Sydney James Van Pelt (born 1 February 1908 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

; † 7 January 1976Tribute to Sidney J. Van Pelt (1976)
/ref>) was an Australian medical practitioner and a pioneer of modern medical hypnosis and

hypnotherapy Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

Family

The son and only child of John Thomas Van Pelt (1878-1932), and Bertha Florence Van Pelt, née Reid, he was born in

Windsor, Victoria Windsor is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Port Phillip, Port Phill ...

on 1 February 1908.

Medicine

Graduating M.B.B.S. from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in December 1933, he was appointed to the staff of The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne at the end of 1933. He served for a time in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, as a Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander. After the war, he had a practice in Harley Street.

Hypnotism

Having first encountered hypnotism in Melbourne, in 1932, he was the founding editor of the British Journal of Medical Hypnotism, President of the British Society of Medical Hypnotists, and a member of the (U.S.) Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. In 1952 he was commissioned by the British Minister of Health, the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

and the

National Association of Mental Health Mind is a mental health charity in England and Wales. It was founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH). Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local author ...

to assist in the adoption of the U.K. Hypnotism Act 1952.

Publications

* ''How to conquer nerves.'' London, Skeffington / Roy Publishers, 1954. * ''Waking hypnosis.'' Hove : Courtenay Press, 1954. * ''Hypnotic suggestion: its role in psychoneurotic and psychosomatic disorders: A thesis.'' New York: Philosophical Library, 1956. * ''Modern hypnotism: key to the mind.'' Westport, Conn., : Associated Booksellers, 1956. * ''Secrets of hypnotism''. Wilshire Book Co., 1958. * ''Hypnotism and the power within.'' New York: Wehman Bros., 1958. * ''Hypnotism.'' London: W. & G. Foyle, 1960. * With Gordon Ambrose and

George Newbold George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...

: ''Medical Hypnosis: New Hope For Mankind.'' London: Gollancz, 1953. ::New edition: ''Medical hypnosis handbook.'' Wilshire Book Co., 1965.

Footnotes

References

Degrees Conferred, 23 December 1933: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, ''Annual Report, 1933—1934'', The University of Melbourne, p.1234.

Medico-Legal: Doctors in Slander Suit, ''British Medical Journal'', Vol.2, No.5056, (30 November 1957), pp.1313-1314.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, Sydney James Australian hypnotists Melbourne Medical School alumni 1908 births 1976 deaths Royal Navy Medical Service officers People from Windsor, Victoria Medical doctors from Melbourne Royal Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Melbourne