Milton Erickson And His View On Hypnosis

Milton Erickson is considered  the father of modern hypnosis. Nowadays it is called hypnotherapy, and this American doctor and psychologist was a pioneer in several hypnotherapy techniques. In addition, he was an excellent family therapist.

Milton Erickson was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1901. At that time, people generally believed that hypnosis was an esoteric technique or circus. However, he made an effort to make it a valid therapeutic tool.

Several psychological schools of thought (especially behavioral psychology) influenced his work. He was the first president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, which made him famous.

Milton Erickson did not have an easy life. His parents were low-class farmers and he suffered from several health problems. He only started talking at the age of four. At that age, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. He was also color-blind and suffered from tone deafness.

When he was 17, he contracted polio, which paralyzed him completely. He could only move his eyes. Although the doctors did not think he could improve, Erickson firmly believed that he could recover. Therefore, he became very aware of his bodily feelings.

Clearly, his condition forced him to become an excellent observer. Even though he was ill, he tried to be aware of everything that was happening around him. This allowed him to discover and understand many aspects of non-verbal communication. By carefully observing his younger sister (who was taking her first steps), he learned to walk again.

Despite his great obstacles, Milton Erickson studied to become a doctor and a psychologist. During this period he analyzed Clark L. Hull’s theories of allusions. He said that these theories fascinated him so much that he began to research in depth about hypnosis and everything related to the subject.

In time, Milton Erickson began to criticize Hull’s practice. He also studied Sigmund Freud’s work, but did not agree with his basic attitude. According to him, hypnosis was a therapeutic tool. However, he felt that the patient should play a more active role.

For Milton Erickson, therapeutic intervention was not universal. He did not believe in applying the technology in the same way to every patient. On the contrary , he emphasized the importance of uniqueness and individuality. This explains why he thought that each process was different and therefore should be treated in a special way. In other words, he used different techniques on each patient.

Milton Erickson’s main goal was to help his patients manage the symptoms that bothered them. To achieve this, he even uses unconventional methods. That is why many considered him a “guru” or a “magician”.

Unlike Freud, Milton Erickson did not care about his patient’s past. He believed that it was more important to concentrate on the present, especially on solving current problems. He developed approaches that are still used today, such as neurolinguistic programming and solution-focused short-term therapy.

Although Milton Erickson used hypnosis as his main therapeutic tool, he gradually began to use language as an instrument of transformation. Milton Erickson was first and foremost a clinical psychologist. Developing new theories did not interest him much. Instead, he focused on developing highly effective exercises that could help people.

At the age of 50, he suffered a new polio attack, and took advantage of it to observe his emotions and come up with new pain relief methods. In fact, he expressed this whole process in one of his books. He passed away when he was 78.