Within hypnosis, a special form of hypnotherapy: Ericksonian hypnosis, is presented as a truly effective therapeutic alternative for the treatment of psychological and psychosomatic problems and pain management.
Ericksonian hypnosis is an evolution of classical hypnosis, although with its own identity.
The figure of Milton Erickson, its creator, is an inspiration both for the therapists who follow in his footsteps and for the people who discover his enormous capacity to overcome.
It is believed that 3,500 years ago the Egyptians already practiced a therapy very similar to hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. However, this knowledge was lost over time, until Franz Anton Mesmer took it up again in the 18th century, calling it "animal magnetism". His controversial ideas of him did not fall into a vacuum and at the end of the 19th century, at the hands of Jean-Martin Charcot, hypnosis gained importance in the scientific world, especially thanks to the extraordinary results that this French neurologist achieved with the patients of the.
Later, in 1923, hypnosis was about to take another turn: an American doctor named Milton H. Erickson attended a seminar for the first time to learn how to apply this method. Erickson was so enthusiastic about the potentialities of hypnosis that he began to apply it in his practice, but his restless and creative mind soon began to introduce some variations in the procedure. This is how what we know today as “ Ericksonian hypnosis ” rose.
Erickson grew up in Wisconsin in a farming family and never claimed to be a doctor. As a child, he suffered from dyslexia and was also colorblind. At 17, he contracted polio and was paralyzed so severely that doctors believed he was going to die. In fact, while lying in bed with him, he heard a doctor tell his parents that he didn't think he would make it through another day.
However, Erickson was not going to give up, especially without having seen one more sunset. His determination was such that he fell into what he himself would describe years later as a self-hypnotic trance. It is there that we find the first seed of Ericksonian hypnosis, in Milton Erickson's own experience. After being unconscious for three days, he began to recover but the road would still be uphill, as he was completely paralyzed and found it very difficult to recover. hard to talk It was at this point that he became interested in family dynamics and people's reactions.
When he achieved better control over his body, he realized that he could never dedicate himself to agriculture, so he decided to study medicine. He became a tenacious and curious student, two qualities that led him to become interested in the secrets of the human mind.
At about age 50, the ghost of polio returned. Erickson suffered pain and muscle weakness that caused him to paralyze again and, although he regained movement through perseverance, from that moment on he had to use a wheelchair. He then began to use self-hypnosis to relieve his chronic pain.
Discussing his experiences with hypnosis, Erickson realized that it was not a sleep-like state, as everyone believed in his day. I have realized that it did not fit completely with the phenomena that usually occur while we sleep, since in a hypnotic trance we are still protected by our unconscious.
Obviously, as the unconscious continues to protect us from ideas that we do not want to recognize or from habits that we do not want to change, Erickson thought that direct suggestions were not always the best solution, in some cases, it was necessary to break down. the barriers of the unconscious to promote change.
In fact, Erickson has the merit of being the first therapist to consider hypnosis as something natural, a simple variation of the state of consciousness that can even occur in situations in our daily lives. He thought that hypnosis can be learned, just like any other type of skill, that is why he never placed too much emphasis on the depth of the hypnotic trance, but rather on generating a relationship of trust with the patient and giving him the necessary tools so that he could reach their own conclusions. Erickson tried that the person was not passive during hypnosis but, in some way, was involved in the process.
Another very interesting change of perspective lies in the fact that Erickson used the present to modify the future and focused on understanding how he could improve the person's current problems and give him tools so that he could avoid them in the future. Many Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) techniques drink from Erickson and use this projection into the future as a therapeutic resource.
Erickson considered that the unconscious responds very well to metaphors, symbols, and contradictions, so the suggestions made by the psychotherapist have a rather vague character. In this way, a space is left for the mind to fill in those gaps, giving meaning to what is happening. In fact, in Ericksonian hypnosis, it is common for psychologists to resort to metaphors and stories as tools to promote change.
In this type of hypnotic technique, direct suggestions such as " you are going to quit smoking " are not used. Instead, more open proposals have been used that demand a certain degree of commitment to change, such as: “ you can become a non-smoker ”.
With indirect suggestions, in addition to conferring a more active role on the person, it is possible to circumvent the barriers of the unconscious more easily, since it does not reject them beforehand but tries to find a place for them in the existing belief system. In this way, the ideas penetrate and begin to generate the desired change.
Psychologists use Ericksonian hypnosis primarily to treat addictions, whether to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. It is also very useful to deal with anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, different types of phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and neuroses.
However, Ericksonian hypnosis is not only used to treat psychological symptoms but also physical ones, which is why it becomes an excellent tool to improve the quality of life of people suffering from chronic diseases since it relieves pain. It has also been used effectively in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and to promote weight loss in obese people.
Ericksonian hypnosis can be complemented by classical hypnosis techniques since they are not incompatible. In my opinion, both one and the other are effective and it depends on what we want to achieve at each moment and the characteristics of the person we are hypnotizing, we can choose to work with Ericksonian hypnosis, with classical hypnosis or alternating or integrating both
Ericksonian hypnosis is an evolution of classical hypnosis, although with its own identity.
