Lilian Borges, LPC, is an experienced therapist, teacher, presenter, and podcaster who has treated individuals and couples for more than thirty years. Being binational herself, she can understand multicultural issues naturally, and perform and teach psychotherapy in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

She’s an expert in Ericksonian Hypnosis, which she teaches both nationally and internationally and uses with individuals and couples to become and live their higher selves, and she’s trained professionals in hypnosis around the world for more than two decades. Lilian is part of the Milton Erickson Foundation Intensive Hypnosis Training faculty since 2001 where she trains other mental health professionals in Ericksonian Hypnosis.

She is Certified PACT therapist, and uses her dynamic, experiential, and hypnotic work with couples.

She currently has a private practice in Arizona, where she uses an array of techniques to help her patients with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, pain management, weight management, smoking cessation, etc.

She is co-host (with Rick Miller, LICSW) of the popular podcast Modern Couples.

Consuelo C. Casula, Clinical Psychologist, has a degree in Philosophy, a University specialization in Psychology and one in Clinical Hypnosis. She carries out her clinical activity in her studio in Milan, Italy, where she deals with anxiety, phobia, depression, stress, resilience and post traumatic growth, women’s empowerment, aging, couples, conflict management, and bereavement.

She teaches in some Italian schools of psychotherapy and clinical hypnosis, and travels abroad as a guest speaker to give lectures and facilitate workshops.

From 2014-2017 she has been the president of the European Hypnosis Society (ESH).

In her clinical practice she integrates Ericksonian hypnosis with a pragmatic, systemic and strategic approach, combined with positive psychology and Mindfulness. She is the author of several books on leading groups, resilience, women’s empowerment, and metaphors. Her Italian book on metaphors has been translated into five languages, included English (Metaphors for Personal and Professional Evolution: Gardeners, Princesses and Porcupines. Kindle Edition); her Italian book on resilience has been translated into French. She is also the author of several articles published in national and international books and journals.

In 2012, The Italian Association of Trainers (AIF) Awarded her for “…having contributed to developing, disseminating and generating training". In 2016, the “Franco Granone-Centro Italiano di Ipnosi Clinica e Sperimentale” gave her the IV International Prize “Franco Granon” for “her contribution in the field of Hypnosis in Italy”. In 2022, the International Society of Hypnosis (ISH) gave her the Pierre Janet Award for “Her clinical excellence and her publications on her clinical experience have advanced our understanding of the uses of hypnosis to achieve effective results.” In 2023, the European Society of Hypnosis awarded her the title of Honorary Member of the ESH, in “recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of hypnosis.”

Shawn R. Criswell, PhD, is a licensed professional counselor who provides clinical care to clients of all ages as well as offering consultation and training to healthcare professionals locally and internationally. For over 30 years, Dr. Criswell has used and taught clinical hypnosis in a range of settings including private practice, hospitals, academia, integrated medical clinics, and community mental health. She recently co-authored the 6th edition of Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis, with Dr. Michael D. Yapko.

ROXANNA ERICKSON-KLEIN, RN, PhD balances her time between clinical, writing, and teaching activities. She is co-author (with Betty Alice Erickson and Dan Short) of Hope & Resiliency: Understanding the Psychotherapeutic Strategies of Milton H. Erickson. With a special interest in the archives she is co-editor of the Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson, and is currently engaged in compiling an International Glossary to bring more consistency to translations of professional Ericksonian literature.

Bette Freedson is a clinical social worker practicing in Southern Maine. A highly regarded speaker and teacher, Bette is the author of three books: Soul Mothers’ Wisdom: Seven Insights for the Single Mother, and Other Realms, Other Ways: A Clinician’s Guide to the Magick of Intuition. She is also a contributing author to ERICKSONIAN THERAPY NOW: The Master Class with Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD. Bette’s most recent book is Passageways: Everyday Adventures into the Paranormal. As an approved consultant of The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), Bette incorporates hypnosis ethodology along with the wisdom of the non-conscious, aka the intuitive mind, into her writing, teaching, and clinical practice. With early roots in public education, Bette is mindful of tailoring her presented material to the needs and interests of each unique audience. Besides having taught for The Sweetser Training Institute, Adcare, and NASW, Bette has been a faculty member and moderator for conferences of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation. Bette currently serves as a facilitator for the Erickson Foundation’s Intensive Training program. Bette served for two years as a contributing member of the NASW specialty practice section on Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. (CAYA) Currently Bette serves as a member of the board of directors of the North Carolina Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

You can follow Bette on Facebook, Instagram, Substack and Bluesky.

STEPHEN GILLIGAN, Ph.D., is a Psychologist in Encinitas, CA. He was one of the original NLP students at UC Santa Cruz; Milton Erickson and Gregory Bateson were his mentors. After receiving his psychology doctorate from Stanford University, he became one of the premier teachers and practitioners of Ericksonian hypnotherapy. This work unfolded into his original approaches of Self-Relations and Generative Self, and then further developed with Robert Dilts into Generative Coaching. In response to the unprecedented meta-crisis we are currently engaged in, all this work is now woven into a Creative Mind meta-structures that honors and seeks to realize the interconnection of all life—friends and enemies, nature and humans, spirit and matter.

