October Video of the Month
Timeless Presentations from Erickson Foundation Events
This ongoing series highlights keynotes, workshops, and dialogues from past Erickson Foundation conferences—showcasing the most influential voices in psychotherapy. These archival recordings offer more than historical interest; they hold lasting clinical value. Each session distills complex therapeutic ideas into lived examples, practical applications, and subtle demonstrations of the art of therapy.
This month’s selection is…
🌟 Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D.
“The Primacy of Non-Verbal Communication in Creative Trance Work”
Fundamentals of Hypnosis Track | International Congress 2019 | Phoenix, AZ
📌 About the Speaker
Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D., is a psychologist, author, and internationally recognized leader in Ericksonian hypnosis, psychotherapy, and generative change. A direct student of Milton H. Erickson beginning at age 19, Gilligan has spent decades developing approaches that integrate Ericksonian principles with somatic awareness, systems thinking, and what he calls the “creative unconscious.”
🧠 Workshop Highlights: Setting the Stage
Stephen Gilligan begins this 2019 session by inviting presence and reflection. He reads poetry, recalls lessons from his early years with Milton Erickson, and speaks about the mystery of human change. His tone is gentle and humorous, establishing a feeling of curiosity and openness among the audience.
He explains that hypnosis grows from relationship and resonance, noting that most of Erickson’s work was non-verbal, grounded in presence and attunement rather than scripted technique. Transformation, he emphasizes, occurs through the shared connection between therapist and client.
Gilligan recites two “bookend poems” to demonstrate the mammalian nature of human experience and the realm of inspiration. Together they express the full range of consciousness that therapy seeks to integrate…the instinctive life of the body and the imaginative life of the mind. Healing begins in this meeting place, where every human experience becomes a conversation between head and heart.
Gilligan draws on Carl Pribram’s idea that learning is organized holographically, meaning the whole pattern of what is learned is present in each part of the system. He extends this idea to consciousness itself, suggesting that awareness also contains both the part and the whole at once. In his view, the unconscious functions like a quantum field of endless potential, while the conscious mind brings certain possibilities into focus as lived experience. Trance allows therapist and client to loosen those fixed patterns and reconnect with the larger field of the creative unconscious, the “quantum ocean,” where new experiences can emerge.
As the workshop unfolds, Gilligan weaves these ideas into his demonstrations. Blending neuroscience, humor, and imagery, he invites participants to experience how presence, movement, and attention can shape the field of trance in real time. His teaching highlights that therapy begins in connection rather than analysis, that non-verbal communication fosters safety and belonging, and that the body carries both suffering and the seeds of transformation. Through what he calls “creative nonviolence,” he models a stance of respect, curiosity, and acceptance toward every part of the self.
🌀 Ericksonian Threads in Gilligan’s Work
Much of Gilligan’s teaching reflects the living influence of Milton H. Erickson. The principles of utilization, indirect suggestion, and reframing appear throughout his demonstrations as attitudes that invite collaboration and creativity. Rather than “correcting” symptoms, he helps clients discover the potential within them to discover new ways of being.
This approach is beautifully illustrated when Gilligan recounts one of Erickson’s most beloved teaching stories…the woman who believed a gap in her teeth made her unlovable. Erickson reframed that “flaw” into a playful ritual that awakened her vitality and connection, transforming self-judgment into joy.
🎥 Watch the Moment — “Reframing the Gap-Tooth Story”
From fixed meanings to playful possibilities: Gilligan brings Erickson’s humor and humanity to life, revealing how a lighthearted moment can shift an old story.
⏳ Why It Still Matters
Stephen Gilligan continues to inspire how therapists understand hypnosis, presence, and the creative unconscious. Emphasizing the power of nonverbal communication and relational attunement, he reminds us that much of healing happens beyond words.
📅 Upcoming Appearance
Stephen Gilligan will join the faculty for Module 4 of The Milton H. Erickson Foundation’s Intensive Training Online (July 10 to August 28, 2026). This module, Mastering Clinical Challenges, explores the spiritual dimensions of hypnosis, paradoxical methods, resilience, and generative trance.
The Intensive Training is a four-part online series featuring 32 live classes with internationally recognized faculty. Throughout the program, participants develop essential Ericksonian skills in communication, induction, utilization, and clinical application. They can earn CE credit while expanding both confidence and creativity in their therapeutic practice.
In Module 4, Gilligan’s session, Generative Trance for a Creative Mind (August 21, 2026), offers a powerful exploration of how trance can help clients reconnect with their inner resources and transform challenges into opportunities for growth and integration.