The figure of Milton Erickson, its creator, is an inspiration both for the therapists who follow in his footsteps and for the people who discover his enormous capacity to overcome.
A quick look at the history of hypnosis
It is believed that 3,500 years ago the Egyptians already practiced a therapy very similar to hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. However, this knowledge was lost over time, until Franz Anton Mesmer took it up again in the 18th century, calling it "animal magnetism". His controversial ideas of him did not fall into a vacuum and at the end of the 19th century, at the hands of Jean-Martin Charcot, hypnosis gained importance in the scientific world, especially thanks to the extraordinary results that this French neurologist achieved with the patients of the.
You may also be interested to learn about hypnosis here learn hypnosis online
Later, in 1923, hypnosis was about to take another turn: an American doctor named Milton H. Erickson attended a seminar for the first time to learn how to apply this method. Erickson was so enthusiastic about the potentialities of hypnosis that he began to apply it in his practice, but his restless and creative mind soon began to introduce some variations in the procedure. This is how what we know today as “ Ericksonian hypnosis ” rose.
Who was Erikson?
Erickson grew up in Wisconsin in a farming family and never claimed to be a doctor. As a child, he suffered from dyslexia and was also colorblind. At 17, he contracted polio and was paralyzed so severely that doctors believed he was going to die. In fact, while lying in bed with him, he heard a doctor tell his parents that he didn't think he would make it through another day.
However, Erickson was not going to give up, especially without having seen one more sunset. His determination was such that he fell into what he himself would describe years later as a self-hypnotic trance. It is there that we find the first seed of Ericksonian hypnosis, in Milton Erickson's own experience. After being unconscious for three days, he began to recover but the road would still be uphill, as he was completely paralyzed and found it very difficult to recover. hard to talk It was at this point that he became interested in family dynamics and people's reactions.
When he achieved better control over his body, he realized that he could never dedicate himself to agriculture, so he decided to study medicine. He became a tenacious and curious student, two qualities that led him to become interested in the secrets of the human mind.
At about age 50, the ghost of polio returned. Erickson suffered pain and muscle weakness that caused him to paralyze again and, although he regained movement through perseverance, from that moment on he had to use a wheelchair. He then began to use self-hypnosis to relieve his chronic pain.
A profound change of perspective
Discussing his experiences with hypnosis, Erickson realized that it was not a sleep-like state, as everyone believed in his day. I have realized that it did not fit completely with the phenomena that usually occur while we sleep, since in a hypnotic trance we are still protected by our unconscious.
Obviously, as the unconscious continues to protect us from ideas that we do not want to recognize or from habits that we do not want to change, Erickson thought that direct suggestions were not always the best solution, in some cases, it was necessary to break down. the barriers of the unconscious to promote change.
In fact, Erickson has the merit of being the first therapist to consider hypnosis as something natural, a simple variation of the state of consciousness that can even occur in situations in our daily lives. He thought that hypnosis can be learned, just like any other type of skill, that is why he never placed too much emphasis on the depth of the hypnotic trance, but rather on generating a relationship of trust with the patient and giving him the necessary tools so that he could reach their own conclusions. Erickson tried that the person was not passive during hypnosis but, in some way, was involved in the process.
Another very interesting change of perspective lies in the fact that Erickson used the present to modify the future and focused on understanding how he could improve the person's current problems and give him tools so that he could avoid them in the future. Many Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) techniques drink from Erickson and use this projection into the future as a therapeutic resource.
What is Ericksonian hypnosis?
Erickson considered that the unconscious responds very well to metaphors, symbols, and contradictions, so the suggestions made by the psychotherapist have a rather vague character. In this way, a space is left for the mind to fill in those gaps, giving meaning to what is happening. In fact, in Ericksonian hypnosis, it is common for psychologists to resort to metaphors and stories as tools to promote change.
In this type of hypnotic technique, direct suggestions such as " you are going to quit smoking " are not used. Instead, more open proposals have been used that demand a certain degree of commitment to change, such as: “ you can become a non-smoker ”.
With indirect suggestions, in addition to conferring a more active role on the person, it is possible to circumvent the barriers of the unconscious more easily, since it does not reject them beforehand but tries to find a place for them in the existing belief system. In this way, the ideas penetrate and begin to generate the desired change.
In what situations is Ericksonian hypnosis applied?
Psychologists use Ericksonian hypnosis primarily to treat addictions, whether to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. It is also very useful to deal with anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, different types of phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and neuroses.
how is Ericksonian hypnosis performed?
However, Ericksonian hypnosis is not only used to treat psychological symptoms but also physical ones, which is why it becomes an excellent tool to improve the quality of life of people suffering from chronic diseases since it relieves pain. It has also been used effectively in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and to promote weight loss in obese people.
Are Ericksonian hypnosis and classical hypnosis compatible?
Ericksonian hypnosis can be complemented by classical hypnosis techniques since they are not incompatible. In my opinion, both one and the other are effective and it depends on what we want to achieve at each moment and the characteristics of the person we are hypnotizing, we can choose to work with Ericksonian hypnosis, with classical hypnosis or alternating or integrating both
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