In accordance with this, he coined the term neurohypnotism- and later, for the sake of simplicity, hypnotism-which was derived from the Greek words neuron meaning nerve and hypnos meaning sleep, that is, He thus argued that this state, which was related to, but different from ordinary sleep (Pintar and Lynn, 2008), was not caused by a magnetic or mystical fluid but rather by a particular physiological process or state (Bernheim, 1887/1889 Carrer, 2002). He reasoned that this state was a function of a particular physiological state of the brain and spinal cord-the “exhaustion of the sensory and nervous systems, which produces a feeling of ‘somnolency’ in which the mind ‘slips out of gear’” (Crabtree, 1993, p. In 1842, James Braid, a Scottish physician, reported that the mesmeric state could be induced merely by having the client stare at a shining object, that is, without the (magnetic) influence of the practitioner or operator (Crabtree, 1993 Gauld, 1992 Hughes & Rothovius, 1996 Pintar & Lynn, 2008). Puysegur had, therefore, transformed the practice of magnetism: Magnetic sleep now replaced the crisis as the definitive quality of the mesmeric state (Pintar & Lynn, 2008). He termed this artificial somnambulism, analogous to natural somnambulism or sleep-walking-wherein the individual similarly does not recall what happened while he or she was asleep (Hilgard, 1980). What was distinctive about this was that the patient often did not recall when awake what happened while asleep (Hilgard, 1980).
Instead of the crisis, Puysegur produced a quiet slumber (Hilgard, 1980) or magnetic sleep (Pintar & Lynn, 2008). In 1784 the Marquis de Puysegur, who was a French aristocrat and a former pupil of Mesmer, discovered that (animal) magnetism could be just as effectively employed without the patient having to undergo the traditional crisis (Pintar & Lynn, 2008). This practice was referred to as animal magnetism and later as mesmerism (Gauld, 1992 Pintar & Lynn, 2008). Using magnets, or his or her own physical presence as the magnetic force, the practitioner was said to induce a crisis in the patient-involving, variously, tears, laughter, gastric disturbances, coughing, loss of consciousness, and convulsions resembling those of epilepsy-after which the patient’s health was restored (Gauld, 1992). Expounding on his theory of animal magnetism, Mesmer proposed that animate or living beings were comprised of a magnetic fluid and that an alteration in its flow, through contact with a magnetic force, could bring about healing (Mesmer, 1775/1980b 1779/1980c 1799/1980d). Mesmer, a German physician, first drew attention to the phenomenon of hypnosis in 1766 (Mesmer, 1766/1980a).
A cursory overview will therefore be presented. Keywords: Elman, critical faculty, hypnotherapy, interactional, REACH technique, selective thinking, somnambulism, suggestion INTRODUCTIONĪ complete examination of the history of hypnosis is well beyond the scope of this paper. After investigating the phenomenon of waking hypnosis, the paper shows how waking hypnosis, using the example of the REACH technique, may be applied in the field of psychotherapy. Although waking hypnosis has been applied in other fields, for example in medicine and dentistry in the management of pain, it appears that there has been limited purposeful application in the field of psychotherapy. In his seminal work Findings in Hypnosis, Dave Elman (1964/1984) explains that in waking hypnosis the critical faculty-the client’s sense of everyday judgement-is immediately suspended and selective or new thinking subsequently established. This is distinct from somnambulism, another form of hypnosis, wherein the client, through the process of trance, subsequently opens his or her eyes and continues to maintain the hypnotic state. In waking hypnosis, the client exhibits an altered state of consciousness and a somewhat uncritical acceptance of (beneficial) suggestions without having undergone a trance. One important type of hypnosis is waking hypnosis. Today the practice of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes-hypnotherapy-is recognised as an adjunct to many psychotherapeutic approaches. Ten Year Study of using Hypnosis for people living with Cancer.Scientific Research on Hypnosis & Type 2 Diabetics.Waking Hypnosis as a Psychotherapeutic Technique.Find Hypnosis Certification Training in Your Area.