International Hypnosis Research Institute - History

The astrological roots of mesmerism.

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:27:00 -0500

Franz Anton Mesmer's 1766 thesis on the influence of the planets on the human body, in which he first publicly presented his account of the harmonic forces at work in the microcosm, was substantially copied from the London physician Richard Mead's early eighteenth century tract on solar and lunar effects on the body. The relation between the two texts poses intriguing problems for the historiography of medical astrology: Mesmer's use of Mead has been taken as a sign of the Vienna physician's enlightened modernity while Mead's use of astro-meteorology has been seen as evidence of the survival of antiquated astral medicine in the eighteenth century. Two aspects of this problem are discussed. First, French critics of mesmerism in the 1780s found precedents for animal magnetism in the work of Paracelsus, Fludd and other early modern writers; in so doing, they began to develop a sophisticated history for astrology and astro-meteorology. Second, the close relations between astro-meteorology and Mead's project illustrate how the environmental medical programmes emerged. The making of a history for astrology accompanied the construction of various models of the relation between occult knowledge and its contexts in the enlightenment. Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci. 2010 Jun;41(2):158-68. Schaffer S. Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RH, UK. sjs16@cam.ac.uk

The tribute of the pioneer of hypnotherapy- Franz Anton Mesmer, MD, PhD in the...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:03:00 -0500

Full Title: The tribute of the pioneer of hypnotherapy- Franz Anton Mesmer, MD, PhD in the history of psychotherapy and medicine Modern hypnosis started with the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), who believed that the phenomenon known as mesmerism, or animal magnetism, or fluidum was related to an invisible substance - a fluid that runs within the subject or between the subject and the therapist, that is, the hypnotist, or the "magnetizer". The term hypnosis was introduced in the 1840s by a Scottish surgeon James Braid (1795-1860), who believed the subject to be in a particular state of sleep - a trance. In the late 19th century, a French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1893) thought hypnotism to be a special physiological state, and his contemporary Hyppotite-Marie Bernheim (1840-1919) believed it to be a psychological state of heightened suggestibility. Sigmund Freud, who studied with Charcot, used hypnosis early in his career to help patients recover repressed memories. He noted that patients would relive traumatic events while under hypnosis, a process know as abreaction. Freud later replaced hypnosis with the technique of free associations. Today, hypnosis is used as a form of therapy (hypnotherapy), a method of investigation to recover lost memories, and research tool. According to Caplan & Sadock, F.A. Mesmer is generally thought of as the fons et origo of modern psychotherapy; and from the early techniques of mesmerism, it is said, have evolved the more elaborate and sophisticated therapeutic measures of the analyst and his colleagues. Although Mesmer was certainly dealing with individuals suffering from a variety of neurotic disorders, and though the clinical successes he achieved were the result of psychological processes that his procedures induced in his patients, Mesmer's theoretical formulations, his understanding of the nature of the treatment he developed, and his specific procedures were all totally different from those of the 20th - century analyst. He was one of the corne stones in the development of psychoanalysis through hypnosis mainly of hysterical patients. Acta Med Hist Adriat. 2009 Spring;7(1):49-60. Radovancevic L. Neuropsychiatric Polyclinic A.B.R., Petrova 158, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Tribute to Alfred Adler: Part 2

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:06:00 -0500

by Paul G. Durbin, PhD THE FOUR PHASES OF ADLERIAN COUNSELING ARE:
(1) the relationship,
(2) the investigation of dynamics,
(3) interpretation of the client,
(4) reoinentation. Adler departed from Freud's method of having the client recline on a couch while the therapist sits behind. Adler preferred to face the client so he could see the client's responses and body movement. He wanted to engage in free discussion with the client. The relationship with the client which the Adlerian seeks to establish is one of friendliness and cooperation. [More]

Tribute to Alfred Adler: Part 1

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:50:00 -0500

by Paul G. Durbin, PhD In 1870, Alfred Adler was born in a suburb of Vienna. In his youth, Adler suffered from rickets and could not walk until he was four. Soon after he was able to walk, he developed pneumonia. These early experiences with illnesses probably accounts for his theory of organ inferiority and finally of the inferiority feelings. [More]

