon Bonaparte to throw
him into the infamous Chateu d'If prison for nearly 20 years.
Lucid Sleep
00:14:20
Based on his lengthy observations of Mesmerism once he was

free, he wrote his influential book, which put forward the idea
Mesmerism was a mental process of the subject. He called the
state "Lucid Sleep" and explained it as the result of a combination
of "visual fixation" and "mental fatigue."
Etienne de Cuvillers
Hypnotism and Hypnotists
00:14:36
Just a year later another Mesmerist,

Etienne de Cuvillers, published the
first work to name the phenomenon
"Hypnotism" and call the practitioners
"Hypnotists," based on the Greek word
for "sleep."
April 12, 1829 First

Recorded Use of Hypnosis
00:14:47
The first recorded instance of using

Hypnosis for anesthesia in surgery was
on April 12, 1829 in Paris. Dr. Jules
Cloquet worked in conjunction with a
local mesmerist by the name of Chapelain
to perform surgery on a female patient
with breast cancer.
Herbert Mayo, an English surgeon, described the operation:
00:15:07
“She was prepared for the operation by Monsieur Chapelain, who

on several successive days threw her into trance by the ordinary
mesmeric manipulations.
She was then like an ordinary sleep-walker, and would converse
with indifference about the contemplated operation, the idea of
which, when she was in her natural state, filled her with terror.
During the whole of the operation, the patient in her trance
exhibited not the slightest sign of suffering. Her expression of
countenance did not change; nor was the voice, the breathing, or
the pulse at all affected.”
00:15:39
When asked by Dr. Mayo why he did not begin utilizing this state
for all his operations, the French doctor replied that "he had not
dared; that the prejudice against Mesmerism was so strong at
Paris that he probably would have lost his reputation and his
income by doing so."
00:15:55
The public distrust of Mesmerism led to many such instances of

hypnotists keeping their results quiet, without publication, which
in turn contributed to the air of mystery surrounding the subject.
Self Test
00:16:08
Question: What is the meaning of "hypnos" – the Greek origin of

the word "Hypnosis"?
A. Sleep
B. Trance
C. To Discover
D. To Heal
1843 – Hypnosis
Gains Credibility
00:16:40
Once the early mesmerists began

proposing new theories and
finding new applications for Mesmerism, the practice began to
gain more legitimacy among doctors and scientists moving into
the mid 19th Century.
Dr. James Braid

00:17:00
In 1841 a Scottish medical doctor,

James Braid, went on to become one of
the most important figures in the history
of Hypnosis after he observed his first
mesmerist show at the age of 46.
00:17:12
Born in rural Scotland, James Braid went on to study medicine at

the University of Edinburgh and became a respected general
surgeon in Manchester, England.
00:17:20
Though he may have heard of Mesmerism

during his training or career, the first time
he actually observed it was at a travelling
show performed by a Swiss Mesmerist,
and the practice greatly intrigued him.
Hypnotism and Hypnotist
00:17:31
After the show he obtained permission to closely observe the

man’s subjects, and after months of intense observation, Dr. Braid
had developed the core of his theory regarding the practice.
Disliking the connotations of the term “Mesmerism,” he adopted de

Cuviller’s terms “Hypnotism” and “Hypnotist,” becoming the first
to use these words in English. He explained in his first book that:
00:17:53
“I have now entirely separated Hypnotism from Animal Magnetism.

I consider it to be merely a simple, speedy, and certain mode of
throwing the nervous system into a new condition, which may be
rendered eminently available in the cure of certain disorders.
I trust, therefore, it may be investigated quite independently of

any bias, either for or against the subject, as connected with
Mesmerism; and only by the facts which can be adduced.
I feel quite confident we may have acquired in this process a valuable

addition to our curative means; but I repudiate the idea of holding it
up as a universal remedy; nor do I even pretend to understand as yet,
the whole range of diseases in which it may be useful.”
Eye Fascination
00:18:32
Dr. Braid’s writings and experiments with hypnotism quickly

