Ericksonian Hypnosis: what is it and how is it used in therapy?

A very popular type of hypnosis that is sometimes used for some psychological treatments.

Hypnosis in psychotherapy is widely used; through it, a pleasant state of well-being and relaxation that enhances active thinking is achieved. One of its creators was Milton H. Erickson, who developed the so-called Ericksonian the so-called Ericksonian Hypnosis.

This is considered a type of self-hypnosis that favors the connection with oneself and the access to unconscious resources and abilities. In this article we will know how it originated, its characteristics and premises, benefits, operation, uses and applications in the therapeutic context.

M. H. Erickson: origin of his hypnosis

Milton Hyland Erickson was an American doctor 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 came about because at the age of 17 he suffered from poliomyelitis that left him paralyzed and bedridden. Doctors thought he would die. However, Erickson began to use self-hypnosis methods to recover, through a mirror, which proved effective in blocking conscious thoughts, for example. It was from there that his Ericksonian Hypnosis was born.

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis can be understood in two ways. a type of psychological therapyOn the other hand, as that state of unconsciousness or relaxation reached through a hypnotic process (or the process of hypnosis).

This state is similar to sleep, and is achieved through suggestion and the submission of the person's will to the orders received from the hypnotist or therapist. Erickson developed certain adaptations and innovations to the "classic" hypnosis to create his own method: Ericksonian Hypnosis. Let's see what it consists of.

Ericksonian Hypnosis: what does it consist of?

Ericksonian Hypnosis is a type of hypnosis scientifically supported, focused on focusing the conscious attention in a full way. The results it produces are similar to those obtained through meditation or Mindfulness.

One of its objectives is to access the unconscious of the person, to reach their resources, skills and unconscious memories and bring them to the surface of consciousness. The aim is to be able to use them in the consciousness in order to solve a problem.

Trance States

On the other hand, Ericksonian Hypnosis is used in psychotherapy and other fields (coaching, Neuro Linguistic Programming [NLP] sessions, education, sports...), and focuses on promoting a trance state in the person.

We can experience trance states in a natural wayFor example, when we are very relaxed, distracted or absorbed, or when we follow a route that we know perfectly well, automatically and without activating our consciousness (for example in the car, on the road). Other examples of trance occur when we read, listen to music or create art.

Ericksonian Hypnosis aims to elicit such trance states to make the person more aware of his or her abilities and the resources he or she possesses, through accessing his or her part of the body.through the access to his most unconscious part.

Premises

For Ericksonian Hypnosis to be effective, a series of fundamental premises of the technique must be taken into account in its application:

1. Availability of resources

The first premise holds that we all have, within ourselves, the necessary resources to resolve our conflicts; that is, we all, in a way, "have a psychologist inside us". Ericksonian Hypnosis helps us to access these resources.

2. Potential of the unconscious

According to Ericksonian Hypnosis, the unconscious is a very powerful source of resources, where important memories are also stored for the subject. The unconscious is always sending messages to the outside world, through our body, from our mind.through our body, through our words, through our trance states....

These are verbal and non-verbal messages that we must know how to detect and understand in order to access our most unconscious part.

3. Based on experience

Ericksonian Hypnosis is based on experiences, rather than on theoretical knowledge or explanations.. According to Erickson himself, living an experience will always be more effective than listening to an explanation.

4. Heterogeneity of responses

Not all people respond in the same way to Ericksonian Hypnosis. The response we emit will be influenced by our previous beliefs, our experiences, habits, thoughts, etc., and that is why it will vary greatly from one person to another.

Functioning

Ericksonian Hypnosis, as we have said, implies a state of focalization of the conscious attention; this state involves a dissociation of the conscious attention. entails a dissociation in the mind that makes it possible to access the person's unconscious abilities.. The dissociation is momentary, of short duration. All this leads the person to access 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, change behaviors and habits. Thus, it also promotes the learning of new behaviors and new patterns of behavior.

Erickson himself defines Ericksonian Hypnosis as a communicative process with the mind and with oneselfthrough which the person "is able to concentrate on his or her own thoughts, memories, beliefs and values about life". Ericksonian Hypnosis is an active learning that seeks to reach a trance state, which in turn allows access to unconsciousness and make the most of the personal resources of each one.

Self-hypnosis

Ericksonian Hypnosis, as we have mentioned, is actually a type of self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is learned to develop by oneself (through proper 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 becomes easy to put into practice.. Moreover, it can be used at almost any time and in different scenarios.

Benefits

As we said at the beginning of the article, this practice has proven to be effective in different studies, and produce effects similar to those obtained from mindfulness or meditation techniques.

The benefits of Ericksonian Hypnosis as a form of self-hypnosis include the following learning to manage stressIn addition, Ericksonian Hypnosis can lead to an increase in concentration, an improvement in mood and emotional state, a reduction in anxiety, an improvement in creativity, an improvement in decision making processes and a better control of oneself.

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 goal is to create a link with the 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 the patient, which can be of well-being, for example.

On the other hand, Ericksonian Hypnosis also allows access to the unconscious of the person, momentarily blocking the most rational and conscious part of his mind. This facilitates the surfacing of repressed thoughts and memories that are currently affecting the person's well-being.

This type of hypnosis also allows catalyzing and inducing change processes in times of crisis, for example, as well as facilitating decision making and managing painful moments or processes. In fact, it is a technique that has been shown to be effective in reducing Pain in people with fibromyalgia. to reduce pain in people with fibromyalgia, for example.for example.

One of the objectives of Ericksonian Hypnosis is for the person to regain control over their emotions and thoughts, and to feel secure and firm in their decision-making processes.