Étienne Eugène Azam

Hypnosis
Applications

Hypnotherapy
Stage hypnosis
Self-hypnosis

Origins

Animal magnetism
Franz Mesmer
History of hypnosis
James Braid

Key figures

Marques of Puységur
James Esdaile
John Elliotson
Jean-Martin Charcot
Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault
Hippolyte Bernheim
Pierre Janet
Sigmund Freud
Émile Coué
Morton Prince
Clark L. Hull
Andrew Salter
Theodore R. Sarbin
Milton H. Erickson
Stephen Brooks
Dave Elman
Ernest Hilgard
Martin Theodore Orne
André Muller Weitzenhoffer
Theodore Xenophon Barber
Nicholas Spanos
Irving Kirsch

Related topics

Hypnotic susceptibility
Suggestion
Post-hypnotic suggestion
Age regression in therapy
Neuro-linguistic programming
Hypnotherapy in the UK

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Étienne Eugène Azam (1822–1899) was a French surgeon from Bordeaux who is chiefly remembered for his work in psychology, particularly a case involving a female patient he named "Félida X" who seemed to have "alternating personalities", or what Azam referred to as doublement de la vie.

Over a number of years Azam studied Félida's psychological profile and from his research published three reports. He described Félida as a hysterical patient who had a serious and sad (normal) state, along with a merry and generous state. He analyzed these two states as two distinct, separate personalities that seemed to be unaware of the other.

The case of Félida X is one of the earliest documented descriptions of what would later be called a multiple personality disorder. At the time, this situation garnered interest in the medical community, and created several puzzling questions in regards to the concept of Self, as well as to the definition of personal ego. Additionally from a quasi-religious context, the concept of multiple personalities was contrary to the paranormal belief system of Spiritualism (religious movement), which had a large following in the 19th century.

Selected work

References