made him the leading figure in Hypnosis in the English speaking
world. His scientific approach and willingness to engage in
debate gave Hypnosis a new, respectable face compared to the
mystery and controversy surrounding Mesmerism. He clearly
summarized his basic eye fascination induction in an 1843 book:
00:18:55
“Take any bright object (I generally use

my lancet case) between the thumb and
the fore and middle fingers of the left
hand; hold it from about eight to fifteen
inches from the eyes at such position
above the forehead, as may be necessary
to produce the greatest possible strain
upon the eyes and the eyelids, and
enable the patient to maintain a steady
fixed stare at the object.
The pupils will be at first contracted: they will shortly begin to dilate,
and after they have done so to a considerable extent, and have
assumed a wavy motion, if the fore and middle fingers of the right
hand are carried from the object towards the eyes, most probably the
eyelids will close involuntarily, with a vibratory motion.”
00:19:36
The renewed scientific interest in Hypnosis prompted by James

Braid not only led to new ways of thinking and talking about the
practice, but to new studies and applications as well.
Self Test
00:19:48
Question: James Braid was best known for...

A. Medical Hypnosis
B. Treatment of Neurosis
C. Performing Stage Shows
D. First use of the term Hypnosis in English
1850 – The
Nancy School
00:20:21
After James Braid’s new research

into Hypnosis during the 1840’s
and 50’s, scientists around Europe
began experimenting with the process in ever greater numbers.
00:20:40
For the last half of the 19th Century, the

greatest amount of research and
academic debate came out of France,
spurred on by an intense ideological
rivalry between two dramatically
conflicting schools of thought. The
Nancy School, led by Ambroise
Liebeault and Hippolyte Bernheim, and
the Salpetriere School, led by Jean-
Martin Charcot.
Ambroise Liebeault
00:21:01
Not long after graduating from medical

school and opening a small general
practice in the French town of Nancy,
Ambroise Liebeault became acquainted
with a student of James Braid and became
fascinated with the concept of hypnotism.
00:21:14
After learning the skill, he began independently using it with his

patients, attempting to ease their pain and quicken their healing.
Had his practices not come to the attention of a professor of
neurology at the University of Nancy a number of years later, it
is likely that Dr. Liebeault would have faded out of history as yet
another country doctor dabbling in Hypnosis.
00:21:33
But as fate would have it, a patient came to Dr. Liebeault who
was troubled with chronic sciatica and found no relief from the
treatments of the young university professor trying to help him.
Dr. Hippolyte Bernheim

00:21:43
After a short series of Hypnosis, which resulted in the disappearance

of his chronic pain, the patient returned to visit the university doctor,
Hippolyte Bernheim, to let him know that he was cured.
00:21:53
Dr. Bernheim was fascinated and puzzled at his patient’s

unexpected speedy recovery and quickly became acquainted with
Dr. Liebeault in order to learn about his methods.
00:22:03
Though nearly 20 years apart in age, and both possessing very

different sets of skills and experiences, the two doctors became
friends and professional colleagues, soon taking other interested
doctors under their wing, teaching them Hypnosis and experimenting
with its possible uses.
Suggestive Therapeutics
00:22:19
The Nancy School as Liebeault and

Bernheim’s organization came to be
called, believed that Hypnosis was a
natural curative process that operated
through the use of mental suggestion,
a concept that they called “suggestive therapeutics.”
00:22:32
Liebeault pioneered the idea of using different hypnotic depths for

different presenting issues, as well as the use of repetitive suggestions.
Confabulation and False Memories

00:22:40
Bernheim, on the other hand, became fascinated with confabulation

and false memories – the ability of hypnotized patients to invent
new memories or accept false suggested ones as fact, and provided
some of the earliest research on the subject.
00:22:54
In 1891 Bernheim related the story of a particular patient to whom

he suggested an invented memory while in Hypnosis. He told the
patient that during the previous night, his sleep had been disturbed
by a noisy neighbor who spent much of the night singing with the
windows open.
00:23:11
Upon awakening, and when asked by Dr. Bernheim about his

sleep the night before, the patient recounted the invented memory
and swore to its reality.
00:23:19
Bernheim also felt that trying to understand Hypnosis as a single

phenomenon was restrictive, and suggested that it was the result
of numerous factors leading to a state of suggestion.
The Salpetriere School

