Can hypnosis cause madness?

Abstract

Recent controversy about the dangers of hypnosis came to a head in the summer of 1998 with the High Court trial in London of a stage hypnotist for allegedly inducing schizophrenia in one of his participants. In this paper a number of issues arising from the case are critically examined; included are the propositions put forward by the prosecution that the hypnotic state is similar, psychologically and neurophysiologically, to that of schizophrenia, and thereby, because of its very nature, hypnosis can increase vulnerability to psychotic illness and other forms of psychological damage; inadequate dehypnosis may lead to a person remaining in a pathological state; and a series of fairly routine stage hypnosis suggestions can act as a trigger for a schizophrenic reaction in certain individuals. It is concluded that hypnosis procedures must always be applied with due caution and regard to the rights of participants, but that there is no substantive scientific evidence to support any special link between hypnosis and the triggering of episodes of schizophrenia.

The alleged dangers of stage hypnosis

“…This case, in which the plaintiff alleged that he had a schizophrenic illness after participating in a stage hypnosis show, is described more fully by Wagstaff in this issue (Wagstaff, 2000). In view of what has been stated earlier, it is worth mentioning that initially the plaintiff's psychiatrist offered a fairly orthodox, though highly tenuous, explanation of the possible causal connection between the plaintiff's experience of stage hypnosis and his subsequent mental illness.…”

“…Notwithstanding this, anyone reading accounts of Gates vs McKenna (Wagstaff, 2000) will ponder the following: whether or not this question applies to this particular case, is it advisable for a person with a psychotic predisposition to take part in stage hypnosis? Intuitively, from the earlier discussion of the possible hazards of stage hypnosis, one is likely to feel that this is not the sort of activity in which someone with psychotic tendencies should engage.…”

“…In the UK in the 1990s, there was a surge of interest in stage hypnosis shows, probably owing to the activities of Paul McKenna, who gave popular televised performances. Another lawsuit, brought against McKenna, is the subject of a separate paper by Graham Wagstaff, one of the expert witnesses for the defendant (Wagstaff, 2000). These included three lawsuits in which the present author was engaged for the defence.…”

The systematic study of negative post‐hypnotic effects: research hypnosis, clinical hypnosis and stage hypnosis

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This commentary on a paper by Wagstaff (2000) focuses on the need to systematically study the nature, frequency and determinants of negative post-hypnotic reactions across diverse contexts (for example, hypnosis in research, clinical hypnosis and stage hypnosis), and highlights data collected in our laboratory with well-validated measures of positive and negative post-hypnotic experiences. The findings reviewed challenge the idea that hypnosis evokes more negative experiences than many other activities.

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“…All of these failings, combined with the performance-related pressures and attendant anxieties that can accompany stage hypnosis (Wagstaff, 2000), would seem to place individuals who participate in stage hypnosis shows at increased risk for negative post-hypnotic experiences. Yet the fact of the matter is that little is known about the relatively long-term effects of stage hypnosis and the determinants of negative post-hypnotic experiences in this context.…”