Juanita was a 31-year-old Marriage and Family Intern who had twice failed the oral examination for her license. She wanted hypnosis to reveal sabotaging herself so she could pass her orals. We would only have time for one session. Juanita had no prior experience with hypnosis. I asked to get in touch with the body sensations she experiences when she was in the oral exam. She was able to do this easily. I then had her focus all of her attention on this feeling.

I remember Dr. Erickson telling me that it was both important to trust the unconscious and at the same time to make sure that the unconscious was regularly fed with new and interesting learnings so it had even more with which to work. This became evident to me while I was showing some students how to use hypnosis to potentiate EMDR’s effectiveness. I had been demonstrating a metaphor of physical healing to stimulate emotional healing when a student interrupted asking how I got my ideas for my metaphors.

Edgar, a child of five, is the oldest son of a marriage that has lived with great economic and family pressures. The mother began going to therapy two years ago for her distress because of her pregnancy. She left treatment. A short while later, she asked for an emergency appointment. She told me by phone that she had just gotten Edgar out of the hospital, and he did not want to return home because he was afraid of his father who, in an attack of fury and impatience, had hit him against the wall, fracturing his cranium.

A shy, gap-toothed young woman arrives at the simple home of a doctor in Phoenix, Ariz. She says she is embarrassed about her teeth and bashful with men. Then, with sudden force and apparent malice, the doctor commands her to practice spurting water through her teeth until she is sure she can hit the young man who often meets her at the office watercooler. Soon after, the woman carries out her mission. The next day, the young man lies in wait for her with a water pistol. Eventually they marry. Her problem seems to have vanished magically.

The following is an excerpt from the Erickson biography. It was taken from a document Ron Alexander, Ph.D., sent to Jeff Zeig in 2015. In 1976, Alexander phoned Erickson at the beginning of the week, asking him if he would consult on a personal medical problem. The holistic treatments Alexander tried had not been successful. During that phone call, Erickson asked Alexander to call him back the next day, sharply at 9 a.m. The following days, Erickson asked Alexander to do ..

Recently, I was in Gent, Belgium talking about my father’s early career work. I was shocked by the myths and misconceptions that seem to have been perpetuated about my father. I was stunned to discover that my father is often viewed as physically feeble by a large percentage of his followers. From the perceptions expressed, it seems that most of the people who are writing books and giving talks about my father met him in the 1970s when he was confined to a wheelchair and had changed his practice

I have been asked to make a recording of an induction technique. After much thought on this matter, I believe I can be of much more service in another way. My own induction techniques are expressive to me, of my timing, of my rhythm, my personality, my emotional feeling, my attitude toward my patient. So it is with anybody else, and so it should be with anybody else. An induction technique is not a series of words, phrases, or sentences. Nor is it just a matter of suggestions, intentions, inflections,

Many people will experience anxiety at some point in their lives. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States that affects 40 million adults. Anxiety is a common response when we are going through big life changes, such as career changes, moving, or financial and health troubles. When the anxiety starts to become larger than the events themselves or your everyday life and routine are affected, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Signs and symptoms of someone struggling with anxiety can range from excessive worrying, restlessness, agitation,

The cruise left time open for Erickson to explore Port-au-Prince and Erickson had some dealings with K. A. Fisher, owner of The Art and Curio Shop on Rue Du Quai. Their stationery declares the shop to be “Makers and Exporters of Haitian Mahogonywares, Sisal and Strawgoods.” [Spelling in the paragraph is as it appears on their stationary.] They were importers and distributors of:

Cathy was a 55–year-old single client of a colleague. Her initial complaint was that, although she was very competent in her work, she repeatedly raged at her boss and at co-workers. It soon emerged that she had a history of sexual abuse from her father, and had a very difficult time separating her own experience from others. Hence, it was hard for her to know her own needs, and defend herself from the expectations and intrusions from others. She showed what is often called “co-dependence,” or “enmeshment.”

