Originally published in 1976, this title looks closely at the current nature of controls in hypnosis research at the time and tries to assess what they contributed to our knowledge of hypnosis. Specifically, the book analyses the contributions to our understanding of hypnotic phenomena offered by the application of six contemporary methodologies, or paradigms, of hypnosis. The primary concern is with those paradigms that are experimental, rather than clinical, in orientation, and which had emerged over the previous decade as coherent programmatic collections of procedural strategies, all of them associated with distinct and important views of how hypnotic behaviour can best be explained.

Hypnosis is now being used by doctors, dentists and therapists to help cure or relieve a wide range of illnesses, personality problems and emotional and psychological conditions. It has been used to treat phobias and many nervous symptoms; the help people give up smoking, alcohol and drugs; to overcome shyness, stammering, uncontrollable blushing, nail biting and certain allergies; to curb weight problems (both obesity and anorexia); to help overcome impotence, frigidity and other sexual difficulties; in dentistry as a substitute to local anaesthetics and to counter ‘needle-phobia’, tooth-grinding and excessive salivation; to alleviate pain and insomnia; to achieve relaxation in pregnancy and childbirth; and also in the treatment of behaviour problems and in crime detection. Originally published in 1981, in this book, the late Dr David Waxman – a medically qualified therapist who had practised hypnosis for over twenty years at the time of writing and who had lectured on the subject throughout the world – explains exactly what hypnosis is; gives a concise history of its practice; discusses the scientific theories about it and how it is used today; and describes what it can and cannot do and when and how it is best used.

Originally published in 1928, the main object of this book was to draw attention to the importance of hypnotism and its phenomena, in order to stimulate inquiry into what was at the time a ‘mysterious and unexplored subject’. The author had studied hypnotism nearly all his life and practised it for thirty years, he therefore felt the investigations, experiences, and views presented in this title would prove of interest and value both to the medical and psychological expert and the general reader of the time. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.

The subject of hypnosis has not lost any of its ability to fascinate and intrigue – and this holds equally true for both the layperson and the student of hypnotic behavior. Phenomena of hypnosis range from simple tasks involving ideomotor response to more complex tasks involving substantial distortions of perceived reality such as age regression, hallucination, and amnesia. Obviously, with a topic so diverse and so interesting, there are plenty of books around. Originally published in 1982, what makes this title stand out is the authors’ focus: instead of trying to survey the whole field and evaluate the full spectrum of theories about hypnosis, they hone in on specific points of view with the aim of illustrating the nature of hypnotic phenomena.

This book is intended primarily for those readers who have had no professional training in either Medicine or Psychology, but who are anxious to keep themselves abreast of modern thought in these departments of knowledge. At the same time I hope it may prove serviceable to professional students of these subjects as a preliminary survey of the ground they will have to cover should they desire to specialize in psychotherapies or in the psychology of the abnormal. The topics discussed have been dealt with only in outline. My endeavour has been to state the general principles on which modern conceptions in the Psychology of Medicine are based and to avoid as far as possible all detail which is unncessary for comprehension of these principles.

The subject of hypnosis has not lost any of its ability to fascinate and intrigue – and this holds equally true for both the layperson and the student of hypnotic behavior. Phenomena of hypnosis range from simple tasks involving ideomotor response to more complex tasks involving substantial distortions of perceived reality such as age regression, hallucination, and amnesia. Obviously, with a topic so diverse and so interesting, there are plenty of books around. Originally published in 1982, what makes this title stand out is the authors’ focus: instead of trying to survey the whole field and evaluate the full spectrum of theories about hypnosis, they hone in on specific points of view with the aim of illustrating the nature of hypnotic phenomena.

The literature since the first edition has been reviewed and material from it has been inserted, with particular emphasis on experimental contributions. Major additions are made in the sections on speech abnormalities, constitutional psychopathic inferiority, behavior effects of epidemic encephalitis, and psychotherapy. The chapters on psychoneuroses now precede those on the psychoses. The revised work consists of 21 chapters and an index; bibliographies are presented in footnotes and at the ends of chapters.