preview

What Is Hypnosis? Describe the Psychological and Physical Aspects of Hypnosis and Discuss the Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

Better Essays

The content of this essay will explore how hypnosis has been defined in both the past and the present. I will explain my understanding of hypnosis as well as exploring the history of hypnosis, its origins and how it was first practiced. I shall also detail some of the techniques used and the psychological and physical changes which occur during hypnosis. Finally I will discuss the role of relaxation in hypnotherapy and look at some of the reasons that individuals wish to undergo hypnosis and the benefits they may experience. My understanding of hypnosis is that it is a natural state and that all humans regularly enter a light trancelike state which they describe as “daydreaming”. It is not gaining control of a person so they act out of …show more content…

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:
The Committee are of opinion that as a therapeutic agent hypnotism is frequently effective in relieving pain, procuring sleep, and alleviating many functional ailments [i.e., psycho-somatic complaints and anxiety disorders].( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotherapy)
By the 1870s, there were two schools of hypnosis in France. One was run by Dr. Jean Martin Charcot and the other by Doctors Benheim and Liebalt. Around the same time, Sigmund Freud also became interested in hypnosis and visited Benheim and Leibalt’s clinics to learn their techniques. Freud was the first to recognise the importance of the subconscious in psychological disorders, but he later became disillusioned with hypnosis and turned his attentions to psychoanalysis. As a result, the use of psychoanalysis grew in popularity during the first half of the 20th century and with this rise, hypnotherapy became less popular. By the 1950s this situation began to reverse as new research found new uses and positive benefits for using hypnosis as a therapy. Milton Erickson (1901-1980) was a psychotherapist who used hypnosis in his work. Erickson believed that the unconscious mind was

Get Access