Fundamental Hypnosis Workshop

Utilization
With
Lilian Borges Zeig
 Definition
• “Utilization is the readiness of the therapist to respond strategically to
any and all aspects of the patient or the environment.” (Zeig, 1992)

• “The therapist/hypnotist uses the person’s usual mental habits,

resistance, symptoms, behavior, delusions, or any other aspect of the
person’s internal or external behavior in service of treatment or trance
induction.” (O’Hanlon and Hexum, 1990)

• The therapist gets into a “state” of responding positively to every

stimulus that comes to him. It is a way of not letting the circumstances
guiding him/her, but guiding the circumstances him/herself, using
whatever happens to achieve his goals for the therapy or the trance
induction. It is also a way of seeing the good side of the situation or the
virtue of our faults” as Jeffrey Zeig says.
 Definition
“We view hypnotherapy as a process whereby we help people
utilize their own mental associations, memories, and life
potencials to achive their own therapeutic goals. Hypnotic
suggestion can facilitate the utilization of abilities and
potencials that already exist within a person but that
remain unused or underdeveloped because of a lack of
training or understanding. The hypnotherapist carefully
explores a patient’s individuality to ascertain what life
learnings, experience, and mental skills are available to
deal with the problem. The therapist then facilitates an
approach to trance experience wherein the patient may
utilize these uniquely personal internal responses to
achieve therapeutic goals.” (Erickson & Rossi, 1979, pg.1)
 Utilization in a trance induction

• Incorporation

• Ratification

• Positive attribution
 Utilization of Resistance

“If they bring in resistance, be grateful for that resistance.

Heap it up in whatever fashion they want you to-really pile
it up. But never get disgusted with the amount of
resistance…whatever the patient presents to you in the
office, you really ought to use” (Erickson in Erickson &
Rossi, 1981, p.16)
 Utilization in psychotherapy:

• Patient’s language and metaphors

• Interests and motivation
• Beliefs
• Behavior
• Symptom
• Resistance
• Strength
• Hypnotic Phenomena
 Reference List
• De Shazer, Steve. Utilization: The Foundation of Solutions. In Zeig, Jeffrey(Ed),
Developing Ericksonian Therapy – State of the Art. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1988.
• Erickson,M & Rossi, E. Hypnotherapy. New York: Irvington, 1979
• Erickson,M. & Rossi,E. Experiencing Hypnosis. New York: Irvington, 1981
• O’Hanlon, William H. An Uncommon Casebook-The Complete Clinical Work of
Milton H. Erickson, MD. New York: Norton, 1990.
• O’Hanlon, William H. Solution-Oriented Hypnosis-An Ericksonian Approach. New
York: Norton, 1992.
• Zeig, Jeffrey. Experiencing Erickson-An Introduction to the Man and His Work. New
York: Brunner/Mazel, 1985.
• Zeig, Jeffrey. A Teaching Seminar with Milton H. Erickson. New York: Brunner/
Mazel, 1980.
• Zeig, Jeffrey. Ericksonian Methods-the Essence of the Story. New York:
Brunner/Mazel, 1994.
• Zeig, Jeffrey. An Ericksonian Phenomenological Approach to Therapeutic Hypnotic
Induction and Symptom Utilization. In Zeig, Jeffrey(Ed) Developing Ericksonian
Therapy-State of the Art. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1988