The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of Hypnotherapy [Paperback]

James Braid introduced hypnotism in 1841 as a scientific and rational alternative to Franz Mesmer's animal magnetism. This major textbook brings together all of Braid's writings on hypnotism for the first time. Braid's writings have been carefully edited and annotated to make them more accessible to the modern reader. This is absolutely essential reading for any hypnotherapist, hypnotist, researcher, or those with an interest in the history of Mesmerism and hypnotism.

The book has been published by the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), the UK's leading non-profit hypnotherapy organisation.

This book was written to educate and inform hypnotists and psychotherapists about the origins of hypnotherapy. Braid's work is particularly relevant today as he adopted a passionately empirical and rational attitude toward treatment and pre-empted modern cognitive-behavioural therapies in many important respects.

Donald Robertson is a philosopher and psychotherapist who specialises in the history of psychotherapy and the treatment of anxiety using cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy and other evidence-based approaches. Donald is an accredited Senior Clinician Hypnotherapist (NCH) and the author of numerous articles in professional journals.

From the Foreword by Dr. Michael Heap
It gives me great pleasure to contribute this Foreword to The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid, the Father of Hypnotherapy. My first task is to congratulate its editor, Donald Robertson, on the quality of his work and in particular the fine scholarship displayed in his introductory chapters, of which I am sure all readers will be much appreciative.

When I was first asked to make this contribution I was immediately conscious of how much I have neglected, in my own reading, the original works of key historical figures in the field of hypnosis. I suspect that many of my colleagues would confess likewise. But why should one spend one's time studying such works when (a) their main conclusions have been summarised in up-to-date texts by well-respected authorities and (b) many of the claims and ideas espoused have been contradicted or superseded by advances in research, theory and practice?

As in many other fields of enquiry, the rewards for the time and effort expended in the detailed study of early texts can prove disproportionately small and little more than those gained from reading competent summaries by modern writers. But there are works that stand out and have a timeless quality. They do not merely tell us about the passing fads and fashions of the period in which they were written; they inform us about issues and concerns that we continue to struggle with and about ways that we might resolve them. The report of the Franklin Commission on animal magnetism is a case in point. I am certain that the work of James Braid is another.

Moreover, there are certain periods in the progress of any field of human enquiry when it becomes particularly apposite and instructive to revisit the works of one of the early key figures. For the serious student of hypnosis, now is the time to pay or repay a visit to the writings of James Braid.