EP00 Topical Panel 16 - The Therapy of Milton H. Erickson - Jay Haley, MA; Ernest Rossi, PhD; Paul Watzlawick, PhD; Jeffrey Zeig, PhD
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- Not yet rated
- Topic Areas:
- Topical Panels | Milton Erickson | Psychotherapy | Ericksonian Hypnosis and Therapy Techniques | Ericksonian Psychotherapy | Hypnosis | Brief Therapy | Resistance | Strategic Therapy | Utilization
- Categories:
- Evolution of Psychotherapy | Evolution of Psychotherapy 2000 | Pioneers in Couples and Family Therapy
- Faculty:
- Jay Haley, MA | Ernest Rossi, PhD | Paul Watzlawick, PhD | Jeffrey Zeig, PhD
- Duration:
- 54 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio Only
- Original Program Date:
- May 28, 2000
- License:
- Never Expires.
Description
Description:
Educational Objectives:
- To compare and contrast clinical and philosphical perspectives of experts.
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Introduction and Initial Remarks
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The Milton H. Erickson Foundation's event on the evolution of psychotherapy is introduced, held May 25–29, 2000, in Anaheim, California
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Camille Vido from Rome, Italy, introduces the panel on Milton Erickson’s therapy, featuring Jay Haley, Ernest Rossi, Paul Basavica, and Jeffrey Zeig
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Jay Haley opens with remarks on Erickson’s “deviant” directive style in the 1950s, contrasting with the dominant non-directive methods
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Shares a case of a mother and her 50-year-old son, illustrating Erickson’s brief intervention where the son ultimately suggests they go bowling
Erickson's Directive Approach
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Haley emphasizes that Erickson used directive techniques to change the discourse between therapist and client, avoiding negative analysis
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Erickson's interactive approach is tied to implications for neuroscience and experiential reorganization
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Quotes from Erickson's writings highlight the focus on reorganizing inner experience and promoting inner resynthesis
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The naturalistic utilization approach is introduced—allowing clients to engage in creative healing within their own realities
Erickson's Language and Reality
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Emphasis on the importance of learning and speaking the patient’s language to enter and shift their reality
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Erickson's interventions are framed as being rooted in the patient's terms, not the therapist’s framework
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An example is given of Erickson using the illusion of alternatives (as with the mother and son) to guide behavior change
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The therapeutic value of working within the patient’s worldview is underscored
Erickson's Meticulousness and Teaching
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Erickson is described as meticulous in therapy, correspondence, and teaching
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Shares Erickson’s detailed written reply to Margaret Mead regarding hypnosis
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A metaphor involving a tie is used to illustrate Erickson’s layered communication style in teaching
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His ability to engage students through story, metaphor, and detail is emphasized
Erickson's Innovative Interventions
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Two case examples are shared from Erickson’s letters
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A young man obsessed with space flight is helped through a physically demanding, reality-based challenge
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A young girl is helped to remember her dreams through a Santa Claus role-play
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Demonstrates Erickson’s capacity for creative, unconventional therapeutic methods tailored to each case
Erickson's Personal and Professional Insights
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Reflections on Erickson’s limitations, including moments of therapeutic humility and acknowledgment of failure
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His use of childlike puzzles and riddles as teaching tools is discussed, highlighting his playful and strategic mind
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A story is shared of Erickson admitting he could not help a patient—an example of his honesty and boundaries
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Emphasis is again placed on interventions rooted in the patient’s own reality
Erickson's Influence and Legacy
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A question is raised about the constructs and presuppositions behind Erickson’s method
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Discussion of Erickson as a “wounded healer,” with personal adversity informing therapeutic insight
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Erickson’s ability to learn from his own experience and adapt creatively is described as central to his effectiveness
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Key principles of Ericksonian therapy are outlined: utilization, individualization, and experiential process
Erickson's Humor and Creativity
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Erickson’s use of humor and playful interventions is emphasized as vital to his therapeutic style
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Humor is described as a vehicle for delivering simple but impactful insights in therapy
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When asked about the logic behind his creativity, it’s noted that Erickson was both meticulous and purposeful in every intervention
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The session concludes with a reflection on the lasting impact and practical value of Erickson’s approach in modern psychotherapy
Credits
Faculty
Jay Haley, MA Related Seminars and Products
Jay Haley (M.A., 1953, Stanford University) was Director of Family Therapy Institute of Washington, D.C. He was one of the leading exponents of the strategic/interpersonal approach to family therapy. Haley served as Director of the Family Experiment Project at the Mental Research Institute and as Director of Family Therapy Research at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. He has authoered seven books, co-authored two and edited five. Additionally, he has more than 40 contributions to professional journals and books. Haley is the former editor of Family Process, and the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of The Milton H. Erickson Foundation.
Ernest Rossi, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Ernest L. Rossi, PhD, is an internationally renowned therapist, teacher and pioneer in the psychobiology of mind-body healing. The author of more than 24 professional books, Dr. Rossi worked with Milton Erickson for eight years and co-authored three classic volumes on therapeutic hypnosis with him. Rossi has also edited four volumes of Erickson's Collected Papers and four volumes of Erickson's Seminars, Workshops and Lectures. He has been conducting research in the psychosocial genomics of ultradian rhythms and their relation to mind-body healing and psychotherapy for over three decades.
Paul Watzlawick, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Paul Watzlawick, received his Ph.D. from the University of Venice in 1949. He has an Analyst's Diploma from the C.G. Jung Institute for Analytic Psychology in Zurich. Watzlawick has practiced psychotherapy for more than 30 years. He was research associate and principal investigator at the Mental Research Institute. He was Clinical Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center. Watzlawick is a noted family therapist; he is recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Association. Also, he is author, co-author or editor of eight books on the topics of interactional psychotherapy, human communication and constructivist philosophy.
He formulated five axioms. They are:
- It is not possible to not communicate. Every behavior is some kind of non-verbal communication.
- Every communication has a content. In addition, there is 'metainformation', which says how the communicator wants to be understood.
- All partners involved in a communication process also interpret their own behaviour during communication.
- Human communication involves both verbal and non-verbal communication. In addition to the spoken words, there are is also a non-spoken part (gestures, behavior, intonation..) which is part of the communication.
- Communication between humans is either symmetric or complementary. This is based on whether the relationship of those communicating is based on differences or parity.
Jeffrey Zeig, PhD Related Seminars and Products
Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD, is the Founder and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation and is president of Zeig, Tucker & Theisen, Inc., publishers in the behavioral sciences. He has edited, co-edited, authored or coauthored more than 20 books on psychotherapy that appear in twelve foreign languages. Dr. Zeig is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist in private practice in Phoenix, Arizona.