Sydney James Van Pelt (born 1 February 1908 in Melbourne ;[ 1] † 7 January 1976[ 2] ) was an Australian medical practitioner and a pioneer of modern medical hypnosis and hypnotherapy .[ 3]
The son and only child of John Thomas Van Pelt (1878-1932),[ 4] and Bertha Florence Van Pelt, née Reid,[ 5] he was born in Windsor, Victoria on 1 February 1908.[ 6]
Graduating M.B.B.S. from the University of Melbourne in December 1933,[ 7] he was appointed to the staff of The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne at the end of 1933.[ 8] He served for a time in the Royal Navy , as a Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander.[ 9] [ 10] After the war, he had a practice in Harley Street.
Having first encountered hypnotism in Melbourne, in 1932,[ 11] 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.[ 12]
In 1952 he was commissioned by the British Minister of Health , the Home Office and the National Association of Mental Health to assist in the adoption of the U.K. Hypnotism Act 1952 .[ 3] [ 13]
How to conquer nerves. London, Skeffington / Roy Publishers, 1954. OCLC 14674627
Waking hypnosis. Hove : Courtenay Press, 1954.
Hypnotic suggestion: its role in psychoneurotic and psychosomatic disorders: A thesis. New York: Philosophical Library, 1956. OCLC 1630501
Modern hypnotism: key to the mind. Westport, Conn., : Associated Booksellers, 1956.
Secrets of hypnotism . Wilshire Book Co., 1958. OCLC 8654285
Hypnotism and the power within. New York: Wehman Bros., 1958. OCLC 9550663
Hypnotism. London: W. & G. Foyle, 1960. OCLC 8654279
With Gordon Ambrose and George Newbold: Medical Hypnosis: New Hope For Mankind. London: Gollancz, 1953. OCLC 14666843 New edition: Medical hypnosis handbook. Wilshire Book Co., 1965. OCLC 2951464
^ Lectuur-repertorium: 1952–1966 Supplement bij de Tweede Uitgave. Bd. 3. Algemeen Secretariaat voor Katholieke Poekerijen, Antwerpen 1970.
^ Tribute to Sidney J. Van Pelt (1976)
^ a b "HELEN BOYLE" . Br Med J . 2 (5056): 1310–2. 1957. doi :10.1136/bmj.2.5056.1310-e . PMC 1963203 . PMID 13479708 .
^ Deaths: Van Pelt, The Argus , (Monday, 12 September 1932), p.1.
^ Marriages: Van Pelt—Reid, The (Launceston) Examiner , (Wednesday, 23 October 1907), p.1.
^ Births: Van Pelt, The Prahran Telegraph , (Saturday, 28 March 1908), p.1.
^ Conferring of Degrees, The Age , (Tuesday, 26 December 1933), p.5.
^ "PERSONAL" . The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 23 December 1933. p. 14. Retrieved 4 September 2013 .
^ Personal, The West Australian , (Thursday, 7 February 1935), p.14.
^ The Navy List: December 1940 , pp.119 , 966.
^ American Hypnotist in Suit Conducts own Defence, The Brisbane Telegraph , (Wednesday, 26 March 1952), p.8.
^ Popular Science: Van Pelt, The Dungog Chronicle and Gloucester Advertiser , (Saturday, 11 September 1954), p.3.
^ "Hypnotic eyes can leave deep scars" . The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 March 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2013 .
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.