While many therapists, including Franz Anton Mesmer and Sigmund Freud, tried hypnotherapy without success, it wasn't until Milton Erickson implemented it in his medical practice that it became customary. Early doctors used it as a means of pain control before chemical anesthetics came into existence. Only at the end of the 19th century did hypnotherapy go back to the mental health profession through the work of Pierre Janet.

During the 1930's, Clark Leonard Hull was the first to research hypnotherapy using experimental and scientific methods, which in turn lead to the publication of Hypnosis and Suggestibility.

What is Hypnosis?

"Hypnosis is actually a natural common daily state of mind, namely –whenever you 'zoom out' you're in Hypnosis," says Shlomo Vaknin, a certified hypnotherapist and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) master practitioner. Vaknin equals hypnosis to driving on the highway. "You don't have to pay conscious attention to every detail of driving the car. You drive while thinking on what you have to do at home or at work, or you fantasize about the bath you will have in an hour. That's an example of the mental state of hypnosis, which is almost similar (though in a different degree of "deepness") to the state of mind you're in as you only wake up in the morning, those few moments of being half awake and half asleep."

Hypnosis is a natural state where the subconscious (creative) mind can be accessed. Since this is where a person's memories, beliefs, and habits are stored, having access to them means that they can also be modified for the person's benefit. "An addiction to cigarettes, for example, is simply a habit that has gone over conscious control," says Vaknin. If the conscious mind is resisting changing a habit, accessing the subconscious allows the person to instigate those positive changes in a way that feels natural.