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The Art of Hypnosis

Hypnosis is an induced psychological condition which is used with specific people to highlight the differences in behavior and thinking. This has known to induce subjective feelings and suggestibility in some people which is owing to the state of consciousness that has been altered, but such is not the case with everybody.

Status of Hypnosis

The status of hypnosis is debatable because some scientists simply refuse to acknowledge its existence while others assert its important value. The potential debate arises from the splitting of the theories of hypnosis into two camps the state and the non state. However this debate seems to be a bit under the lid as modern brain imaging techniques have been developed that provide a better understanding of the nature of hypnosis. Thus the importance of the both the perspectives are considered.

The American Psychological Association

How this body defines hypnosis is an amalgamation of what all perspectives circulate in society. During this process the subject is made aware that certain suggestion will be made for imaginative experiences. Such a procedure evaluates and encourages responses to suggestions. If the hypnotic suggestions are responded to by the person who has been induced with it then it means hypnosis has been induced successfully. Also another controversy that exists is that whatever responses are given when hypnosis has been induced they are characteristic of that state only.

View Points

There have been many attempts to arrive at a definition of hypnosis and some of the people who have done this are Dave Elman, Michael Yapko, and Harry Cannon etc. However a French psychiatrist Pierre Janet developed a theory regarding it saying that hypnosis is a kind of dissociation. The individual behavioral controls of an individual were split from the everyday awareness. Ernest Hilgard worked further on Janet’s theory and published his book on neodissociation theory in the year 1977.

The State and Non- State Debate

The State theorists vouch for the argument that hypnosis is an ‘altered state of consciousness. However the Non State theorists say that hypnosis is more a regular psychological process for instance like absorbing and expecting.

Application

The application of hypnosis is varied. Two very popular applications are in the filed of entertainment and health sectors. Hypnosis has been popularly perceived in the field of entertainment; the theatre hypnotists induce a state of trance on the subjects and present them before the public. This trance like state makes the subject subservient to the hypnotist and performs actions at his command.

In the field of health the perception of hypnosis is very different from this. There is evidence to support the use of ‘hypnotherapy’ for effective pain control, weight loss, treatment of irritable bowel etc. Hypnosis is used more as an adjunct to other therapies.

The theory of Role Play

This theory presents the suggestion that people are playing a role and the hypnotist is creating a kind of reality for them. The success of this theory depends upon the rapport between the hypnotist and the individual.

The list does not end here and the research in the field of hypnosis is an ongoing process. Hypnosis has come to be considered an important instrument in the filed of psychological research.

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