Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis, one of the oldest forms of therapy, has its roots in medical treatments that were practised thousands of years ago. The Ebers Papyrus which is over 3000 years old describes hypnotic procedures used by Egyptian soothsayers which have much in common with modern hypnosis. The Hindu Fakirs, Persian Magi, indian Yogi and the Greek Oracles all used similar methods under different names.

With the work of Franz Mesmer in the late 18th Century (from whom the term Mesmerism comes) hypnosis began to be understood as a scientific process. In the field of medicine, before the discovery of chemical anaesthetics, thousands of surgical operations were carried out without any pain using only hypnosis.

Hypnosis has traditionally been known as a method of helping people to give up smoking but a general understanding of its wide-ranging therapeutic potential is spreading.

Over the past 30 years acceptance of complementary therapies such as acupuncture, osteopathy, homeopathy, and hypnosis has grown.

The unquestionable effectiveness of clnical hypnosis has meant that many GPs are willing to use it as an aid or alternative to traditional allopathic medicine. In 1955 the British Medical Association published a report recognising hypnotherapy as an accepted treatment method, and recommended it be taught to medical students as part of their training as doctors.

Whilst the reputation of hypnosis as a scientific therapeutic tool has been demeaned by stage performers using it for entertainment, it is now re-establishing itself at the forefront of complementary therapies, and with the introduction of a hypnosis module into the Royal College of Nursing training programme it is once again becoming utilised in mainstream medicine.