00:23:30
Throughout the late 19th Century the work of the Nancy School
was under intense opposition from a more highly regarded group
academically – Charcot’s Salpetriere School in Paris.
Self Test
00:23:41
Question: Liebault and Bernheim are credited with what

hypnotic phenomena?
A. Mental Suggestion
B. Eye Fascination
C. Confabulation
D. Artificial Somnambulism
1882 – Charcot’s
Salpetriere School
00:24:14
Although The Nancy School’s

ideas eventually gained the upper
hand in the early 20th Century,
their theories were widely criticized and questioned at the time
of their publication because of the notoriety of their opposition,
the head of the Salpetriere School.
Jean-Martin Charcot
00:24:36
Born in Paris in 1825, Jean-Martin Charcot became one of the

founders of modern neurology when he opened up the world’s
first clinic entirely devoted to the study of the brain and the mind
in Paris’ Salpetriere Hospital in 1882.
00:24:51
Known for his many contributions to medicine in his own right,

Charcot was the first medical researcher to describe and name
both Multiple Sclerosis and AML, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease as it
is now known.
Hysteria
00:25:04
But aside from physical disorders,

he was also fascinated by disorders
of the mind and was a leading
researcher in the field of “hysteria” –
a term used at the time to describe a
wide variety of psychological and developmental disorders, particularly
ones affecting the patient’s perception of their physical bodies.
00:25:21
Given his imposing academic credentials

and professional respect, practicing
doctors and young researchers gave
strong weight to Charcot’s opinions on
any subject, including Hypnosis.
State of Hypnosis
00:25:32
Through his work with hysteria, Charcot came to the conclusion

that hysterical patients entered a state of Hypnosis during their
outbursts, and that therefore, only people suffering from hysteria
could enter the hypnotic state.
00:25:44
The Salpetriere School, as Charcot’s circle of students at his clinic

was known, maintained that Hypnosis was actually just a
symptom of hysteria – a disturbed, atypical mental state that
should never be induced in any ordinary person due to its
destabilizing effect on the mind.
00:26:01
Charcot only used Hypnosis when dealing with hysterical patients

because he felt he could utilize the state to work against itself. He
explained his reasoning in an 1889 paper:
00:26:12
"Not infrequently we see hysterical symptoms manifest themselves

at the first attempt of Hypnosis, which may thus be the occasional
cause of hysteria. One avoids this danger, and consequently a
heavy responsibility, by operating, as I have ever done, only upon
subjects that are manifestly hysterical."
00:26:30
The Nancy School deplored these kinds of claims by Charcot as

fear tactics, meant to quell opposing research, and the two schools
waged academic warfare for the next 20 years in scholarly journals
over these sorts of issues, tearing apart the ideas and characters of
the opposing side.
00:26:47
Initially, the consensus of European scientists swung in the favor of

the Salpetriere School, primarily due to the reputation of its founder.
00:26:55
But with time, more and more researchers began seeing the
arguments and experimental results of the Nancy School as
equally valid.
00:27:02
Although the intensity of the rivalry made it difficult for either

side to gain broad support for their respective views at the time,
the desire to outdo the other side led to great advances in
researching the field of Hypnosis, opening up a new generation of
young medical students to new ideas about the relationship
between the mind and the body.
Sigmund Freud
00:27:20
One of these young men was a German student by the name of

Sigmund Freud, who observed the practices of both schools over
the fall of 1885, changing the focus of his ambitions from
neurology to psychology as a result, and changing the field of
mental health forever.
Self Test
00:27:37
Question: Charcot only used Hypnosis on which kind of patient?

