Disclaimer: The following review discusses themes related to psychology, religion, and sensitive cultural topics. The perspectives and content reflect those presented by the authors of the reviewed book and do not necessarily represent the views of The Milton H. Erickson Foundation.

Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, it was impossible not to notice how Eastern culture began to influence the Western world. The Beatles met the Maharishi in 1968 and traveled to India to meditate and eat vegetarian food and the sound of the sitar crept into George Harrison’s music. The Nehru jacket had a brief fashion moment. My sister joined an Eastern religious cult …

Acknowledging What Is, is a compilation of fascinating and engaging conversations between journalist, Gabriele ten Hövel and German psychologist, Bert Hellinger (1925-2019). Hellinger is renowned for the Family Constellations or Systemic Constellations approach, which reveals hidden dynamics in families…how we are influenced by our ancestral relationships, often without conscious awareness. With an investigator’s curiosity and healthy skepticism, Gabriele ten Hövel questions how Hellinger’s approach can work, and her sense of wonder lightens the serious and tough questions she poses. Hellinger is concise and equally tough with his responses. He adheres to the strong principles and ideas that he maintained about life, albeit some controversial.

Whether you are a novice or experienced practitioner, Therapeutic Mastery by Charles H. Kramer, MD, is a seriously good book for achieving mastery in psychotherapeutic practice. Kramer starts from the ground up with the creative growth, development, and physical and mental health of the therapist. He wants therapists to be authentic, freed, exhilarated, and open to possibilities. His ethos mirrors that of Milton Erickson’s as he writes: “Mastery has to do with using a full range of our internal resources, our entire cast of characters. It means removing the self-imposed limits that shackle us, limits that keep us in ordinary competence or even mediocrity. Opening up to our latent creativity means letting go of the attachment …

The Anatomy of Experiential Impact Through Ericksonian Therapy is one in a trilogy written by Jeffrey Zeig. The other two books in the trilogy — The Induction of Hypnosis (2014), and Psychoaerobics (2015) — emphasize different elements of the psychotherapeutic connection, but I enjoyed The Anatomy of Experiential Impact the most. Each of the three books stand on their own in content but reading them in sequence has greater impact and offers the reader more insight.

Jeffrey Zeig is the Founder and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation. He travels worldwide, teaching, lecturing, supervising, organizing conferences, writing, and working tirelessly to promote Ericksonian hypnosis and psychotherapy. This book is an outgrowth of his profound wisdom about eliciting hypnosis. Zeig humbly states that his book is one more interpretation of Dr. Erickson he hopes will add to the literature.

By presenting An Epic Life: Milton H. Erickson: Professional Perspectives, Dr. Zeig distinguishes between first- and second-generation scholars of various professional fields, weaving not an ordinary linear biography, but rather an exquisite mosaic. The bibliography…