The Discovery Of Animal Magnetism Made Him Famous

Today we know that depression, anxiety and other psychological symptoms can contribute to physical sensations and a sense of being physically unwell and we also have an understanding of psychosomatic illness. Another important contribution was Mesmer’s recognition of the unconscious, although he did not speak of it as such. He experienced the power of the unconscious in that he contributed to the discovery of the hypnotic state, which can be a powerful therapeutic tool in therapy. Although he was labeled a fraud on the basis that there was no proof that he had discovered a new physical fluid, it is an important finding just the same that his clients were cured on the basis of suggestion. This is important in terms of how the psychological relates to the physical. Another contribution to psychology is that Mesmer sought to be both a scientist and a practitioner, and that this model of the dual role of a therapist is important for therapists working in psychology today. Finally, Mesmer mentored an important figure in the history of psychology who recognized that the belief in the efficacy of cure, desire to cure and the therapeutic relationship were fundamental factors in successfully working with clients in therapy. These beliefs are central to the practice of clinical psychology in our world today. There is no doubt that Mesmer is a curious figure in the history of psychology. He contributed to

This brings up the methodology used in the treatment of the patient. There are many possible treatments that are available, including relaxation therapy, cognitive modification, drugs and sedatives, and hypnotherapy. The later of these causes great debates among the psychological community and is denounced by many, yet it is the therapy of choice in the film. Hypnosis, though used by so few psychologists and psychiatrists, seems to be among the top used therapies in movies. Though the process used in this particular film to place the patient in a hypnotic state seems to be more realistic than those used in many other movies, it is still lacking. The process of placing oneself or another person in a hypnotic state is a fairly intense procedure of relaxation.

Freud’s interest in unconscious ideas was sparked in France after watching demonstrations by Jean-Martin Charcot and Hippolyte Bernheim. Charcot showed that hysterical conditions like “glove anesthesia” and blindness without a scientific cause could be cured (though often temporarily) through ideas and suggestions. The idea on the part of the patient that he cannot see or feel his hand or any other number of things can be reversed by the hypnotist’s command to do whatever he believes he cannot. His demonstrations showed that the afflicted were not suffering from a problem in the brain, but rather in the mind.

Hypnosis, as a term and as a practice, is shrouded in centuries of mystery and surrounded by misconception. Even the word itself, derived from the Greek ‘hypnos’, meaning sleep, is misleading; most people today, even if they hadn’t experienced it themselves, would recognise that being in a hypnotic state is not the same as being asleep. In order to reach a satisfactory definition of hypnosis, it is necessary therefore to explore its origins,

Anna O was 21 year old patient of Breuer. Anna O had developed strange symptoms while taking care of her father who was ill. She developed a cough along with paralysis, hallucinations, hysteria, and loss of feeling in her arms and legs as well as muscle spasms. Breuer could not figure out why Anna was experiencing these types of symptoms so he deemed it hysterical neurosis (Heller, 2005). While under hypnosis Anna’s symptoms were not as severe and she could recall dramatic events that had taken place in her life prior to her symptoms. We now know that Freud used Anna’s case to help develop his clinical experience even though he never treated or worked with her. Freud implemented free association into clinical practice that allowed the patient to speak freely and express their opinions about

And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought to him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

In 1892, the British Medical Association (BMA) commissioned a team of doctors to undertake an evaluation of the nature and effects of hypnotherapy the report states:

He believed mesmerism to be a “nervous sleep” and coined the word hypnosis, from Greek word Hypnos, meaning sleep. He discovered that getting a patient to fixate upon something was one of the most important components of putting them into a trance.

Hypnosis can be traced as far back as the ancient Egyptians where it was used as a means of curing illnesses through suggestion, it was known as the curing sleep. Hypnosis can be described as a sleep like trance and a state of heightened relaxation, that hypnotists today call a trance state this is where you are more susceptible to suggestion and influence. Hypnosis can be used in many ways such as stage entertainment, therapy and as a means of investigation. For example Milton Erickson who is known as the father of modern hypnosis said “You use hypnosis not as a cure but as a means of establishing a

Looking back, it is clear now that hypnosis has been around for many centuries and the use of hypnotic states can be traced back to Shamans or Witch Doctors. In the 1700’s Franz Anton Mesmer produced his theory of “animal magnetism” in which he believed healing forces could be transferred through “cosmic fluid” there is no evidence to support the transfer of the healing energies devised by Mesmer but his success rate was high which lead to his patients being described as “mesmerized” and mesmerism is an early forerunner for modern day hypnosis. Many theories

The history of hypnosis is a bit like a history of breathing. Like breathing, hypnosis is an inherent and universal trait, shared and experienced by all human beings since the dawn of time. It’s only in the last few decades that we’ve come to realise that hypnosis itself hasn’t changed for millennia, but our understanding of it and our ability to control it has changed quite profoundly. The history of hypnosis, then, is really the history of this change in perception (History of Hypnosis, 2012). Although through the ages many rituals and practises from all over the world resemble modern day hypnosis, hypnosis from a western medical point of view started in 18th Century

Freud and other psychoanalysts used various methods to uncover repressed ideas, and to permit the client to gain insight into his or her unresolved problems. As a form of therapy the approach uses hypnosis, Freud and Breuer treated a twenty one-year-old women called Anna O, who suffered from several neurotic symptoms such as nervous coughs and paralysis. Hypnosis uncovered a repressed memory of Anna O hearing the sound of dance music coming from a nearby house as she was nursing her dying father, and her guilty feeling that she would rather be dancing than looking after her father. Her nervous coughing stopped after that repressed memory came to light. However, patients are either hard or impossible to hypnotise and people under hypnosis become very suggestible.

Joseph-Ignace Guillotin to investigate Franz Anton Mesmer’s techniques. Many people were skeptic at that time of Mesmer’s “mesmerism” technique and the commission concluded that Mesmer’s technique had no medical merit, (Gurgevich, 2011-2015, para. 4). A more recent critic of hypnosis would be the fact that it sometimes distorts memories when used for Psychotherapies that emphasize the recall of forgotten childhood events, (Spanos, 1996,

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" is a very interesting tale about a doctor who has become fascinated by mesmerism. The doctor is curious to see what would happen to an individual put under hypnosis while dying. Would it stave off death? Would dying make hypnosis impossible? A friend named by the narrator as M. Valdemar agrees to be the subject of this experiment. Seven months later, the doctor is called to the dying man's bedside. As the patient's breath and heartbeat slow, the doctor successfully hypnotizes him. The dying man feels no pain and responds to questions without rising from his trance. He asks the doctor not to wake him, but to let him die without pain. The next day, the patient's eyes roll

William Harvey was a distinguished physician of the seventeenth century. Harvey was educated by some of the great scientists of his time and was highly knowledgeable of the scientist theories preceding his time. Harvey was greatly intrigued by the views of the ancient Aristotle and developed a number of his own ideas based on Aristotle’s theories. It was from Aristotle’s theory of the primacy of blood that allowed Harvey to make breakthroughs about circulation and generation of animals. His advancements greatly enhanced the study of anatomy. Harvey also revolutionized the means by which science was performed through the use of innovative, investigational techniques. William Harvey became a