The Power of Suggestion

Abstract

The Parisian neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot ignored the links of trance to mesmerism and sanitised hypnotism or ‘Braidism’ for the medical profession in the second half of the nineteenth century. However, he focused mainly on its utility in the diagnosis of hysteria. It was Hippolyte Bernheim and Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault in Nancy who demonstrated its therapeutic potential, defining hypnotism as a way of enhancing a patient’s suggestibility to positive suggestions. Eventually, the Nancy school won the debate between those interested in the physiological state of hypnosis and those in the hypnotic relationship by developing the psychological concept of suggestion. The relationship aspect was critical to the success of hypnotism. The new paradigm gave a new language and concept to the nonphysical therapeutic influence of the doctor on the patient. It also led to the concept of ‘herd instinct’ in understanding crowd dynamics and auto-suggestion as a form of self-development. It was an inflection point for the public and medical legitimacy of trance.