A. Hysterical
B. Female
C. Physically Disabled
D. Those suffering from chronic pain
1885 – Sigmund Freud
and Emile Coué
00:28:10
When a young Sigmund Freud

went to study at Charcot’s
Salpetriere School in 1885, he
was drawn by his interest in neurology.
By the end of his time there, he had discovered a new passion for
psychology, including Hypnosis, which also led him to the Nancy
School, to see another take on the subject.
00:28:37
Born in 1856 in what is now the Czech

Republic, Sigmund Freud was raised in
a middle class Jewish family and
eventually went to medical school at the
University of Vienna.
Josef Breuer
00:28:48
His first professional exposure to Hypnosis occurred a few years

before he went to study under Charcot,
through collaboration with his mentor
and eventual colleague Josef Breuer.
00:28:57
Breuer was treating a young woman

suffering from hysteria that began with the
diagnosis of her father’s terminal illness
and severely worsened after his death.
Anna O.
00:29:06
Given the pseudonym “Anna O.,” the patient suffered from a

variety of physical and mental symptoms with no apparent cause,
including pain in various parts of the body, speech disturbances,
and periodic refusal to eat or drink.
00:29:21
Breuer used Hypnosis to try to temper her symptoms through

relaxation. While in Hypnosis, he often let her talk freely, and
sometimes explored memories that seemed to arise for no reason.
Psychoanalysis
00:29:32
Through his two years of intense therapy with Anna O., Breuer
developed the core theory and practice of psychoanalysis, which
in turn was taken on and developed by Freud.
00:29:41
In the early years of his private practice, Freud used Hypnosis

with many of his patients, preferring a more dominant,
paternalistic technique.
00:29:49
But after further developing psychoanalysis and free association,

he rejected traditional Hypnosis on the grounds that it did not
effectively do away with client resistance, yielding only
incomplete information and temporary results.
00:30:02
It was partially due to Freud's personal role in developing

psychology as a field of academic study that Hypnosis is not
taught at most universities to this day.
00:30:11
But in spite of the setback caused by Freud’s rejection of the

practice, Hypnosis continued to become more widely accepted
around the turn of the Century, including by such organizations
as the British Medical Association in 1892.
Emile Coué
00:30:25
Another influential figure in Hypnosis

around the turn of the 20th Century
was the French pharmacist turned
hypnotherapist Emile Coué.
Placebos and
Positive Suggestions
00:30:33
Born in 1857, Coué owned and operated his own pharmacy in a

small French city, and noticed the strong effects of placebos and
positive suggestions, observing that people seemed to heal faster
when he praised a medication and left a positive note reminding
the patient of the dosage.
00:30:50
After he learned about the Nancy School’s ideas about suggestive

therapeutics, he began studying under Liebeault and Bernheim in
1901, and soon began offering supplemental Hypnosis sessions to
his pharmaceutical clients.
Conscious Autosuggestion
00:31:03
After a number of years of practicing traditional Hypnosis, Coué

came to feel that the suggestions repeated by the clients
themselves were more effective and long-lasting, leading him to
become one of the earliest proponents of self-Hypnosis, or as he
called it “conscious autosuggestion.”
00:31:19
His general self-improvement affirmation "Every day, in every

way, I’m getting better and better" became his famous catchphrase.
00:31:27
He published a book on the subject in 1922 entitled “Self-Mastery

Through Conscious Autosuggestion.” He explained in it that:
00:31:36
"Autosuggestion is an instrument that we possess at birth, and

with which we play unconsciously all our life, as a baby plays
with its rattle. It is however a dangerous instrument; it can wound
or even kill you if you handle it imprudently and unconsciously.
It can, on the contrary, save your life when you know how to
employ it consciously."
00:31:55
Early self-help proponents like Emile Coué and psychotherapists

like Freud and Breuer helped expand the field of Hypnosis
beyond the realm of medical Hypnosis and into the wider field of
behavioral modification.
Self Test
00:32:08
Question: What did Coue call Self-Hypnosis?

