Charcot's hypnotism

Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful · Jean-Martin Charcot · 1878 · Paris (Salpêtrière)

What it is

"Charcot's hypnotism" is a historical practice, not a therapy to be used today. Charcot, the neurologist who led a clinic at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, began using hypnosis with patients diagnosed with hysteria around 1878. For his school, being hypnotisable was itself a sign of disease:…

Format

• 1880s: the doctrine of "grande hystérie" and "grand hypnotisme". Charcot and Paul Richer described a four-stage major hysterical attack; Georges Gilles de la Tourette described three hypnotic states (lethargy, catalepsy, somnambulism) plus preliminary states. Alfred Binet and Charles Féré's Le…
• Processing and repair. Goal: psychoeducation, a shared formulation, and repair of any injury caused by past dismissal, display or suggestion. For FND, this phase sits inside a care pathway: one NHS neuropsychiatry service describes psychotherapy for FND as up to 12 hour-long appointments, usually…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• missed sessions or silence after the rupture. Working when the alliance recovers.
• voyeuristic use of images; jokes at patients' expense. Working when learners can state the ethical lessons.
• the therapist being drawn into disputes about diagnosis. Working when the client gets more consistent care.
• hopelessness after diagnosis or after repeated disbelief. Working when risk is known and a plan is in place.
• retaliation; minimisation ("it's for education"). Working when the practice stops and the client is supported.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.