Synonyms
Hypnotism; Mesmerism; Hypnotherapy
Definition
Hypnosis refers to the “state” of consciousness associated with the phenomenon in question.
Hypnotism refers to the science and art of inducing and utilising this phenomenon. This term is now less used in current research literature.
Mesmerism is a term associated with the controversial work of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) and replaced his concept of “animal magnetism”. Modern accounts occasionally use the term to describe the non-verbal “mesmeric passes” used in some contexts.
Hypnotherapy is a term used to describe various forms of psychotherapy utilizing hypnosis as the major ingredient.
Hypnosis has been notoriously difficult to define. The British Medical Association (1955) introduced the following operational definition:
Hypnosis is a temporary condition of altered perception in the subject which may be induced by another person and in which a variety of phenomena may appear spontaneously or in response to verbal or other...
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Large, R. (2007). Therapy of Pain, Hypnosis. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4473
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