Hypnotherapy -
History
The roots of medicine by therapy lie in ancient societies even earlier than the Egyptians. Religious rituals were characterized by dancing, music, and masked peoples assuming new identities.
In the nineteenth century, practitioners like Franz Anton Mesmer, James Braid, and Jean-Martin Charcot met resistance from society and the medical community for their novel ideas on using hypnosis to treat illness.
Sigmund Freud tried using hypnosis for psychological treatment in the late 1930s but he was not successful in treating any ailment with it and gave up on it in favor of his newly developed free association technique.
Milton Erickson was one of the most successful modern hypnotherapists. He wrote many books, journals, and articles, on the subject and is a defining figure of modern hypnotherapy. As a professional doctor of medicine (MD) he treated many patients successfully using hypnotic techniques and did his very best to document his achievements.
|