ABSTRACT
Hypnosis has been a feature of western society for some two hundred and fifty years or so, and predates the development of psychology as a scientific discipline. Nevertheless, hypnosis and psychology have tended to run parallel existences. Whereas hypnosis and psychotherapy are perceived by the general public as being very similar activities, undertaken by therapists within consulting rooms, usually for payment, and having the purpose of curing or alleviating some physical or psychological condition, the status afforded to hypnosis by psychology as a discipline has been inconsistent, to say the least, and characterized by deep scepticism for most of the time. Hypnosis is rarely taught or discussed on undergraduate programmes and, especially within the UK, is seldom included in applied psychology postgraduate programmes for the professional training of clinical or health psychology practitioners. This apparent lack of interest is despite a sizeable body of psychological literature, which has explored the phenomenology and processes said to underlie this unusual state. For example, a recent report from the British Psychological Society concludes that ‘hypnosis is a valid subject for scientific study and research and a proven therapeutic medium’ (Heap et al., 2001, p. 2). Why are psychologists so reluctant to be associated with this area of psychological enquiry or therapeutic endeavour?
