From Freud to Erickson to the current practice of psychotherapy, the nature of human problems has remained the same. What has changed is which problems we consider are within the realm of psychotherapy to elucidate. When Erickson introduced the concept of directive therapy, the field changed, not only in terms of how to do therapy, but also in terms of what are the issues a therapist must address. Is there a place for the concept of evil, for the practice of justice, and for the spiritual realm in therapy? What do we know today that we didn't know a hundred years ago? How can we preserve the existence of the therapist as humanist, social activist and systemic thinker?
The implication of current research in neuroscience is that psychological experiences of novelty, enrichment, and exercise activate gene expression and brain plasticity (growth) in therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy. What does this mean for the actual clinical practice and rehabilitation as well as creative everyday living?
The process of human growth and development occurs through a series of identity cycles. The transition from one identity level to the next is precipitated by extraordinary experiences, positive or negative in nature, that destabilize the ordinary state of consciousness. The result is a naturalistic trance or special learning state. If properly utilized, these trances lead to new, more evolved states of human being; but if not welcomed and received, violence and other forms of destructive pathology result. This address will examine this process in detail, and discuss implications for development at individual, group, and cultural levels.
Hypnosis is commonly thought of as a tool to enhance the therapy. It also can be used as a "lens." The phenomenology of hypnosis can help us to understand an essential aspect of the trance state, the symptom state, the solution state and the therapist's state, thereby providing new options for treatment.