(1840-1919) French medical
doctor who practiced medicine in the city of
Nancy,
France. In the
late 1880s Bernheim became
involved in the practice of
hypnotism. Although Bernheim felt that the
use of
hypnotism had questionable benefits due to its
ability to influence a person's attitudes, beliefs and
behavior, which would be accepted by the
patient uncritically, he and another scientist used it to "treat" more than 12,000 patients.