A. The Placebo Effect
B. Conscious Autosuggestion
C. The Coue Method
D. Suggestive Therapeutics
1890 – Shamanism
and Trance Traditions
00:32:40
As Hypnosis began to receive

more respect and research over
the late 19th Century, researchers
from other social sciences began to make detailed observations
of hypnotic phenomena in exotic foreign cultures.
00:33:03
One of the aspects that most fascinated them were trance

traditions, the most widely known of them being Shamanism.
Derived from a Siberian term, Shamanism has come to define any
healer that believes he heals by manipulating the power of spirits
using a trance technique.
00:33:19
The term can be useful because it describes a social position

common to many cultures across the world, from Asia to Africa
to the Americas.
Classic Shamans
00:33:27
The classic Shamans of Siberia and

Central Asia were some of the first to be
studied by Europeans.
Known for their rhythmic chanting, drum
beating, and colorful costumes, the
Shamans of Central Asia filled an
important position in their societies, acting as a conduit for
communication and healing with the spirit world.
00:33:46
In much the same way as the ancient Greek Sleep Temples,

Shamans employed sensory overload, expectation, and suggestion
in their rituals to heal and predict.
00:33:56
Though steadily falling out of favor in some places, Shamanism

continues to play an important role in the lives of people across
the world today.
00:34:04
Islamic Shamans in Afghanistan are becoming an increasingly rarer

sight, while South Korean Shamans known as Mudangs, are
prospering despite a modern lifestyle there, and African-based Vodun
traditions continue to thrive across the Caribbean and South America.
00:34:20
Around the same time that researchers were first traveling to other
countries in the late 19th Century to study unfamiliar cultures,
unfamiliar cultures also began making themselves known right
here in the United States.
The Ghost Dance

00:34:32
In 1889 and 1890, American settlers in the Great Plains were

becoming alarmed at a popular new Native American trance
movement - the Ghost Dance.
00:34:42
Developed by a self-proclaimed Native American prophet, the

Ghost Dance was a trance-inducing ritual adopted by many
Native American tribes across the Western and Central United
States as a backlash to Euro-American encroachment.
00:34:56
Tribes practicing the hours long ceremony of dancing, singing and

drumming, believed that performing the ritual and concentrating
on the central message of deliverance from European society
would help bring about its destruction, and a subsequent
resurgence of Native American ways of life.
Wounded Knee Massacre

00:35:12
Though a non-violent form of protest in practice, the United

States military used bloodshed to end the movement at the
infamous Wounded Knee Massacre.
00:35:21
Had the settlers and military understood the nature of the

movement as a coping mechanism for the Native Americans to
adjust to a new, harder way of life, it is possible that bloodshed
could have been avoided.
Swami Vivekananda
Introduces Yoga
00:35:33
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda presented

the Indian tradition of yoga at the Chicago
World's Fair, introducing the audiences to
a technique that was hardly known outside
of India at the time.
00:35:45
Now a popular form of fitness and personal growth, yoga utilizes

a hypnotic state brought about through deep breathing and mental
and physical focus to calm the mind, relax the body, and to bring
about spiritual growth.
Self Test
00:36:06
Question: Which of the following is NOT a Shamanistic tradition?

A. Mudang
B. Vodun
C. Islamic Shamanism
D. Hinduism
1920 – Hypnosis in
the Modern Era
00:36:39
Once Hypnosis began expanding in

the early 20th Century into new
areas like self-help and psychology,
its growth and research continued in unforeseen directions.
Stage Hypnosis
00:36:57
During the 1920’s, Stage Hypnosis

became many people’s first introduction
to the practice in vaudeville acts.
00:37:04
One stage performer from this time,

Dave Elman, went on to become an influential hypnotherapist
later in life and wrote the classic manual “Hypnotherapy.”
00:37:13
It was also during this time that the first

large-scale scientific study of Hypnosis
was performed at the University of
Wisconsin, led by Clark Hull.
00:37:22
His 1933 book based on the findings,

“Hypnosis and Suggestibility,” used
years of clinical data to help explain
exactly what Hypnosis is and what it
can be useful for.
00:37:34
He confirmed over a hundred years of suspicion that Hypnosis

was a different state than normal sleep and that it could not impart
extraordinary physical or sensory capabilities, but that it did have
a strong ability to reduce the perception of pain and alter memory.
Milton Erickson
00:37:48
One of Hull’s students, in particular, became fascinated with

