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Hypnosis In Psychology

Hypnosis in Psychology

Hypnosis in Psychology

    Throughout the history of this country, hypnosis has been dismissed
as a form of gimmickry. Contrary to this, for centuries numerous cultures have
used hypnosis as a means of mental and spiritual healing. Hypnosis is defined
as an induced trance-like state in which one is highly susceptible to
suggestions, or commands. There are three commonly known methods of hypnosis.
Two of which, the authoritarian and standardized approaches, are generally
considered non-beneficial towards the subject. Meanwhile the utilization
approach, primarily developed by Dr. Milton H. Erickson, is the most widely used
amongst psychologists today. The authoritarian approach focuses primarily on the
power of the hypnotist over his/her subject. The out-dated though still used,
standardized approach, is rather limited due to the fact that it considers a
person either hypnotizable or not. In contrast to the authoritarian and
standardized approaches, the utilization approach, stresses the interaction
nature of the hypnotic relationship. These approaches have many dissimilarities
and thus are utilized for different practices.

The authoritarian approach emphasizes the power of the hypnotist.
This approach, spawned by Mesmer and others, is still widely exploited by stage
hypnotists and is consequently often the conceptualization held by the uniformed
lay person. Even many trained physicians implicitly adhere to this view, which
in it's extreme form involves some powerful and charismatic hypnotist exercising
some strange power over a hapless and weak-willed subject. In essence, the
hypnotist gets the subject to do something he or she wouldn't ordinarily do such
as stop smoking or bark like a dog. This approach generally assumes that the
unconscious is some passive vehicle into which suggestions are placed. This
approach is one which is viewed as limited in value. It is also believed that
the unconscious is mistreated or abused. Because of its authoritative manner,
this approach is considered ineffective.

Many people realized these limitations and subsequently developed
what might be called the standardized approach. The standardized approach
generally assumes that hypnotic responsiveness is determined by some inherent
trait or ability of the subject. There is nothing inherently worn with this
approach, especially in a research setting, where sometimes it is required.
However it doesn't work ve

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