Hypnotism: Its History, Practice and Theory

 

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to psycho-thlrapie suplrieure as generally accepted. Nevertheless, catchwords should be avoided, and it should never be forgotten that what is supposed to have been brought about by psycho-thirapie suplrieure is often the result of veiled suggestion, the patient being convinced that his own will and intelligence have restored him to health.

Of course we must make all possible use of every psycho-therapeutic factor, especially of the explanatory method as I have described it. The last remarks I made on this subject were merely intended as a warning against exaggeration.

I now come to the discussion of volitional therapeutics. This is often confused with explanatory therapeutics, and even Rosenbach and Eschle do not make a proper distinction between the two. Although both methods are sometimes used together as "educational therapeutics "—there are many cases in which the patients can only be induced to exercise their will by first of all instructing them as to the necessity of this procedure,—they may be employed independently. As far as volitional therapeutics is concerned, we must remember that


374 HYPNOTISM.
the activity of the will is of two kinds—the external or objective, which is shown in the external movements and actions that depend upon the will, and the internal or subjective, which can arbitrarily arouse mental processes, such as ideas, feelings, and emotions. Both the external and the internal activity of the will may excite or inhibit; the will can cause movements and actions, or check them; in the same way it can, within certain limits, arouse ideas, feelings, and emotions, br suppress them. One part of volitional therapeutics is, historically, closely connected with hypnotism, but some' of its branches have developed independently. We come across the external activity of the will in the form of active mental gymnastics long before the days of modern hypnotism; and that, too, as a branch of physical therapeutics, although it might equally well be included in psycho-therapeutics. For instance, the attempts that have long been made to improve the conditions set up by apoplexy by means of exercises really constitute an employment of the activity of the will. This branch of psycho-therapeutics has long been used for disturbances of speech following apoplexy, the patients being instructed to repeat sentences and go through other

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