Hypnosis after seeing a classroom demonstration and hearing
about his professor’s study. This eager young student was named
Milton Erickson, and he went on to become one of the most well-
known hypnotherapists of the 20th Century.
00:38:07
Stricken with polio as a youth, Erickson used a self-taught form

of self-Hypnosis to help overcome the lingering pain and stiffness
caused by the disease throughout his life.
00:38:17
Erickson’s unique therapeutic style and techniques have become

a popular genre in Hypnosis today, though some aspects remain
controversial, such as the use of covert hypnotic inductions and
encouraging negative symptoms or relapse.
Abreaction
00:38:32
During the Second World War, hypnotherapy was used for the
first time in many American army hospitals to treat a wide variety
of psychological battle trauma, including anxiety, fears, phobias,
and dissociation.
The most common technique they used – abreaction - involved
taking the client back to the traumatic episode and reliving it to
vent it out.
Though unpopular today, the technique was reported to have
achieved good results with the wounded soldiers.
00:39:00
Hypnosis as a whole became more widespread and generally

accepted moving farther into the 20th Century.
The innovation and creativity of Hypnotists of the past led, step by
step, to the explosion of new ideas and schools of Hypnosis which
appeared around the world in the second half of the 20th Century.
00:39:19
Moving into the 21st Century, media coverage of Hypnosis has

moved steadily away from frightening Svengali imagery to a
branch of mental health that can be a powerful tool to achieve
personal goals.
00:39:32
Abbe Faria or James Braid could not have dreamed of the

applications of Hypnosis used today, like quitting smoking,
increasing self-confidence, pain management, or even as an
alternative to chemical anesthesia in surgery.
00:39:46
So concludes our hypnotic journey, leaving the next chapters of

the story to be written by future generations of hypnotherapists.
2012 – Hypnosis in History Credits
Produced and Directed by
George J. Kappas
George J. Kappas, M.A., M.F.T. is the
Director of the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute (HMI) Accredited College and
Clinic of hypnotherapy located in Tarzana,
California, USA.
Mr. Kappas is also the President of the
American Hypnosis Association. Mr.
Kappas utilized the resources of these two organizations to create
this important documentary and offer it free online for all to see.
Mr. Kappas is the pioneer of HMI Web TV – Hypnotherapy
Television 24/7 located on the Hypnotherapy Channel. The
Hypnotherapy Channel is a free source of TV shows and
presentations on Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy located at HMI Web
TV as well as Roku and other web based entertainment outlets.
Narration
John Melton, C.Ht.
Mr. Melton is a Certified Hypnotherapist and
Instructor at HMI’s College of Hypnotherapy
with more than a decade of experience.
Mr. Melton is in private practice with offices
located at HMI’s Hypnotherapy Clinic.
Mr. Melton is also featured as an Instructor
in HMI’s free online course, Foundations in Hypnotherapy.
View John Melton's Hypnotherapist Biography.
Writer, Researcher
Clayton Campbell
Mr. Campbell is an Anthropology
Graduate student at Columbia University.
Mr. Campbell worked for the HMI Studios
for one year contributing to many projects
including the research and writing of
Hypnosis in History.
Music Composition and

Technical Director
Leigh Spusta
Mr. Spusta is the Director and head of
production for HMI Web TV. Mr. Spusta is
also a talented musician who provided the
original soundtrack for Hypnosis in History.
Mr. Spusta has also created a series of
hypnosis and spiritual based downloadable soundtracks also
referred to as Alpha or Brainwave music.
You can find Mr. Spusta’s Soundscapes in the HMI Bookstore.
Edited by Ben Grant
Mr. Grant is HMI Web TV’s post production
editor and television programmer.
Mr. Grant is a graduate of Video Symphony’s
school of video editing and is a significant
team member in all levels of HMI Web
TV production.
Free Online Video Courses from the AHA
We invite you to take more free online video courses from
the American Hypnosis Association.
• Learn How to Hypnotize Others