Crime, Hysteria and Belle Epoque Hypnotism

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:57:00 -0500

FULL TITLE: Crime, Hysteria and Belle Epoque Hypnotism: The Path Traced by Jean-Martin Charcot and Georges Gilles de la Tourette Hysteria and hypnotism became a favorite topic of studies in the fin de siècle neurology that emerged from the school organized at La Salpêtrière by Jean-Martin Charcot, where he had arrived in 1861. Georges Gilles de la Tourette started working with Charcot in 1884 and probably remained his most faithful student, even after his mentor's death in 1893. This collaboration was particularly intense on 'criminal hypnotism', an issue on which Hippolyte Bernheim and his colleagues from the Nancy School challenged the positions taken by the Salpêtrière School. Bernheim claimed that hypnotism was not a diagnostic feature of hysteria and that there were real-life examples of murders suggested under hypnosis, while hypnosis susceptibility was identified with hysteria by Charcot and Gilles de la Tourette, who saw rape as the only crime associated with hypnotism. The quarrel was particularly virulent during a series of famous criminal cases which took place between 1888 and 1890. At the time, it was considered that La Salpêtrière had succeeded over Nancy, since the role of hypnotism was discarded during these famous trials. However, the theories of Charcot and Gilles de la Tourette were also damaged by the fight, which probably triggered the conceptual evolution leading to Joseph Babinski's revision of hysteria in 1901. Gilles de la Tourette's strong and public interest in hypnotism nearly cost him his life, when a young woman who claimed to have been hypnotized against her will shot him in the head at his own home in 1893. It was subsequently shown that hypnotism had nothing to do with it. The delusional woman was interned at Sainte-Anne for mental disturbance, thus escaping trial. Ironically, Gilles de la Tourette may have been partly responsible, since he had been one of the strongest proponents of placing mentally-ill criminals in asylums instead of prisons. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel. Eur Neurol. 2009 Jul 11;62(4):193-199. Bogousslavsky J, Walusinski O, Veyrunes D. Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, Clinique Valmont, Genolier Swiss Medical Network, Glion/Montreux, Switzerland.

"On hypnotism" (1860) De l'hypnotisme.

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:45:00 -0500

James Braid's last essay on hypnotism, the culmination of his work, summarized in a French translation for the Academy of Sciences, is published in English with comments. According to Braid, hypnotism is a psychological ("subjective") approach, fundamentally opposed to the paranormal claims and magnetic ("objective") theories of mesmerism. Hypnotism operates primarily by means of dominant ideas that the attention of the subject is fixated upon. The reversibility of hypnotic amnesia is taken as evidence of "double consciousness." However, over 90% of Braid's subjects did not exhibit this state of dissociation or any sleep-like responses but merely a sense of "reverie." Good subjects are as suggestible in the "waking" state as others are in hypnotism. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Apr;57(2):133-61. Robertson D. HypnoSynthesisUK@aol.com

The discovery of hypnosis--Braid's lost manuscript, "On hypnotism" (1860): a brief communication.

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:36:00 -0500

James Braid's last manuscript on hypnotism, summarizing his mature views and lost since his death, existed only in French and German translations. The author discusses the history and importance of this document, "On Hypnotism" (1860), as well as his new English version, translated back from the French and German editions. Braid's manuscript constitutes an important, missing jigsaw piece in the early history of psychological therapy and helps to explain the origin of hypnotherapy and correct certain historical misconceptions that have developed concerning the meaning of the term hypnotism. The rediscovery of this text provides additional evidence that hypnotism originated as an explicitly empirical and "common sense" reaction against the pseudo-scientific excesses of mesmerism. Although drawing heavily on excerpts from his previous writings, some of Braid's observations and techniques may renew interest among contemporary researchers and clinicians. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Apr;57(2):127-32. Robertson D. HypnoSynthesisUK@aol.com

The discovery of hypnosis--Braid's lost manuscript, "On hypnotism" (1860): a brief communication.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:44:00 -0500

The contributions of Ramon y Cajal and other Spanish authors to hypnosis.

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:56:00 -0500

The authors review the most important Spanish contributions to hypnosis during the 19th and 20th centuries, with emphasis on the work of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, winner of the 1906 Nobel Prize in medicine. It is widely accepted that he provided a basic foundation for modern neurosciences with his work on neuronal staining and synaptic transmission. What is missing in most accounts of his work is his longstanding interest and work on hypnosis and anomalous phenomena. This article summarizes that lost legacy, discusses other Spanish hypnosis pioneers and gives a brief overview of current hypnosis activities in Spain. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Oct;56(4):361-72. Sala J, Cardeña E, Holgado MC, Añez C, Pérez P, Periñan R, Capafons A. Joan XXIII University Hospital, Tarragona, Spain.

Death and hypnosis: two remarkable cases.

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:55:00 -0500

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported The First Recorded Death in Hypnosis in its issue of October 27, 1894. Ninety-nine years later, on September 23, 1993 a healthy 24-year old mother of two was found dead at home, fully clothed and draped across the foot of one of her children's bed, 5 hours after volunteering as a subject for a stage hypnosis show. The suggestion given to terminate the trance had been that when the hypnotist said, "Goodnight", several subjects would feel 10,000 volts of electricity through the seat of their chairs. Unknown to the hypnotist, she had been phobic about electricity ever since a childhood shock, and would not even change a light bulb or plug in a cord. The coroner's verdict was death by natural causes. Am J Clin Hypn. 2008 Jul;51(1):69-75. Ewin DM. Tulane Medical School, USA. dabneyewin@aol.com

What Do we Really Know About How Lance-Corporal Adolf Hitler Was Treated by Psychiatrist

