Milton Erickson said, “Change first then insight.” Too often therapists try to produce change by giving clients insight into their problems expecting to produce results. This approach reduces effectiveness as it overestimates the power of the conscious mind while neglecting and underestimating the unconscious mind’s role in the healing process.
Milton H. Erickson, MD, understood that “the conscious (thinking) mind doesn’t do much of anything of much significance…while the unconscious mind is an infinite storehouse of dreams, potentials, and solutions…” This workshop will teach a brief, solution focused, strategic, and hypnotic approach to anxiety related disorders. Intellectualizing, analyzing, self-criticizing, WHY-ing and WHAT-IF-ing clients will be targeted as participants learn to employ Ericksonian interventions including solution-focused questions, strategic task assignments, and formal/conversational hypnosis via live demonstration, experiential exercise, and case studies.
Therapists will learn Subliminal Therapy (ST), a psychodynamic technique used to accomplish consciously desired change. ST is a hypnotically medicated and utilizes the capabilities of a higher level of the patient’s intelligence that exists in the unconscious domain. ST empowers the patient by providing awareness of causal influences, thereby facilitating resolution by the patient. ST is described, its effectiveness is quantified and justified, and typical applications are detailed. Additionally, participants will witness a demonstration of the technique.
Fuzzy Focus is a method that therapists can use to bring about quick and effective results. Fuzzy Focus is a process whereby unconscious resources are accessed by disrupting existing mind-sets, which are keeping alternative frames of reference unavailable. To use Fuzzy Focus effectively, therapists must be grounded with a coherent understanding of human nature and human consciousness. This workshop teaches the participant Fuzzy Focus as well as the theoretical framework needed to use Fuzzy Focus.
This faculty will discuss and demonstrate two confusional inductions along with a range of story applications for common clinical problems including anxiety and mood disorders, anger management, insomnia, ego-strengthening and unconscious problem-solving. Unconsciously-directed techniques will also be addressed. There will be discussion of the applications of story techniques in both hypnosis and standard psychotherapy.
Each of us has a central unconscious question that organizes and colors all our experience and behavior. A poorlyworded question can result in pervasive frustrating problems, while a well-worded question provides a solid foundation for an interesting productive life. Experience how to discover and revise or replace your core question.
The use of Conversational Unconscious Communication give the therapist a greatly enhanced ability to influence the client to generate lasting positive change. This workshop will enable the participant to learn the structure and uses of therapeutic metaphor and the interspersal technique at both the conscious and unconscious levels of the mind.
The ability to "play" in life and in the mind is a key to both the creative process and to general happiness in life. In this workshop, as in my work, I will use techniques of hypnotherapy to help participants to tap into their creative unconscious minds to enhance their abilities to play and create.
Hypnosis is an experiential method of "gift wrapping" ideas. With or without formal trance, hypnotic methods can be used in the assessment and intervention process of couples therapy.
CBBT focuses on the person's own resources as the basic component of developing the ability to create lasting changes. We keep insight out of sight and focus on behavioral shifts and updates to beliefs. Unconscious process is a major contributor to lasting solutions and the ability to use hypnotic linguistic patterns of "temporary" (in reference to the present state) and "permanent" (in reference to the solution leading to the desired state) is an essential element of the model.