• Success is not an Accident: The Mental Bank Program
• Relationship Strategies: The E&P Attraction
Discover the world’s largest online resource

of Continuing Education in Hypnosis and
Hypnotherapy. Free for AHA Members!
• American Hypnosis Association - Online Video Libraries
Or watch Hypnotherapy Television™ 24/7 free at...
• HMI Web TV - The Hypnotherapy Channel™
Hypnosis in History was created for Hypnosis TVSM
which emanates from HMI's Web TV Studios from which
they create and broadcast a wide variety of television
shows, classes, news programs, documentaries, live
hypnotherapy demonstrations, and more, all related to
hypnosis, hypnotherapy, NLP, Imagery as well as diet,
exercise, meditation, spirituality, mind body philosophies
and more.
Hypnosis TV is unique, free, informative and interesting.

We hope that you will find it a wonderful opportunity to
explore the fascinating subject of hypnosis, hypnotherapy
and the subconscious mind.
Hypnosis TV was created and produced by George

Kappas for the Hypnosis Motivation Institute’s (HMI),
Nationally Accredited College of Hypnotherapy. Hypnosis
TV provides a live broadcast feed 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week. There is no cost or login required to watch
Hypnosis TV.
Hypnosis TV can be found on HMI Web TV as well as

Roku and a growing number of other web based
entertainment devices.

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Hypnosis in History – Contents

5,000 Years Ago – Ancient Hypnosis .........................................4

1774 – The Birth of Mesmerism.................................................9

1784 – The Fall of Animal Magnetism.....................................13

1819 – The Pioneers of Mesmerism .........................................17

1843 – Hypnosis Gains Credibility...........................................21

1850 – The Nancy School.........................................................24

1882 – Charcot's School ...........................................................28

1885 – Freud and Coue.............................................................32

1890 – Shamanism and Trance Traditions................................37

1920 – Hypnosis in the Modern Era .........................................41

2012 – Hypnosis in History Credits..........................................44

Free Online Video Courses from the AHA ...............................47

The Hypnotherapy Channel™ ...................................Back Cover

This 40 minute video documentary presents the revealing

This illuminating story is a must see for any student of

To take the online exam and receive your FREE CEU

The history of Hypnosis is similar to the history of sleep –

Some of the first recorded information comes from over 5,000

Notable among its practices was a tradition called "temple sleep."

After long rituals involving the ingestion of herbs, and hours of

This practice eventually spread to Greece, where special "sleep

We can now understand the divine answers and feelings of

The use of hypnotic states was also exemplified in the ancient

Like Sleep Temples in Egypt and Greece, individual expectation

The God Apollo

Seated over a crack in the earth which emitted intoxicating fumes,

Her proclamations were not taken lightly – she was consulted by

Alexander the Great

Even the well-known conqueror Alexander

Many traditional European and Near Eastern trance traditions like

Many Christian rituals and holidays specifically incorporated

Question: Hypnosis took what form in Ancient Egypt?

Hypnosis as we know it today

Animal Magnetism or Mesmerism

In 1774 during a magnetic treatment with a female patient,

Mesmer believed that every individual had magnetic fluid flowing

He moved to Paris in the late 1770’s

His patients were received with an air of mystery and studied

The method was supposed to provoke in the sick person exactly

The extraordinary tales of Mesmer's personal power over

King Louis XVI

By the mid 1780s, Mesmer’s dramatic practices had drawn the

Question: Where was Franz Mesmer living when he first developed

Louis XVI’s panel included

astronomer Jean Bailly – a senior member of the French Academy

After months of investigation and observation, the commission

His reputation ruined by the commission's findings, Mesmer

Though the idea of Animal Magnetism had been debunked within

The Marquis de Puysegur

Mesmerism took a turn toward something

“He took occasion to mesmerize the daughter of his agent and

While reflecting upon this episode, the Marquis noted a

Question: Which French Nobleman first used the term

Though Mesmer's theories about

He was the real-life basis of a character of the same name in the

Chateu d'If Prison

Born in a Portuguese colony on the coast of India in 1746, he

He befriended many notable revolutionaries during this time,

Based on his lengthy observations of Mesmerism once he was

Just a year later another Mesmerist,

April 12, 1829 First

The first recorded instance of using