History Of Hypnosis
It seems to have originated with the Hindus of ancient India. As a tool for health it seems to have been that people who were sick were taken to sleep temples to be cured by hypnotic suggestion and also it has been found to be the case in ancient Egypt and Greece. Hypnotic-like inductions were used to place the individual in a sleep-like state, although it is now accepted that hypnosis is different from sleep. An important movement within the history of hypnosis came to light by the Scottish surgeon and physician James Braid who coined the term "hypnotism" in his unpublished Practical Essay on the Curative Agency of Neuro-Hypnotism (1842) as an abbreviation for "neuro-hypnotism", meaning nervous sleep. Braid fiercely opposed the views of the Mesmerists, especially the claim that their effects were due to an invisible force termed "animal magnetism", and the claim that their subjects developed paranormal powers such as telepathy. Instead, Braid adopted a skeptical position, influenced by the philosophical school of Scottish Common Sense Realism, attempting to explain the mesmeric phenomena on the basis of well-established laws of psychology and physiology. Hence, Braid is regarded by many as the first true "hypnotist" as opposed to the Mesmerists and other magnetists who preceded him.  Later Braid simplified the name to "hypnotism" (from the Greek Hypnos, sleep). Finally, realizing that "hypnotism" was not a kind of sleep, he sought to change the name to "monoideism but the term "hypnotism", and its cognate "hypnosis", have stuck. Braid is credited with writing the first ever book on hypnotism, Neurypnology (1843). After Braid's death in 1860, interest in hypnotism temporarily waned, and gradually shifted from Britain to France, where research began to grow, reaching its peak around the 1880s with the work of Hippolyte Bernheim and Jean-Martin Charcot. 
Now the history of hypnosis continues. The neurologist Jean-Martin Charcotméthode numérique ("The numerical method") led to a number of systematic experimental examinations of it in France, Germany, and Switzerland. The process of post-hypnotic suggestion was first described in this period. Extraordinary improvements in sensory acuity and memory were reported under hypnosis. (1825-1893) endorsed hypnotism for the treatment of hysteria. From the 1880s the examination of it passed from surgical doctors to mental health professionals. Charcot had led the way and his study was continued by his pupil, Pierre Janet. Janet described the theory of dissociation, the splitting of mental aspects whilst under (or hysteria) so skills and memory could be made inaccessible or recovered. Janet provoked interest in the subconscious and laid the framework for reintegration therapy for dissociated personalities. And with the history of hypnosis more was being uncovered. At the end of the 19th century it had become a popular phenomenon, in particular due to Charcot's public hypnotism sessions,it was crucial in the invention of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud, a student of Charcot. Freud later witnessed a small number of the experiments of Liébeault and Hippolyte Bernheim in Nancy. Back in Vienna he developed abreaction therapy using it with Josef Breuer. When Sigmund Freud discounted its use in psychiatry, in the first half of the last century, stage hypnotists kept it alive more than physicians. Later in the history of hypnosis In Britain, in 1952, a Hypnotism Act was instituted to regulate stage hypnotists' public entertainments.
On April 23, 1955, the British Medical Association (BMA) approved the use of hypnosis in the areas of psychoneuroses and hypnoanesthesia in pain management in childbirth and surgery. At this time, the BMA also advised all physicians and medical students to receive fundamental training. A break through at last came about within the history of hypnosis when in 1956, the Pope gave his approval. The Roman Catholic Church banned hypnotism until the mid-20th century when, in 1956, Pope Pius XII gave his approval. He stated that the use of it by health care professionals for diagnosis and treatment is permitted. In an address from the Vatican on hypnotherapy in childbirth, the Pope gave these guidelines: Hypnotism is a serious matter, and not something to be dabbled in. In its scientific use, the precautions dictated by both science and morality are to be followed. Under the aspect of anesthesia, it is governed by the same principles as other forms of anesthesia.
American Medical Association, 1958 In 1958, the American Medical Association approved a report on the medical uses of it. It encouraged research although pointing out that some aspects of it are unknown and controversial. American Psychological Association Two years after AMA approval, the American Psychological Association endorsed hypnotherapy as a branch of psychology. Ernest Hilgard and other's studies continued after the Second World War. Barber, Hilgard, Orne and Sarbin also produced substantial studies. In 1961, Ernest Hilgard and André Weitzenhoffer created the Stanford scales, a standardized scale for susceptibility to hypnosis, and properly examined susceptibility across age-groups and sex. Hilgard went on to study sensory deception (1965) and induced anesthesia and analgesia (1975). The history of hypnosis continues with Milton Erickson who really started to develop things further. Milton Erickson (1901-1980) developed many ideas and techniques in hypnosis that were very different from what was commonly practiced. His style, has greatly influenced many modern schools of hypnotherapy. Dave Elman Dave Elman (1900-1967) helped to promote the medical use of it in the 1960s. Elman's definition of it is still used today among some professional hypnotherapists. Although Elman had no medical training, he is known for having trained the most physicians and psychotherapists in America, in the use of hypnotism.
He is also known for introducing rapid inductions to the field of hypnotism. One method of induction which he introduced more than fifty years ago is still one of the favored inductions used by many of today's practitioners. He placed great stress on what he termed "the Esdaile state" or the "hypnotic coma", which, according to Elman, had not been deliberately induced since Scottish surgeon James Esdaile last attained it. This was an unfortunate and historically inaccurate choice of terminology on Elman's part. Esdaile never used what we now call hypnosis even on a single occasion; he used something loosely resembling mesmerism also known as animal magnetism. So as you can see throughtout the history of hypnosis it has had many changes and is still very much evolving.
The above information has been taken from wikipedia and here is the link: Wikipedia 
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