Ericksonian hypnosis is the name given to the particular style of hypnotherapy used and taught by psychiatrist, Milton Erickson. It describes a very specific form of hypnosis. Unlike traditional hypnotherapy, Ericksonian hypnotherapy uses indirect suggestion, metaphor, and storytelling to alter behaviour, rather than direct suggestion. Erickson was modelled by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the creators of NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming. Dr. Doris is currently Asia and the Middle East only certifying NLP Meta Master certifying from both the Original Society of Neuro Linguistic Programming and the American Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming dually.
Milton Erickson is considered by many as ‘the father of modern hypnotherapy’. His work has influenced many forms of therapy, including short-term therapy, guided imagery. Is is Dr. Doris intention to introduce Ericksonian Hypnotherapy to the East to assist client and further add skills to Psychologist’s, Counselors, Mental Health Workers, Coaches, Trainers and NLP Practitioners.
Hypnotic trance (altered awareness) exists in many different forms and affects us all in everyday life. Trance is often recognised and used to promote change, such as in hypnotherapy. But these states are actually something we experience every day without realising, like daydreaming. Traditional hypnotherapy is the use of this altered awareness for therapeutic purpose. It uses direct suggestion to promote positive change in behaviour.
Ericksonian hypnotherapy however uses indirect suggestion. The techniques used in traditional hypnotherapy are believed to work for some, but not everybody. In fact, some people are able to resist these suggestions, whether they mean to or not. Ericksonian hypnosis uses indirect suggestions because they appear to be much harder to resist. This is because often, the conscious mind cannot recognise these as suggestions at all.
Some Key Elements that will be taught in this training
Erickson had a unique approach to hypnotherapy, and so it’s believed that many of his methods died with him. But there are certain elements to his approach that have been recognised, analysed and refined, and are now key parts of Ericksonian hypnosis.
Erickson believed the unconscious mind contained all the necessary resources to bring about positive change, so he focused on engaging the unconscious by any means available.
He didn’t believe in the Freudian notion that the cause of problems needs to be removed from the past. The language of the unconscious is imagination and metaphor. Erickson knew this, so metaphors, therapeutic stories, jokes and riddles were a crucial element of his work.
The unconscious mind would process these stories as coded messages. The unconscious would be able to understand the point of the story, while the conscious mind did not. This This storytelling to the unconscious is, in simple terms, what hypnosis is all about.
Erickson recognised the importance of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. It was this understanding that led to the development of indirect or ‘conversational’ hypnosis. This new method moved away from traditional hypnotherapy and the direct instruction of ‘entering a trance-like state’ and instead, adopted a more subtle approach, known as Ericksonian hypnotherapy.
The use of metaphors in this training
As mentioned, metaphors and stories are key features used within Ericksonian hypnotherapy. The stories are often multi-layered, serving the purpose of entertaining the conscious while also working with the subconscious. Clients may not always understand how the problem is being addressed, but will nevertheless experience the benefits
When discussing his approach, Milton Erickson noted that almost all of his techniques involved the use of confusion. The idea would be to use complex language and vague language patterns to distract the client’s conscious mind. As they tried to follow what was being said, the client would experience mental overload and move into a highly attentive state, which Erickson believed was ideal for dropping in positive suggestions.
The main purpose Dr. Doris has created this training in simple is If you want to sum up Erickson’s approach, you could hardly do better than to call it ‘targeted intervention based on clear perception of the current needs of a unique individual ‘. He had no rigid protocol other than to pay close attention to the person in front of him and work out what would best suit that person’s needs. And this belief is deeply rooted in Dr. Doris’s work with her clients
This called for acute insight and total flexibility. He was a master of the ‘surprise solution’ – the universal hypnotic principle by which a sudden shock triggers the orientation response and makes us wide open to suggestion and learning. And he always knew what to suggest at that critical moment!
Why not take your skill level to the next level, as many of our participants who have their master’s in psychology notice they still lack tools to create long term change in their clients and coaches who wish to deliver more impactful sessions where they can assist clients who have suffered years with pain. If you would like a free brochure on our upcoming program, contact. A member of our team
Dr. DorisNLP: “Where People are the Heart of the Matter”
https://drdorisnlp.com/ericksonian-hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is the treatment of several health conditions by hypnotism or by causing prolonged sleep.
