Any Discussion About What Are The Origins Of Hypnotherapy Must Include The Name Of Dr. Milton Erikson
Hypnosis and hypnotherapy go a long way back in time and are as old as the hills, and hypnosis has been used to heal people from way back as is evidenced when we look at records from ancient times that go all the way back to about 3000BC and to Egypt. What's more, for those who are interested in learning more about what are the origins of hypnotherapy, there are even references to such methods of treatment in the new as well as old testaments of the Bible and even the ancient Romans and Greeks used sleep temples as an early form of hypnotherapy.
Interpreting Dreams
These sleep temples are an excellent example of how hypnotherapy first began and should be included when wanting to learn more about what are the origins of hypnotherapy because in these sleep temples, the priests induced people that came to the temple seeking healing into a trancelike state and would then interpret dreams as a way of healing them. Much later, using unique methods including rhythmic drumming as well as monotonous chanting and also eye fixation were being commonly practiced by Shamans and others.
The witchdoctors of yore as well as shamans and wise women are all examples of how people had strong convictions about the use of hypnotherapy and are prime examples of what are the origins of hypnotherapy. However, later there was established a mind-body connection in which the healer realized that body and thoughts as well as emotions were all interlinked and it was thus believed that to influence a physical ailment, it was necessary to work on and also realize certain emotions and to also change the way of thinking and also patterns of behavior.
However, it was not till the year 1750 that the mind-body connection was incorporated into medicine thanks in great part to the thoughts of Newton. This was an important milestone in the course of events that help explain what the origins of hypnotherapy and after this are, the body began to be studied by the scientists, while the mind and spirit were left under the control of the church.
During the eighteenth century, there was another step taken forward that can be included in what are the origins of hypnotherapy and this was the time that modern hypnosis under Anton Mesmer began to use magnetism as a form of hypnotherapy. However, the terms hypnosis and hypnotism came to be coined in about 1843 thanks to a Scottish surgeon named James Braid who found that certain people could be induced into a trance by fixating their eyes on a bright object such as a pocket watch.
Though many people have contributed to hypnotherapy and who are sure to be mentioned whenever discussions about what are the origins of hypnotherapy arise, the one name that stands out the most in this regard is that of the Dr. Milton Erikson, who many consider the be all and end all of hypnotherapy. No doubt, others have also enriched hypnotherapy with their thoughts and findings, but in any discussion about what are the origins of hypnotherapy, the name of Dr. Erikson will always stand out from others such as Rosen, Wetzenhoffer, and LeCron, and many more.