Key People

• The study of and therapeutic uses of hypnotism had its beginnings in the 1800s. James Baird, a Scottish physician studied and dismissed as fantasy the works of Franz Mesmer who claimed magnetism and a universal fluid caused healing. During the following centuries, the mysteries of hypnotism were researched and documented by James Esdale, Hippolyte Bernheim, and later, Sigmund Freud. During his early years as an analyst, Freud often praised the benefits of hypnosis, but he discontinued it for a time while developing his own methods of psychoanalysis. Freud later often combined hypnotherapy with his own analysis techniques with success.
  
  In the 1950s, psychiatrist Milton Erickson became a leading hypnosis practitioner but outside the traditional formats. As a victim of polio during his youth, while immovable in a wheelchair, he found himself daydreaming. While in this focused condition using his imagination, he discovered he could move his legs, and with time, taught himself to walk and move again. He transferred his own success to others and his techniques remain prominent in the field.
  
  

Methods and Techniques

• By tapping into the imagination's ability to develop symbols, people find success in meeting their goals. For example, the client may first imagine an arthritic knee as a rusty door hinge and then picture soothing, healing oil being poured over the rusty hinges. This is followed by a mental image of the knee free of pain and responding to medical treatments.
  
  Intense focus and relaxation are frequently utilized to create a hypnotic "state." The therapist leads the client (sometimes called "subject") through a body/mind relaxing regimen. The subject is encouraged to close her eyes and "sleep" and go "deeper." The client is actually not asleep during hypnotism but is in a sleep-like condition. While in this pleasant and refreshing state-of-mind, she is given instructions or suggestions for actions or attitudes to adopt upon awakening.
  
  The Ericksonian method rarely uses deep relaxation or the "sleep" method. Instead, the client receives indirect suggestions that allow him to decide how he will respond to the hypnotist. Other Ericksonian methods include a handshake induction and the confusion technique.
  
  

Current Trends

• Current trends in hypnotherapy include alternative treatments for pain relief and other medical conditions. Healing, dental anaesthesia, lifestyle adjustments and wholeness, as well as dealing with psychological disorders, are other modern uses of hypnosis. Research is finding new links to how hypnosis works.
  
  Researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Columbia shared their scientific results as hypnosis continues to grow as a valid and important therapy in "This is Your Brain under Hypnosis," a 2005 article in "The New York Times."