Hypnotherapy involves attaining a psychological state of awareness that’s different from the normal state of consciousness. While in a hypnotic state, a range of phenomena can occur. These include heightened susceptibility to suggestion, alterations in memory, paralysis, perspiration, and blushing. All these changes could be produced or eliminated in the hypnotic state. Some studies have shown that approximately 90 percent of the populace is capable of being hypnotized. This state of consciousness can be achieved by relaxing the entire body, focusing on one’s breathing, and shifting attention away from the outside environment. In this condition, the individual has a heightened receptivity to suggestion. The typical process of inducing a hypnotic trance in another man or woman is by a direct control replicated in a soothing, monotonous tone of voice.
- Hypnosis can treat addictions– It doesn’t matter what you’re addicted to hypnosis can help you kick the addiction of food, alcohol, drugs, smoking and many other addictions. Hypnosis helps to rid your body of physical addictions to whatever you are addicted to.
- Hypnosis can help you lose weight and keep it off– Hypnotherapy has been proven to be 30% more effective than just dieting when it comes to weight loss. Medical professionals speculate that Hypnosis helps people who are hanging onto the extra weight for psychological reasons or people that overeat for psychological reasons.
- Hypnosis can help manage chronic pain– If you have a disease that leaves you in frequent pain like Fibromyalgia, Arthritis or Migraines then you already know that sometimes it feels like nothing will stop the pain. When drugs and diet don’t help you can manage your pain using self-Hypnosis. In many different scientific studies Hypnosis has been proven to be an effective pain management technique
- Hypnosis can help reduce stress– Stress can cause serious illness in people like heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and sleep disorders. If you have a lot of stress in your life and you feel like you can’t get it under control by using diet and exercise, then it’s time to think about Hypnosis.
- Hypnosis can help deal with childhood issues– From serious abuse or other problems in the home to lack of self esteem or a need to be successful at all costs the issues and problems that you experienced as a child might still be impacting you today and causing you to make bad decisions or to not take very good care of yourself. Hypnosis is a great way to work through childhood issues and replace those negative messages about yourself with positive ones.
- Hypnosis can cure sleep disorders– Millions of people suffer from sleep disorders that range from full insomnia to night terrors, wakeful sleep, sleepwalking, and the inability to fall into REM sleep which your body needs. Many sleep disorders have an associated psychological condition that makes it necessary for people to get both psychological and physical treatment in order to be able to get some sleep. Hypnosis can help treat the psychological problem that is causing the sleep disturbance while at the same time it puts the body in a deeply relaxed state that helps the body and mind become rejuvenated.
- Hypnosis can promote deep relaxation– If you have ever tried meditation you know already the great things that relaxation does for the mind and body. You can become more creative, better at problem solving, less irritable, and you can reduce your risk of health problems like heart disease or high blood pressure significantly if you meditate or relax regularly. But if you have trouble relaxing, or if you never seem to be able to relax deeply enough to really feel refreshed, then you should try Hypnosis. Hypnosis is a wonderful way to experience truly deep relaxation that will make you feel much healthier.
- Hypnosis can help you change your behaviour– Are you the kind of person that is always snapping at others? Do you get irritated and angry often? Do you have trouble managing your anger? Hypnosis can help you change your behaviour patterns so that you can be healthier and happier. Often behavioural patterns are learned in childhood, but a hypnotic suggestion given while you’re in a deep hypnotic state can help you get rid of those old messages telling you to behave in certain ways and replace the with messages to act in new, more appropriate ways.
- Hypnosis can help recover buried memories– All of the experiences that you’ve had throughout your life are buried in your brain somewhere. Typically this is used to help people that were abused as children understand their behavioural patterns but there can also be happy memories that you have forgotten as a result of an injury or accident that can be recovered with Hypnosis.
- Hypnosis can help treat Anxiety and Depression– Many people are reluctant to take medication to treat Anxiety and Depression because they don’t want to become dependent on medication. Other people just can’t seem to find a medication that works for them. Hypnosis is a drug free and very effective way to calm Anxiety and to treat the symptoms of depression. By using hypnotic suggestions to eliminate the triggers of Anxiety and Depression people that suffer from Depression and Anxiety can sometimes find 100% relief from those conditions by using Hypnosis.