Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hypnosis...

Hypnosis is a mental state (state theory) or set of attitudes (non-state theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions."New Definition: Hypnosis" Division 30 of the American Psychological Association [http://www.apa.org/divisions/div30/define_hypnosis.html] Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be self-administered ("self-suggestion" or "autosuggestion"). The use of hypnotism for therapeutic purposes is referred to as "hypnotherapy".

The words 'hypnosis' and 'hypnotism' both derive from the term "neuro-hypnotism" (nervous sleep) coined by the Scottish physician and surgeon James Braid around 1841. Braid based his practice on that developed by Franz Anton Mesmer and his followers ("Mesmerism" or "animal magnetism"), but differed in his theory as to how the procedure worked.

Although a popular misconception is that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling sleep, contemporary research suggests that it is actually a wakeful state of focused attention"Information for the Public. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis." and heightened suggestibility,Lyda, Alex. "Hypnosis Gaining Ground in Medicine." Columbia News with diminished peripheral awareness.p. 22, Spiegel, Herbert and Spiegel, David. Trance and Treatment. Basic Books Inc., New York. 1978. ISBN 0-465-08687-X In the first book on the subject, Neurypnology (1843), Braid described "hypnotism" as a state of physical relaxation accompanied and induced by mental concentration ("abstraction").Braid, J. (1843) Neurypnology.

Hypnotherapy is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.

The word "hypnosis" (from the Greek hypnos, "sleep") is an abbreviation of James Braid's (1843) term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system".

A person who is hypnotized displays certain unusual characteristics and propensities, compared with a non-hypnotized subject, most notably hyper-suggestibility, which some authorities have considered a sine qua non of hypnosis. For example, Clark L. Hull, probably the first major empirical researcher in the field, wrote,

If a subject after submitting to the hypnotic procedure shows no genuine increase in susceptibility to any suggestions whatever, there seems no point in calling him hypnotised... C.L. Hull, Hypnosis & Suggestion, 1933: 392

Hypnotherapy is often applied in order to modify a subject's behavior, emotional content, and attitudes, as well as a wide range of conditions including dysfunctional habits, anxiety, stress-related illness, pain management, and personal development.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them" and "a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behaviour"."'n. Neurolinguistic programming' Oxford English Dictionary (2003). Retrieved January 23, 2009, from [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00323586/00323586se1?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=Neurolinguistic+programming&first=1&max_to_show=10&hilite=00323586se1] The co-founders, Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder, claimed it would be instrumental in "finding ways to help people have better, fuller and richer lives".From the book jacket of Bandler and Grinder (1975b) They coined the title to denote a supposed theoretical connection between neurological processes ('neuro'), language ('linguistic') and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ('programming') and that can be organised to achieve specific goals in life.Tosey, P. & Mathison, J., (2006) "Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, University of Surrey.p.2 However, Bandler has claimed that humans are literally programmable. "When I started using the term 'programming,' people became really angry. They said things like, 'You're saying we're like machines. We're human beings, not robots.' Actually, what I was saying was just the opposite. We're the only machine that can program itself. We are 'meta-programmable.' We can set deliberately designed, automated programs that work by themselves to take care of boring, mundane tasks, thus freeing up our minds to do other, more interesting and creative, things." Bandler, R., (2008) Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation: How to Harness the Power of Hypnosis to Ignite Effortless and Lasting Change Publisher: Health Communications (HCi) ISBN 0757307779

NLP was originally promoted by founders Bandler and Grinder in the 1970s as an effective and rapid form of psychological therapy,It is explicitly stated (e.g. Steve Andreas (forward p.ii) in Bandler & Grinder, 1979; Lankton, 1980, pp 9-13) that by using NLP, problems such as phobias and learning disabilities may be disposed of in less than a single one-hour session; whereas with other therapies, progress may take weeks or months.Full reference missing. According to Michael Heap in a paper on NLP written in 1988 for The Psychologist (the monthly magazine of the British Psychological Society p 261-262) one NLP workshop announcement claimed that spelling problems may be eliminated in five minutes (NLP Training Programme).Bandler and Grinder state, "Our desire in this book Structure of Magic is not to question the magical quality of our experience of these therapeutic wizards, but rather to show that this magic which they perform - psychotherapy...like other complex human activities such as painting, composing music, or placing a man on the moon - has structure and is, therefore learnable, given the appropriate resources. Neither is it our intention to claim that reading a book can ensure that you will have these dynamic qualities. We especially do not wish to make the claim that we have discovered the right' or most power approach to psychotherapy. We only desire to present a specific set of tools that seem to us to be implicit in the actions of these therapists, so you may begin or continue the never-ending process to improve, enrich and enlarge the skills you offer as a people-helper". capable of addressing the full range of problems which psychologists are likely to encounter, such as phobias, depression, habit disorder, psychosomatic illnesses, learning disorders.It was even alleged (Grinder & Bandler, 1981, p 166) that a single session of NLP combined with hypnosis can eliminate certain eyesight problems such as myopia, and can even cure a common cold (op.cit., p 174)?..(Also, op.cit., p 169) Bandler and Grinder make the claim that by combining NLP methods with hypnotic regression, a person can be not only effectively cured of a problem, but also rendered amnesic for the fact that they had the problem in the first place. Thus, after a session of therapy, smokers may deny that they smoked before, even when their family and friends insist otherwise, and they are unable to account for such evidence as nicotine stains'. It also espoused the potential for self-determination through overcoming learned limitationse.g. Bandler & Andreas 1985 and emphasized well-being and healthy functioning. Later, it was promoted as a 'science of excellence', derived from the study or 'modeling'p.6 Bandler, R. & Grinder, J. 1975b, The Structure of Magic: a book about language and therapy. Palo Alto: Science and Behavior Books of how successful or outstanding people in different fields obtain their results. It was claimed that these skills can be learned by anyone to improve their effectiveness both personally and professionallyO'Connor, Joseph & John Seymour (1993). Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People. London, UK: Thorsons. ISBN 1855383446.(see p.xii)

Despite its popularity, NLP has been largely ignored by conventional social science because of issues of professional credibilityBerne, Eric (2005) "Chapter 10: How useful are 'popular' models of interpersonal communication?" in Interpersonal Communication; Taylor & Francis, United Kingdom. p162-180. ISBN 9780415181075 and insufficient empirical evidence to substantiate its models and claimed efficacy. It appears to have little impact on academic psychology, and limited impact on mainstream psychotherapy and counselling.Heap. M., (1988) Neurolinguistic programming: An interim verdict. In M. Heap (Ed.) Hypnosis: Current Clinical, Experimental and Forensic Practices. London: Croom Helm, pp.268-280. However, it had some influence among private psychotherapists, including hypnotherapists, to the extent that some claim to be trained in NLP and apply it to their practice. NLP had greater influence in management training, life coaching,In a review of the coaching industry in Australia, 13% of respondents reported that they had been trained in NLP. -- Spence, GB., Cavanagh, MJ., & Grant, AM., Duty of care in an unregulated industry: Initial findings on the diversity and practices of Australian coaches International Coaching Psychology Review 1, 71-85. and the self-help industry.Heap (1988) states, "How widespread or popular NLP has become in practice is difficult to say with precision, though. As an indication the number of people to have been trained to `Practitioner' level in the UK since NLP's inception seems likely to number at least 50,000. Trainings in NLP are found across the world, principally in countries where English is the first language, but including Norway, Spain and Brazil. There is no unified structure to the NLP practitioner community. Probably in common with other emergent fields, there is diversity in both practice and organisation, and there are resulting tensions".