He has taught in many different cultures and countries over the past 30 years, and has published extensively. His numerous books include “The Hero’s Journey: A voyage of self discovery” (co-authored with Robert Dilts).the classic “Therapeutic trances,” “The courage to love,” “The legacy of Erickson,” “Walking in two worlds” (w. D. Simon)., “Generative Trance: The experience of creative flow”, four volumes of “Generative Coaching”, and his (in progress) 6-volume series on Creative Mind. His website is www.StephenGilligan.com

Tobi B. Goldfus, LCSW-C, BCD is a therapist, author and national/international speaker and trainer. She is an ASCH consultant with over 30 years of clinical hypnosis experience and is a certified EST therapist and consultant, national and international. In her book, From Real Life to Cyberspace and Back Again: Helping Our Young Clients Develop a Strong Inner Selfie (2017) and 2024 article in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, she focuses on ego states being practiced, predicating factors that make young people on social media/gaming sites more vulnerable to negative or traumatic experiences, and those that build strong social networks, and provides assessment and psychotherapy techniques to promote balance between online and real life. Her recent article (August, 2024, The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis) “The Impact of Social Media Use on Depression, Anxiety and Well-Being for Teens/Young People: Using Hypnosis to Build a Strong Sense of Self” outlines how this issue has formed a global concern for mental heal and ways clinicians can intervene. She is a member and has presented frequently as faculty that includes the Milton H. Erickson Foundation conferences, ASCH ( the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and a member at large 2025), ISH (International Society of Hypnosis), ESH (European Society of Hypnosis), MEISA (MHE Institute of South Africa), SCEH(Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis), and key note speaker at NPHTI (National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute). She is often co-faculty for trainings for Ego State Therapy North America as well as ASCH approved hypnosis trainings; She is a member of NASW and GWSCSW, and a Board Certified Diplomat. Tobi is in private practice in Germantown, Maryland.

Dana Lebo, Ph.D., a psychologist in Chapel Hill, NC, earned her degree from Columbia University. With nearly 30 years of experience, she has helped leaders, athletes, teams, and artists enhance their performance and work-life balance. She also works with veterans and first responders who struggle with trauma. As a grandmother, Boston/NY Marathoner, and triathlete who competed in the Age Group World Championships, she brings firsthand experience to her work as a performance psychologist. Dr. Lebo is President of NCSCH, an ASCH Board and Executive Committee Member, an approved consultant for ASCH, and co-founder of the Hypnotic Idea Exchange. Currently she works with a leadership consulting firm, UNC’s Brain and Body Health and THRIVE Programs, and runs a private practice.

Rick Miller, LICSW, is a psychotherapist, public speaker, workshop presenter, interviewer, and author. Miller was a pioneer in creating mind/body and hypnotic scripts for gay men and wrote the first book exploring the topic. He also specializes in working with male couples and teaches on this topic at psychotherapy and couples conferences.

He is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit, Gay Sons & Mothers, which collects, celebrates, and shares worldwide narratives of gay men and their mothers to support LGBTQ+ training and awareness, enrich myriad diverse communities, and enable rapprochement, understanding, and healing, and he’s the executive producer of the upcoming documentary, Mom, I Have Something to Tell You. He writes a regular column for Psychology Today and is a frequent contributor to Psychotherapy Networker, Medium, and Psychotherapy.net.

His workbook for male couples will be released in May 2025.

More at rickmiller.biz and gaysonsandmothers.org. 

Dan Short, PhD, is Director for the Phoenix Erickson Institute, former Editor for the Foundation Newsletter, and former Assistant Director at the Erickson Foundation. He is the author of Hope and Resiliency, co-written with Betty Alice Erickson and Roxanne Erickson-Klein. Dan teaches hypnosis at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, conducts consultation groups for local professionals, as well as serving as visiting faculty at institutes around the world.

Rob Staffin, Psy.D, ABPH is a clinical psychologist who is licensed in New Jersey and New York. He is also authorized to practice interjurisdictional psychology via telehealth by the PSYPACT Commission.

Dr. Staffin received his doctorate from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf graduate school of psychology in 1990. He studied infant social development with Dr. Beatrice Beebe.

Rob has been studying, teaching, and writing about hypnosis for more than 20 years. He is an Approved Consultant of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis. Rob is the President of the Clinical Hypnosis Society of New Jersey (CHSNJ), a component section of ASCH. He is the author of, More Common Therapy: the experiential psychotherapy of Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D. He characterizes the book as an advanced how to guide for clinicians interested in cultivating their skills in clinical hypnosis.

His most recent article, Hypnotically Informed Psychotherapy: Erickson and Beyond, is published online ahead of print in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

Rob maintains a private practice in Teaneck, NJ where provides individual therapy and offers individual and group consultation both in person and remotely.

Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist residing in Southern California. He is internationally recognized for his work in advancing clinical hypnosis and outcome-focused psychotherapy, routinely teaching to professional audiences all over the world. To date, he has been invited to present his ideas and methods to colleagues in more than 30 countries across six continents, and all over the United States. His presentations are well known for being practical as well as enjoyable.

Dr. Yapko has had a special interest for nearly five decades in the intricacies of the clinical applications of hypnosis and directive methods, especially in the treatment of depression. He is the author of 16 books and editor of three others, as well as dozens of book chapters and articles on the subjects of hypnosis and the use of strategic psychotherapies. These include his most recent book, Process-Oriented Hypnosis: Focusing on the Forest, Not the Trees, the 5 th edition of his widely used hypnosis text, Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis, as well as Depression is Contagious and Breaking the Patterns of Depression. He is the only 5-time winner of the Arthur Shapiro Award for the “Best Book on Hypnosis” from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. His works have been translated into ten languages. He also served as Guest Editor for two special issues of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis on “Hypnosis and Treating Depression” in January and April of this year. More information about Dr. Yapko’s teaching schedule and publications can be found on his website: www.yapko.com.

Dr. Yapko is the recipient of numerous major awards for his innovative contributions in advancing the fields of hypnosis and brief therapy, including lifetime achievement awards from The American Psychological Association’s Division 30 (Society of Psychological Hypnosis), the International Society of Hypnosis (the Pierre Janet Award), and The Milton H. Erickson Foundation.

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