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:48:00 -0500

OBJECTIVE This paper inquires the hypothesis that Hitler's rise to power was in part due to a hypnotic therapy he had undergone when being treated for hysterical blindness at an army hospital in the town of Pasewalk in October 1918 - as recent contributions have argued. Edmund Forster, his psychiatrist at that time, is supposed to have suggested to Hitler that he would be ordained as Germany's redeemer in times of defeat, thus causing a profound change in his patient's personality. METHODS Following three lines of argument, this paper examines if such an assumption can be made plausible. Firstly, it takes a close look at the main historical source which is the novel THE EYEWITNESS, written in German language by the Czech-Jewish author Ernst Weiss. Then it asks if Forster is likely to have chosen hypnosis as a method of treatment. Finally, it exploits the work of the even lesser known author Alexander Moritz Frey who happened to serve close to Hitler as a medical orderly in WW I, thus trying to validate whether or not Hitler really underwent a change of personality in autumn 1918. RESULTS Although the eventualities of such a hypnotic treatment or a profound change in Hitler's behaviour in that time cannot be disproved, both seem highly unlikely. CONCLUSIONS One should altogether abandon the notion of Hitler having suffered a permanent change of personality in 1918, be it due to psychiatric treatment or to psychological trauma itself. Theiss-Abendroth P. Psychiatr Prax. 2008 Jul 21.

From "psychical treatment" to psychoanalysis.

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:28:00 -0500

Freud's early article, "Psychical (or mental) treatment," first appeared in a health textbook for educated lay people. It was included in his Gesammelte Werke with the publication date of 1905. Subsequently, this date was questioned because the text dealt mainly with hypnosis and suggestion, so James Strachey, among others, erroneously changed it to 1890. This error is corrected in the present paper. Until now, no one noticed that a second edition of the textbook, which appeared in 1918-19, contained an amended version of Freud's original article in which he added a summary of psychoanalytic theory and practice. The first edition was published in 1905-06. However, Freud's contribution must have been written at a much earlier date. Its presumed date of composition is discussed. Freud's addition to the original text is reprinted in an appendix for the first time. Luzif Amor. 2007;20(40):122-41. Fichtner G. Institut für Ethik und Geschichte der Medizin, Goethestr. 6, D-72076 Tübingen. gerhard.fichtner@uni-tuebingen.de

How southern New England became magnetic north: the acceptance of animal magnetism.

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:26:00 -0500

Charles Poyen's lecture tour introducing animal magnetism to America has been described as triumphant (Forrest, 2000), but according to Poyen's own account (1837/1982) the beginning of his tour, devoted to northern New England, was anything but successful. Poyen success did not begin until he partnered with Cynthia Gleason, a talented hypnotic subject, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The subsequent lectures and demonstrations by Poyen and Gleason generated the interest that Poyen had been seeking. Rhode Island appears to have developed a much more accepting attitude toward animal magnetism than the rest of New England as indicated by the wide use of magnetism in the Providence area even after Poyen had the left the United States. In this article, I examine the roles played by Cynthia Gleason as well as Thomas H. Webb, M.D., the editor of the Providence Daily Journal and Dr. Francis Wayland, the president of Brown University, and George Capron, M.D., in furthering the acceptance of magnetism in America. Hist Psychol. 2007 Aug;10(3):231-48. Quinn SO. Department of Psychology, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI 02804, USA. sheila.quinn@salve.edu

Cajal's brief experimentation with hypnotic suggestion.

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:14:00 -0500

Spanish histologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, one of the most notable figures in Neuroscience, and winner, along with Camillo Golgi, of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries on the structure of the nervous system, did not escape experimenting with some of the psychiatric techniques available at the time, mainly hypnotic suggestion, albeit briefly. While a physician in his thirties, Cajal published a short article under the title, "Pains of labour considerably attenuated by hypnotic suggestion" in Gaceta Médica Catalana. That study may be Cajal's only documented case in the field of experimental psychology. We here provide an English translation of the original Spanish text, placing it historically within Cajal's involvement with some of the key scientific and philosophical issues at the time. J Hist Neurosci. 2007 Oct-Dec;16(4):351-61. Stefanidou M, Solà C, Kouvelas E, Cerro MD, Triarhou LC. Economo-Koskinas Wing for Integrative and Evolutionary Neuroscience, Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.

The fragmented account of Antoine Despine's magnetic cure of Estelle L'Hardy's dissociative disorder

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:07:00 -0500

Dr. Charles-Humbert Antoine Despine's (1777-1852) De L'Emploi du magnétisme animal et des eaux minerales dans le traitement des maladies nerveuses, suivi d'une observation très curieuse de guérison de névropathie [A Study of the uses of animal magnetism in the treatment of disorders of the nervous system followed by a case of a highly unusual cure of neuropathy] (Paris: Germer, Baillière, 1840) is one of the earliest published, complete accounts of a successful cure with animal magnetism of a dissociative disorder. Despine's methodical and gentle treatment of more than 20 patients with multiple personalities repeatedly brought fusion to separation. His writing style displays a lack of order and unity that resembles the dissociative symptoms of his patients, but the monograph's sloppiness belies Despine's methodical approach to his work and his thoughtful handling of his patients. This paper explores these inconsistencies and how translators of the monograph act as literary therapists for his confused and fragmented account. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Oct;55(4):486-96. Comment in: Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Oct;55(4):497-8. McKeown JM. Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018, USA. mejmd01@moravian.edu