Ritual, Altered States of Consciousness, and Implementing Culturalbiological Healing

Hypnosis, a word derived from the Greek hypnos, meaning “sleep,” was a central feature of healing at early Greek temples. It came into modern medicine in the work of Franz Anton Mesmer a little over two centuries ago. This was just before the advent of chemical anesthesia, modern psychology, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis. After being adopted by French colleagues Charcot, Janet, Bernheim, and others, “magnetic healing” was brought to England, where Scotsman James Braid reformulated it and renamed it hypnosis (Inglis 1989:61). After a period of discontinuance in its use and study, Hull, Erickson, and Hilgard in the United States revived research, while Milton Erickson reintroduced its application in therapy (Gauld 1992).