IC83 Invited Address 01 - Hypnotherapy Without Trance - Paul Watzlawick, PhD

Outline:

Introduction and Background of Paul Watzlawick

• Paul Watzlawick introduced as a leading figure in the theory of change and researcher at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto

• Recognized internationally for fluency in multiple languages, global workshops, and broad influence

• Author of nine books in 46 editions, widely translated and impactful

• Sets the stage for his invited address: Hypnotherapy Without Trance

Thesis and Preliminary Remarks

• Psychotherapy often suffers from unclear, contradictory theory and insufficient grasp of language

• Focus is on the therapeutic power of language structure, not content

• Therapy seen as interpersonal rather than isolated, countering the monadic model often tied to hypnosis

• Traditional psychotherapy uses language for description, elucidation, and interpretation, but overlooks deeper linguistic functions

Traditional Psychotherapy and Language

• Traditional model relies on reason and linear causality (past causes explain present problems)

• Based on Aristotelian assumption of reason as highest mental faculty

• Historical experiment by Emperor Frederick II illustrates language’s profound influence

• Ancient rhetoric, resistance to persuasion, and René Spitz’s studies on hospitalism underscore language’s impact

Hypnotherapy Without Trance

• Hypnotherapy can be practiced without formal trance, through hypnotic linguistic structures or “language games”

• Milton Erickson’s work exemplifies subtle language use and non-verbal communication

• Effective techniques: learning the patient’s language, avoiding negations, using innuendo and preempting

• Principles include the unresolved remnant and the strategic use of resistance

Storytelling and Metaphors in Therapy

• Stories and metaphors function as powerful therapeutic tools

• Sufi tales used to illustrate analogical teaching

• Synchronous (interactional) language contrasts with diachronic (historical/causal) models

• Stories influence behavior by creating identification and shaping future action

• Example: Erickson’s boilermaker story demonstrates metaphor as intervention

Confusion Technique and Self-Reflexive Adjectives

• Confusion technique used effectively with highly intellectualizing clients

• Self-reflexive adjectives (e.g., “long,” “short”) show paradoxical limits of language

• Worst fantasy technique elicits hidden fears by exaggerating outcomes

• Right-hemisphere emphasis noted in many therapeutic interventions

Injunctive Language and Practical Art Forms

• Injunctive language conveys directives, not descriptions (per George Spencer Brown)

• Post-hypnotic suggestion framed as injunctive communication

• Everyday reliance on secondhand information illustrates language shaping reality

• Wittgenstein’s reflections on certainty and objects connect language to reality construction

Paradox and Reality Adaptation

• Paradox plays a central therapeutic role, tied to Bateson’s double bind theory

• “Reality adaptation” critiqued as insufficient; breakdowns reveal reality’s constructed nature

• Only the immediate present can be considered true reality, a concept echoed in mysticism and Omar Khayyam’s poetry

• Difference between class and member shows paradoxical thinking applicable to therapy

Conclusion and Digression

• Reflection on paradox, class vs. member distinction, and therapeutic creativity

• Objectively existing reality questioned; reality seen as knowable only through breakdown

• Immediate present reiterated as the only authentic reality, supported by mystical traditions

• Closing emphasis: therapeutic use of language is central to changing behavior and perception