Ericksonian Hypnosis: What It Is And How It Is Used In Therapy
Hypnosis in psychotherapy is widely used; Through it, it is possible to obtain a pleasant state of well-being and relaxation that enhances active thinking. One of its creators was Milton H. Erickson, who developed the so-called Ericksonian Hypnosis
This is considered a type of self-hypnosis that promotes connection with oneself and access to unconscious resources and abilities. In this article we will learn how it originated, its characteristics and premises, benefits, operation, uses and applications in the therapeutic context.
Milton Hyland Erickson was an American physician and psychologist who was born in 1901 in Nevada. Erickson was one of the creators of hypnosis; He developed hypnotherapy and proposed innovations and changes in this type of therapy.
It all arose from the fact that at the age of 17 he suffered from poliomyelitis that left him paralyzed and bedridden. The doctors thought he would die. However, Erickson began using self-hypnosis methods to recover, using a mirror, which proved effective in blocking conscious thoughts, for example. It was from there that his Ericksonian Hypnosis began to be born.
What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis can be understood in two ways; on the one hand, as a type of psychological therapy and on the other, as that state of unconsciousness or relaxation that is reached through a hypnotic process (or the hypnosis process).
This state is similar to sleep, and is achieved through suggestion and submission of the person’s will, to the orders received from the hypnotist or therapist. Erickson developed certain adaptations and innovations to “classical” hypnosis to create his own method: Ericksonian Hypnosis. Let’s see what it consists of.
Ericksonian Hypnosis is a type of scientifically supported hypnosis, focused on focus conscious attention fully The results it produces are similar to those obtained through meditation or Mindfulness.
One of its objectives is to access the person’s unconscious, to reach their unconscious resources, abilities and memories and make them emerge in consciousness. The purpose is that you can use them in consciousness in order to solve a problem.
trance states
On the other hand, Ericksonian Hypnosis is used in psychotherapy and in other areas (coaching, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) sessions, education, sports…), and focuses on promoting a trance state in the person.
We can experience trance states naturally ; For example, when we are very relaxed, distracted or absorbed, or when we take a route that we know perfectly automatically and without activating consciousness (for example with the car, on the road). Other examples of trance occur when we read, listen to music, or create art.
Ericksonian Hypnosis aims to obtain these trance states. so that the person is more aware of their abilities and the resources they have through access to your most unconscious part.
Premises
For Ericksonian Hypnosis to be effective, a series of fundamental premises specific to the technique must be taken into account in its application:
1. Availability of resources
The first premise maintains that all people have, within us, the necessary resources to resolve our conflicts; That is to say, we all, in a certain way, “carry a psychologist inside us.” Ericksonian Hypnosis helps us access these resources.
2. Potential of the unconscious
According to Ericksonian Hypnosis, the unconscious is a very powerful source of resources, where important memories for the subject are also stored. The unconscious is always sending messages to the outside through our body, our words, our trance states…
These are verbal and non-verbal messages that we must know how to detect and understand to access our most unconscious part.
Ericksonian Hypnosis is based on experiences, rather than theoretical knowledge or explanations According to Erickson himself, living an experience will always be more effective than listening to an explanation.
4. Heterogeneity in responses
Not all people respond the same to Ericksonian Hypnosis. The response we give will be influenced by our previous beliefs, our experiences, habits, thoughts, etc., and that is why it will vary enormously from one person to another.
Functioning
Ericksonian Hypnosis, as we have said, implies a state of focusing conscious attention; This status involves a dissociation in the mind that makes it possible to access the person’s unconscious abilities The dissociation is momentary, short-lived. All of this leads to the person accessing a state of deep relaxation.
In this state, the unconscious mind is more accessible, more present and takes center stage. Through access to it, Ericksonian Hypnosis aims to create new possibilities in the subject to face challenges, changes behaviors and habits. Thus, it also promotes the learning of new behaviors and new behavioral patterns.
Erickson himself defines Ericksonian Hypnosis as a communicative process with the mind and with oneself, through which the person “manages to concentrate on his or her own thoughts, memories, beliefs and values that he or she has about life.” Ericksonian Hypnosis is an active learning that seeks to reach a state of trance, which in turn allows access to unconsciousness and make the most of each person’s personal resources.
Autohypnosis
Ericksonian Hypnosis, as we have mentioned, is actually a type of self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is learned to develop by oneself (through adequate training), and is a process that facilitates a balance between the two cerebral hemispheres, through the empowerment of the corpus callosum (brain structure that unites them).
Once this technique is learned, With proper training it ends up being easy to put into practice Furthermore, it can be used at almost any time and in different scenarios.
As we said at the beginning of the article, this practice has proven to be effective in different studies, and to produce effects similar to those obtained from mindfulness or meditation techniques.
The benefits of Ericksonian Hypnosis as a form of self-hypnosis include the learn to manage stress an increase in concentration, an improvement in mood and emotional state, reduction in anxiety, improvement in creativity, improvement in decision-making processes and better self-control.
In addition, Ericksonian Hypnosis enhances the connection with oneself, through the concentration and direction of energy and attention in the inner world, diverting them from external stimuli. The objective is to create a link with one’s own self and connect body and mind.
Applications in therapy
Ericksonian Hypnosis is a tool that has multiple uses and purposes in psychotherapy. Mainly, it can be used to induce states of relaxation, and for the patient to know and experience different hypnotic trance states It is also used to generate emotional states in patients, which can be well-being, for example.
On the other hand, Ericksonian Hypnosis also allows access to the person’s unconscious, momentarily blocking the most rational and conscious part of their mind. This makes it easier for repressed thoughts and memories to surface that are currently affecting the person’s well-being.
This type of hypnosis also allows you to catalyze and induce processes of change in moments of crisis, for example, as well as facilitate decision-making and manage painful moments or processes. In fact, it is a technique that has been proven effective to reduce pain in people with fibromyalgia For example.
One of the objectives of Ericksonian Hypnosis is for the person to regain control over their emotions and thoughts, and for them to feel safe and firm in their decision-making processes.