People who are hit with panic attacks have a common response. They feel compelled to fight the symptoms with all their available resources. They brace for the fight as they approach any feared situation. And if they predict this on-guard approach will fail, they avoid entering the scene as the only way they can guarantee their safety. But this resistance and avoidance come with a price: a restricted lifestyle, anxious hypervigilance, and often depression.

Stone carving transformed my life of chronic pain, depression, and drug dependency into a life of renewed vitality with the ability to work, dance, and feel whole again. After 25 years of working as an emergency room physician, I underwent several back surgeries, which resulted in many hours of physical therapy and treatments with never-ending pain and limited mobility;

Sarah Clinebell, who has been working on the Archives since June 2022, has supplied us with a folder named “Cruise Folder, January 4 – 18, 1958.” The contents include details of the cruise, correspondence setting up the lecture series, a brochure about the cruise vessel, excursions available at cruise stops, correspondence with Dr. Louis Mars (the contact person for the Port-au-Prince stay) an article regarding setting up of the first psychiatric hospital in Haiti, and correspondence regarding …

A private girl’s school near my office referred a sophomore named Lana to my practice because of missed classes and academic problems. Normally when a girl this age comes to a professional for the first time, she pays attention to her appearance. But Lana’s hair was disheveled, her sweatsuit looked like it needed a trip to the washing machine, and her sneakers were worn. Her clothing was too big, meant to camouflage her weight. She was definitely not comfortable …

Rick was a 17- year- old boy who had stuttered since he started to speak. He and his mother came to Arizona from Massachusetts to see Erickson, who said, “I took one look at the mother, and Rick and I recognized the ethnic group.” He got a history. The parents were both from a certain community in Lebanon. They came to the United States and married and became citizens. Erickson explained, “Now, in that culture, man is a lot higher than God, and woman is a low lower than low. Now, a man’s …

Implication is one of the most common ways that we unconsciously make meaning out of events in everyday life. A speaker’s statement implies something that the listener infers. Erickson used implication extensively and deliberately, as shown in the following examples (some paraphrased) with the implication in parentheses: …

Sarah Clinebell, who has been working on the Archives since June 2022, has supplied us with a folder named “Cruise Folder, January 4 – 18, 1958.” The contents include details of the cruise, correspondence setting up the lecture series, a brochure about the cruise vessel, excursions available at cruise stops, correspondence with Dr. Louis Mars (the contact person for the Port-au-Prince stay) an article regarding setting up of the first psychiatric hospital in Haiti, correspondence regarding Erickson’s purchase of turtle specimens, and a Port-au-Prince shopkeeper’s purchase of a bola.

Mary was a 44-year-old, white female who was referred to me for pervasive, lifetime anxiety. Mary remembered frequent events of feeling fearful and alone as a child with her negative, gloom-and-doom father and with her controlling and abusive first husband whom she had divorced fifteen years earlier. She was unable to express any opinions that disagreed with her father’s. While her current marriage was to a very supportive man, it was a highly regimented and structured relationship with little spontaneity and fun.

To be in Milton Erickson’s presence was to invite him to teach. And teach he did! Almost everyone who spent time with him can remember precisely the words he said that changed life forevermore. Even people who read his words often comment that “his voice goes with them.” I am fortunate that when I think of my father, I vividly remember many times when just a few words changed me instantly. In this case, Dad and a family friend, Margaret Mead, worked in tandem. Although the event and words are crystal clear, I don’t remember who said what-they complimented each other beautifully.

A 28-year-old male physician, who had done well in medical school in Japan, began working on a doctoral thesis at the surgery department of a national university that was not his alma mater. He also was working at the hospital where his father was a staff physician. He started having difficulties with his doctoral thesis. As a consequence, he began to suffer from severe insomnia. He decided to treat his own insomnia by taking prescription sleeping pills (methaqualone), a type…