Hypnotherapies in 20th-century Hungary: The extraordinary career of Ferenc Völgyesi

Abstract

This article traces the history of hypnotherapies in Hungary by exploring and interpreting the work of Ferenc (András) Völgyesi, a controversial physician, psychiatrist and forensic expert who gained remarkable fame in and beyond Hungary. It explores his work and its reception in the context of the complex, changing trends in European psychology between the 1920s and 1950s, drawing on published sources in a range of languages, and the archives of the Hungarian State Security. It uncovers experiments in human and animal hypnosis; Völgyesi’s engagement with the Hungarian psychoanalytic community; and the cultural, scientific, and esoteric, networks from which theories and practices of hypnosis emerged. This reminds us also that the development of psychotherapy in Europe cannot be disentangled from the history of parapsychology and western esotericism. The article also examines allegations of ethical abuses of hypnosis, and the shortcomings of Völgyesi’s theoretical and practical claims. It argues that this case illustrates how the history of European psychotherapy in the 20th century cannot be fully understood without taking into account the enduring fascination with hypnotherapies into the postwar period – re-inscribed, in this case, through Pavlovian theories.

7 Treating mutism in Hungarian child psychiatry, 1957–60

“…In any case, active alert hypnosis was still labelled as a mystical phenomenon in the mid-1970s (Gyimesi, 2018). It is worth noting that, while depth psychology hypnotherapy was being restricted ideologically in Hungary, the method lost popularity in the Western world as well.…”

“…Völgyesi showed a certain talent in political self-promotion: he dedicated one chapter in his book to the hypnotherapeutic experiences of Engels with a 12-year-old boy (Völgyesi, 1962: 130). Mixing Pavlovian theories with political slogans could satisfy political trends (Gyimesi, 2018).…”

“…Part II -Experimentation place in Lipótmező became a forgotten chapter in the history of Hungarian hypnotherapies (Gyimesi, 2018).…”

Hypnotism and Suggestion: A Historical Perspective

“…It was, of course, more complicated than that, given the diversity of phenomena discussed, and the fact that such disputes were often tied to claims about scientific and medical authority. The dispute between the two French schools was part of a wider debate about who was qualified to practice, and to pronounce upon such matters, and was echoed in the United States, Germany, Britain, and other European countries (Brancaccio, 2017;Gauld, 1995;Graus, 2014;Guarnieri, 1988;Gyimesi, 2018;Hajek, 2017;Leighton, 2001;Maehle, 2014;Wolffram, 2012).…”