What is Neo-Ericksonian Hypnosis?

The legacy of Erickson in contemporary practice By Michael Watson

Milton Erickson, MD
Milton H Erickson was one of the greatest innovators in the modern history of the field of hypnosis. I like to say that he discovered hypnosis. Not in the sense that he was the first to know about it or stick a flag in it, but in the sense that as a young man, without any study in hypnosis or psychology and while struggling to regain mobility after he had been completely paralyzed by polio, Erickson became acquainted with his unconscious mind. He found it on his own. Or perhaps IT found him. Unlike the professionals of his day, he didnt see the unconscious (or subconscious as it was called by others) as the lurking, shadowy source that spawned complexes and deep seated neurosis, nor as the simple-minded, suggestible and obediently programmable child that simply needed some authoritarian hypnotist to tell it what to do. Instead he understood it as the repository of great creativity, wisdom and resourcefulness. And he used this discovery, unencumbered by traditional understandings, to overcome his paralysis and numerous other challenges. Subsequently, Erickson became a psychiatrist, educator and innovator in brief therapy, the inspiration of Bandler and Grinder (NLP), the founder of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and a powerful therapist whose work centered around a number of principles and presuppositions that set him apart from the rest. A handful of them are presented here.

Principles and Presuppositions

1. Hypnosis is a state of concentrated, focused attention Thats it. Its not something mystical or magical, so it doesnt require a wizard to achieve it. In its earliest days, and especially in the time of Franz Anton Mesmer, it was believed that the power was in the hypnotist who could effectively enchant his subjects. To this day people still ask hypnotists to put me in trance and MAKE me change. Weve come a long way from there and Erickson was especially keen on the idea of empowering people, not leading them to believe that they could change because of who HE was, but because of who THEY are. Now bear in mind here that were talking about the hypnotic state, not the practice of hypnotherapy. But whenever your attention has been captivated by an enchanting piece of music, or a stunning beauty, or a shocking event or youve been gobsmacked by a 60 yard pass and touchdown in the final seconds of a football game. Or maybe youve simply been so deeply engaged in a pleasant activity that you didnt even notice what was happening around you. This state of concentrated focus just might be hypnosis. No hypnotist required. 2. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring phenomena Because he hadnt gone looking for it, Erickson knew that hypnosis didnt require a hypnotist or even an induction. He observed that we go into trance in some form or another, several times a day. It might take the form of daydreaming, or maybe the absorption of attention when you become deeply engaged in something, or maybe the world outside and around you become less

significant as your focus moves to the world of deep thought or inner engagement. And maybe its something you dont even notice at all, but it appears to be a natural process that plays an important part in the integration of information, problem solving, and much more. And because he believed it to be a natural and necessary thing, he further believed it to be available to everybody by virtue of its innateness. This called into serious question the long held notion that some people were more suggestible (I prefer the word responsive), and that some simply couldnt be hypnotized at all. 3. Hypnosis is a relationship Theres a lot to be said about this that goes far beyond the scope of this article, yet there are a variety of relationships that are implied in hypnosis. Your relationship with yourself being one of them, or the relationship between your conscious and unconscious processes. And Erickson would insist that in therapy rapport is crucial between the hypnotist and the client, that trance is a mutual event, a shared experience in which therapist and client interact And that the quality of that relationship will determine the quality and effectiveness of the hypnotic work. Coupled with this idea is the deep respect that Erickson held for his clients and the trust he had in their inner resourcefulness. 4. The Wisdom is in the client Erickson had been known to say, You might be pretty smart but your unconscious mind is a lot smarter. It seemed obvious to him that the client knows more about whats involved in their life challenges than the therapist. And whether that information is conscious or unconscious, the principle of utilization which Erickson postulated tells us not to impose our will (or even our assumptions about whats best) on the client, but to create a vehicle that allows for that inner wisdom to emerge. 5. You can trust the unconscious mind, but the conscious mind sometimes gets in the way The unconscious mind, as Erickson thought of it, isnt some suspicious force that sabotages us and leads us into destructive or unwanted behaviors. Erickson had learned from his own experiences with polio, and subsequently in his work with clients, to honor the unconscious recognizing its positive intention for us. And to trust in its wisdom and its incredible resourcefulness. The second half of this presupposition demonstrates an inversion of the conventional thinking of the time. We have been taught about logic and reason and the value of thinking. Conscious, deliberate, thinking. And weve been warned to be watchful about the other mind. Yet the first thing that hypnotists are taught is to use induction to by-pass the conscious mind. To shut it up, to get it out of the way and to dialogue with the unconscious. The difference is that the traditional approach seeks to access and direct a compliant unconscious mind to a satisfactory solution. And Ericksons approach invites the unconscious mind to participate and contribute to the change process as a full partner in a special relationship. Erickson saw the conscious mind as being limited, and the unconscious as being the superior agent in the change process. He relied

on indirect suggestions and metaphors and a host of other methods to engage the unconscious, while preventing interference from the questioning conscious mind. 6. Conscious understanding is not necessary for change Years ago I had a teacher who used to say, Understanding is the booby prize. If the conscious mind were capable of figuring it out then why would we need hypnosis? So much time in therapy can be spent on why things are the way they are, and some people refuse to accept change until theyve made sense out of it all. This can go on for years, and often does. Yet the unconscious mind can make changes quickly, pervasively, transformationally without needing to wait for the conscious mind to catch up, or get clear about all the details.

Neo-Ericksonian?
Numerous teachers and trainers including Havens and Walters, Bill OHanlon, myself and others have been using the label Neo-Ericksonian for a dozen years or more. It would be presumptuous for us to suggest that we know how Erickson would have developed his work if he were still living or just what would have come next. In fact, students of Dr E dont even seem to agree about what Erickson was up to when he was living. OHanlon wrote a brilliant book (Taproots) in which he explored underlying principles of Ericksons hypnosis. And while he shared a lot of useful information that many of the modelers would agree on, he also offered a side-by-side comparison of a number of models that show a significant difference in understanding. The idea of Ericksonian Hypnosis is really loaded with mind reading, assumptions and guesses. It implies that Erickson had come to some conclusion about his work. Even the good doctor himself wouldnt know what Ericksonian Hypnosis was, but he would know that there were a handful of principles and presuppositions, several of which are discussed above, that he felt strongly about, experimented with, and shared with others in his teachings and through his students. So Neo-Ericksonian is what happens in the wake of Erickson. Under the influence. It refers to a wide variety of approaches and applications which may be quite different from one another, yet share some essential ideas gleaned from the master. The practitioners of these applications may or may not be in agreement about a LOT of things, but they hold in common the respect for the innate wisdom and resourcefulness of the unconscious, the naturalness of hypnosis, and the power that comes through deep rapport in a mutual trance. As such, there will continue to be a fresh supply of Neo-Ericksonians, whose label identifies them as practitioners who do their work, whatever form it takes, with a dedicated adherence to these principles.

2013 Michael Watson

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