Dave
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Location: Essex, GB |
Franz Anton Mesmer​ (1734-1815) developed his own theory of animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism. Mesmer established two clinics in France, one for the rich and to his credit, one for the poor. He achieved some considerable success, and fame, healing the sick.
A powerful medical team examined his activities, in part because he was curing things they could not, and possibly because he wasnt even using leeches in his therapy. They discredited his theory and he faded into obscurity.
Similarly Freuds theory that all our problems come from repressed sexual memories and not from trauma has also been discredited, his only real claim to fame being that he identified the subconscious mind as an entity.
Mesmers problem was that he didnt fully understand the modality he was using, although he used it to good effect. The gradual understanding of this phenomenon gave us hypnosis as we know it today.
Freud gave up on hypnosis because he wasnt very good at it. He wanted to overcome his clients problems by suggestion alone and found that the symptoms would often return, or the client would present with a substitute symptom.
Freuds abandonment of hypnosis, in favour of his own theory, one which would see clients being treated for several years, often without resolution, probably set back the development of hypnosis by 100 years.
Thanks to the determination of just a handful of enlightened individuals, prepared to put their reputations on the line for the sake of medical research and discovery, the benefits of hypnosis as an adjunct to conventional medicine, slowly achieved greater recognition.
I dont believe that having an original concept is enough in itself to warrant the attention given to it, especially when the primary motivation appears to be wealth creation rather than healing.
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Jun 06th, 2010 03:13
