Research, Comparisons and Medical Applications of Ericksonian Techniques

Monograph 4

by Stephen R. Lankton and Jeffery K. Zeig

This is the fourth volume in the widely hailed series of Ericksonian Monographs sponsored by the Milton H. Erickson Foundation as part of its expanding educational forum for mental health professionals.

The Ericksonian Monographs make available original work - theory, clinical technique, case material, and research - on the cutting edge of Ericksonian thought and practice.

Ericksonian Monographs No. 4 presents a richly stimulating collection of articles which deal with three extremely important areas of development in Ericksonian work: research, integration within the practice of other therapies, and medical applications.

The first section focuses on varied research models that are especially useful to the therapist. Jean Godin discusses evocation and indirect suggestion in the communication patterns of Erickson, while Michael B. Murphy takes a linguistic structural approach to indirect suggestion.

Of unusual interest is the article by Haim Omer and colleagues which describes the use of standardized hypnotic-relaxation cassettes in a gynecologic-obstetric ward. Based on data taken from seminar participants, Harriet E. Hollander and associates examine the important question of whether hypnosis is an innate ability or a learned skill.

The second section offers effective ways of integrating Ericksonian approaches with other popular therapeutic methods. Jeffrey B. Feldman's article compares and contrasts Ericksonian and cognitive therapies, while Maggie Phillips shows how Erickson's approach may be used to enhance the Gouldings' redecision therapy.

The final section on medical applications demonstrates that hypnotic-related therapy can be effectively used within a medical setting. Steven Goldsmith provides practical Ericksonian techniques for dealing with the problem of getting patients to follow instructions on taking medication. Juliet Auer illustrates how Ericksonian hypnosis and psychotherapy can be used even in a crowded and crisis filled emergency room. Finally, Bob Britchford describes the effective use of a ten-minute trance in a busy general medical practice.

While the aim of the Ericksonian Monographs is to reflect the growing influence and applications of the work of Milton H. Erickson, it must be remembered that Erickson himself disapproved of schools of therapy, believing that any school focuses on its own delimiting approaches as the ""right"" way and excludes others as the ""wrong"" way to do therapy. He felt that the individuality of the patient and of the therapist is foremost and emphasized that psychotherapy should be formulated to meet the uniqueness of the individual's needs.

It is this spirit of intellectual freedom that inspires the Ericksonian Monographs as a vehicle that will contribute to the comprehensive and practice of effective therapy by therapists of many different theoretical schools.