Weltmer Institute of Suggestive Therapeutics

Weltmer Institute Emblem

The Weltmer Institute was an American organization that practiced weltmerism, a kind of "magnetic healing" involving telepathy and hypnosis. It was founded by Prof. Sidney Abram Weltmer on February 19, 1897 and was dissolved in 1933, shortly after his death in 1930.

The institute was significant in generating business that helped boost the growth of the town in which it was located: Nevada, Missouri. However, the hypnotic and telepathic healing that it sold was criticized as ineffective voodoo and charlatanry.

History

Sidney Weltmer in 1912

Sidney Weltmer was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea that healing could be the basis of a successful business and, in his book How to make magnetic healing pay, had written "a thorough knowledge of Magnetic Healing alone will not bring success, financially—a knowledge of the business side of the science is necessary as well". Weltmer's interests in business culminated in his opening of the Weltmer Institute in Nevada, Missouri in 1897.[1]

At its height, the institute treated 400 people a day for a daily income of $3,600.[2] It employed 17 healers and over 100 stenographers and typists to process mail.[3]

After the closure of the Institute in 1933, The first building was sold to Milster Funeral Home. In 2005, the historical buildings were razed down to build new buildings.[4]

Activities

Weltmer Institute Cameo Overview

At the institute, practitioners performed mental healing through telepathy and mental suggestion.[5]

One practitioner – J.O. Crone – wrote an account of his time at the institute and claimed that he began work with scant instruction from Weltmer himself, who had been preoccupied. Crone wrote of his first hypnosis, of a woman patient, thus:

she said ... " ... I want you to hypnotize me, get me quiet, and give me rest." Very well; this was my first attempt to hypnotize a patient, but I did not allow her to know but I had hypnotized a hundred or more. To tell the truth, I was almost scared to death.[6]

Reception and influence

Weltmer Law Relations

F. H. Behncke wrote in his 1920 book, Pioneer Teachers, that the Weltmer Institute "may be called the foremost school for mental healing in America".[7]

The institute had a significant impact on the town of Nevada, Missouri. It was responsible for such an increase in volume of mail handled by the local post office, that it was upgraded to first class and housed in a new building; the town's facilities grew in response to the business generated by the institute's activities[3] – the railroad company had to schedule extra trains to handle the passenger numbers generated by the institute's fame.[8]

Weltmer, and his institute, were attacked by critics. In his booklet of 1900, The Exposé of Weltmerism: Magnetic Healing De-magnetized, Preston W. Pope described what he saw as errors in Welmer's practice;[9] a local pastor referred to Weltmer's practices as "an ignorant mixture of voodoo and Christian Science";[8] and in a 1910 issue of the British Medical Journal Weltmerism was described as "one of the innumerable freaks of the charlatan fancy which flourished only on American soil."[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Christopher Hoolihan (1 November 2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 3: Supplement: A-Z. University Rochester Press. p. 636. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  2. ↑ Melton, J. Gordon (1991). Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America. Gale Group. p. 596. ISBN 978-0810349216.
  3. 1 2 Thornton, Carolyn Gray (19 November 2004). "Short history of a longtime landmark". The Nevada Daily Mail. Retrieved February 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ Brophy, Patrick (16 June 1982). "Nevada's Magnetic Healers". The Nevada Daily Mail. p. 2A. Retrieved February 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. ↑ William Walker Atkinson (30 August 2010). Telepathy: Its Theory, Facts, and Proof. Cosimo, Inc. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-61640-357-7. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  6. ↑ J. O. Crone (1 March 1997). Magnetic Healer's Guide Or Personal Experiences in Magnetic and Suggestive Healing. Kessinger Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-56459-766-3. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  7. ↑ F. H. Behncke (1996-09). Pioneer Teachers. Health Research Books. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7873-0087-6. Retrieved 2 February 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. 1 2 "Aging building rich in local history". The Nevada Daily Mail. 18 August 2004. Retrieved February 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  9. ↑ The Annual American Catalogue. Publishers' Weekly. 1901. p. 235.
  10. ↑ "British Medical Journal". BMJ. 1 (2571): 891. 1910. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.2571.888. JSTOR 25290237.

Further reading

Books
Articles in The Nevada Daily Mail
External links
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