The Collected Papers of Milton H. Erickson on Hypnosis

Abstract

Samuel Gaunitz

E. L. Rossi (Ed.): New York: Irvington Publishers, Inc. 1980, vol I-IV, 1908 pp.     

The Uniqueness of Similarities: Parallels of Milton H. Erickson and Carl Rogers

The philosophy and values of Carl Rogers hold a central position in the counseling profession. Today the writings and work of Milton H. Erickson are beginning to have a similar influence. Erickson's strategies and techniques have been explored from many theoretical frames of reference, but little attention has been paid to his values regarding the human condition. It is these value assumptions of Rogers and Erickson that will be examined in this article.     

Teaching Elder: Erik H. Erickson

A renowned child psychoanalyst, Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994) is perhaps best known for his work on developmental theory (Childhood and Society, 1950) and his studies of the lives of Martin Luther (Young Man Luther, 1958) and Gandhi (Gandhi's Truth, 1969). Twice he found himself intensely engaged in the role of teacher – once as a young artist who had been called by a friend to help in the progressive school formed for the children of Sigmund and Anna Freud's patients in Vienna (1927–1932), and years later (1960–1970) as a tenured professor at Harvard. This essay describes Erickson's teaching experience in both settings and suggests some of the reasons he was honored by Harvard in 1980 as a “humane teacher.” Implications from Erikson's educational practice are drawn that demonstrate how Erikson moved beyond the rote memorization and authoritarian educational practice he experienced as a youth. The essay suggests Erikson's teaching stance at Harvard fits the author's theological tradition's use of the term “teaching elder.”     

Integrating Milton H. Erickson's Hypnotherapeutic Techniques Into General Counseling and Psychotherapy

Milton H. Erickson's approach to clinical hypnosis has recently attracted the attention of many professional counselors. Although traditional hypnotherapy presumes the induction and utilization of trance, some of Erickson's hypnotherapeutic principles can be easily translated into the general framework of counseling. This article examines several basic techniques of Erickson that are applicable to four aspects of counseling: (a) rapport building, (b) problem assessment, (c) resistance management, and (d) behavior change. Clinical examples and discussion are provided for illustration.     

The Character of Danger: Psychiatric Symptoms in Selected Communities: Vol. III. The Stirling Study of Psychiatric Disorder and Sociocul-Tural Environment by Dorothea C. Leighton,John S. Harding,David B. Macklin,Allister M. Macmillan,and Alexander H. Leighton

While the variety of responses of psychotherapy groups to new members is wide, this article addresses those that are treatment destructive, that is, murderous in that they are aimed at the elimination of a new sibling. A number of frequently encountered destructive response patterns to new members are illustrated and categorized. It is suggested that survival of the new member is best insured by adequate preparation of the group so that the nucleus of powerful feelings activated in this situation can be felt and expressed prior to the addition of the new member. A clinical example of appropriate preparation is offered, and the contributions of group therapists to new member casualties are noted.