Mesmer

Alan Rickman stars as Dr. Franz Mesmer, whose name gave us the term “mesmerize,” and whose studies led to the development of hypnosis. In this clip, Mesmers methods are contrasted with a popular healing method of the time bleeding the patient.

Mesmers treatments involved magnets, but actually relied upon the power of suggestion, not magnetism.

Assuming the depictions in the film are accurate, how are Mesmers methods the same and different from hypnotherapists today?