What is Hypnosis?

Long misunderstood as a harmless parlor trick or as a tool of manipulation,
hypnosis has emerged to become a respected part of psychotherapy and even as a
medical treatment. How did this unexpected transformation occur?
The conversation began to change partly thanks to the publication of François
Roustang's What is Hypnosis?, possibly the first attempt to accurately define
the discipline of hypnosis and document its therapeutic powers.
Roustang starts by describing hypnosis as a state of intense 'generalized
wakefulness,' similar to the deep REM sleep during which we dream. Just as
this deep sleep is the prerequisite for dreaming, so is the generalized
wakefulness of hypnosis necessary for us to see our world through new fresh
eyes.
As Roustang demonstrates in this powerful and groundbreaking work, practicing
hypnosis is a fundamentally optimistic calling, allowing us–through expansive,
subtle wakefulness–to learn to trust in and realize our true potential.

Hypnosis, in short, is not a passive phenomenon, but an active one, essential
to the art of living.
This new edition also includes a foreword by practitioner Léonard Anthony, a
friend of François Roustang, who shares insights from their conversations
during the final years of Roustang's life (excepts from these revealing
discussions are also included).

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François Roustang (1923-2016) was a noted French psychoanalyst, hypnotherapist
and philosopher. He taught at Johns Hopkins University as a Visiting
Professor, as well as Emory University. He was the author of many books in
French on hypnosis, including in English Dire Mastery: Discipleship from Freud
to Lacan (American Psychiatric Association Publishing), Psychoanalysis Never
Lets Go (Johns Hopkins UP), and The Lacanian Delusion (Oxford UP).'
He is widely recognized as one of the most original writers in the field of
hypnosis.

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"François Roustang was first and foremost an extraordinary clinical
practitioner, with a passion for healing and great empathy for his patients -
something pretty unique in the psychotherapy world." Le Monde .

"First a Jesuit, then a psychoanalyst and finally a hypnotherapist, this man
who was impossible to classify devoted his practice and his reflection to the
mystery of life's." La Croix .