Milton H. Erickson

Milton Hyland Erickson, MD (December 5, 1901 – March 25 1980) was an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis. He was founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychopathological Association.

Indirect Techniques

Where 'classical' hypnosis is authoritative and direct, and often encounters resistance in the subject, Erickson's approach is accommodating and indirect. For example, where a classical hypnotist might say "you are going into a trance", an Ericksonian hypnotist would be more likely to say "you can learn how to go into a trance". In this way, he provides an opportunity for the subject to accept the suggestions they are most comfortable with, at their own pace, and with an awareness of the benefits. The subject knows they are not being hustled, and takes full ownership of, and participation in their transformation.

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Erickson maintained that it was not possible to consciously instruct the unconscious mind, and that authoritarian suggestions were likely to be met with resistance. The unconscious mind responds to openings, opportunities, metaphors and contradictions. Effective hypnotic suggestion, then, should be 'artfully vague', leaving space for the subject to fill in the gaps with their own unconscious understandings - even if they do not consciously grasp what is happening. The skilled hypnotherapist constructs these gaps of meaning in a way most suited to the individual subject - in a way which is most likely to produce the desired change.

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For example the authoritative "you will stop smoking" is likely to be find less leverage on the unconscious level than "you can become a non-smoker". The first is a direct command, to be obeyed or ignored (and notice that it draws attention to the act of smoking), the second is an opening, an invitation to possible lasting change, without pressure, and which is less likely to raise resistance.

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Richard Bandler and John Grinder identified this kind of 'artful vagueness' as a central characteristic of their 'Milton Model', a systematic attempt to codify Erickson's hypnotic language patterns.

Related Topics:
Richard Bandler - John Grinder - Milton Model

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