ABSTRACT
To understand modern hypnotherapy it's essential to have a basic grasp of the history of hypnotism. Unfortunately, that's an area which is surrounded by confusion. James Braid coined the English term "hypnotism", around 1841–1842, and is widely-considered to be the founder of both hypnotism and hypnotherapy. Braid was a Scottish surgeon who specialised in treating musculo-skeletal problems and eye conditions, particularly rectifying squints. He was influenced by one of the dominant movements in philosophical psychology of his day, known as the Scottish school of "Common Sense" realism, which emphasised naturalistic explanations in psychology and rejected speculative metaphysical theories. Braid believed, in opposition to the Mesmerists, that all hypnosis was essentially self-hypnosis and he therefore came to the view that his discovery bore greater similarity to ancient yogic meditation than it did to the "animal magnetism" of his predecessors. With the primitive means at his disposal, Braid adopted a vigorously empirical and scientific approach to developing his theory and practice.
