A Hypnoanalytic Study of an Amateur Hypnotist

The writer has had an opportunity to study in hypnoanalysis a patient who exhibited a major interest in hypnosis and the practice of hypnotizing. This patient used as subjects friends and fellow employees, members of his family, and some group demonstration audiences. He is referred to here as an amateur hypnotist because his experience as a profesional entertainer was undeveloped, although he had aspirations in connection with this. Comments about hypnotists encountered in scientific literature usually amount to platitudes which do not serve to increase knowledge about the personalities of people with such interests. Although the claims may very well find some justification in some cases, their reiteration encourages very little any attempts to enlarge on this issue and to clarify this aspect of behavior. One such assertion has to do, for example, with the desire on the part of the hypnotist to be omnipotent. Although this may play a role at times, it must surely be only one aspect of a far more complex picture. Likewise the equating of an interest in hypnosis with an interest in magic leaves much to be desired if one is to approach this problem scientifically. A study of hypnotists must indeed involve an evaluation of quite a number of people who probably fall into several categories with perhaps certain personality characteristics in common but, in addition, with both gross and subtle variations. This report serves as an introduction to this area of study by concentrating attention on one individual in particular in order to focus on various aspects of his personality problems and functioning, with his interest in hypnosis serving as a central theme.

Case Data

The patient, a man in his middle thirties, unmarried, sought treatment because of chronic depression, anxiety, and difficulty in achieving orgasm. He was one of five children, having three older brothers and a younger sister. His parents had always been in modest financial circumstances. The famil