Workshops for Professionals

The following programs focus on brief therapy in the managed care era, employing the hypnotic, strategic, and solution-focused therapy pioneered by Milton H. Erickson, MD. The workshops are facilitated by Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D. Dr. Zeig, Director and President of the Board of Directors of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation and a clinical psychologist in private practice in Phoenix, Arizona, has presented these workshops to health professionals in 40 countries.

Workshop Format

Schedule: The preferred format is a three-day workshop with six hours of instruction per day. However, seminars can be modified to one- to five-day formats. Equipment requirements: DVD player and beam projector. Dr. Zeig can bring a beam projector for a nominal additional fee. Enrolment: Restricted to professionals with graduate degrees in health-related fields (e.g., M.D., D.D.S., Ph.D., M.S.W., M.A., etc.) or full-time graduate students in accredited programs in these fields. Promotion: All brochures produced by the sponsoring organization must contain eligibility statements, and copy must be reviewed prior to printing. Content: Each professional workshop customarily consists of lectures, experiential exercises, practice sessions, and live demonstrations. Hypnosis workshops include discussion of videotapes of Milton H. Erickson, M.D., recorded in 1978-1980 during teaching seminars in Phoenix, Arizona.

Erickson Foundation and Zeig, Tucker, & Theisen Links

Workshop Descriptions

1. Brief Therapy: Key Concepts in the Ericksonian Approach

This dynamic workshop presents cornerstone principles of Ericksonian strategic psychotherapy. Milton H. Erickson, M.D. (1901-1980), was renowned for his ingenious methods for eliciting patient change. His approach harnessed the power of hypnosis, but often without the use of formal trance. These brief therapy techniques, such as symptom prescription, reframing, anecdotes and symbols, can be incorporated into any psychotherapeutic discipline and across patient populations to enhance the therapeutic process. Key concepts include goal-setting, gift-wrapping, tailoring, creating a dramatic process and utilization. Applications to problems such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders and trauma are addressed.

Educational Objectives To distinguish five “choice points” that can be used to empower therapy

Given a treatment goal, to distill ways to gift-wrap, tailor, and process the intervention.

2. Hypnosis in Time-Limited Therapy: Fundamentals of the Ericksonian Approach

What is hypnosis? What is the Ericksonian difference? How do you help patients elicit a constructive trance experience? What is the most effective way to present ideas in order to work with resistances? How do you take methods from hypnosis and apply them to practice without the necessity of formal trance? In experiential workshop, participants will learn how to elicit a trance state and how to enhance responsiveness through the application of novel assessment criteria based on the styles and values of the individual. Powerful hypnotic language forms that can be tailored so that a trance is developed in an appropriate and efficient way for each patient will be presented. Demonstration inductions, and work in small groups to induce and experience hypnotic states, will dimensionalize the learning.

Educational Objectives:

To describe the three-stage “skeleton” of an Ericksonian induction sequence.
To describe the use of responsiveness to minimal cues.
Given a patient’s hypnotic responsiveness, to discern a brief therapy approach.

3. Hypnosis in Time-Limited Therapy: Intermediate Training in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy

Based on the hypnotherapy of Milton H. Erickson, M.D., the content of this course covers: Utilization of trance states to achieve clinical objects; verbal and nonverbal communication forms that create optimal trance and post-trance responses; the structure of resistances and how to utilize them; harnessing indirect methods such as the interspersal technique, the confusion technique and the use of anecdotes; and helping patients who suffer common clinical problems such as anxiety and depression. A live demonstration of actual hypnotherapy in presented.

Prerequisite: Participants in this workshop should have attended basic workshops on Ericksonian hypnotherapy and use it in their clinical practice.

Educational Objectives:

Given a patient, to create a series of anecdotes to elicit resource states.
iven a patient with depression or anxiety, to indicate a hypnotherapy approach.

4. Hypnosis in Time-Limited Therapy: Advanced Training in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy

The aim of this course is to enable students to: Increase the efficacy of using hypnotic techniques to achieve clinical objects; learn to use trance phenomena and multilevel symbolic communication; create advanced induction procedures to bolster the process of hypnotherapy; use “prehypnotic” suggestions, such as seeding, to increase effectiveness; learn the latest techniques of inducing therapeutic amnesia; and conduct supervised hypnotherapy. A complete demonstration of hypnotherapy will be presented. Topic areas include habit and pain control, phobias, and hypnotherapy with the severely disturbed patient.

Prerequisite: Participants in this workshop should use hypnotherapy regularly in their clinical practice and have previously attended workshops on the Ericksonian method.

Educational Objectives:

Given a patient, to create a utilization induction specifically targeted to the patient’s complaint.
To describe the stages in the process of Ericksonian therapy, and provide examples of three methods for each stage.

5. The Self-Developing Clinician

Theory, Technique, Research–each plays an important role in being an effective therapist. Accomplishment in these areas alone, however, does not make one a master clinician. There is something more to be truly effective– a creative flair, as seen in such master therapists as Milton Erickson, Carl Whitaker, and Virginia Satir.

Although there are many models to promote Self-development, including personal therapy and supervision, these methods are often inadequate. Because psychotherapy / counseling is an art, more similar to theatre than to science, Improvisation is a compelling addition to one’s self-growth as a clinician. Working individually and in groups, we will develop our lenses (ways of viewing), our muscles (ways of doing), our heart (compassion), and our hats (social roles). Using PsychoaerobicSM exercises, we will get to experience what is means to make therapy effective and fun for both patients and clinicians, whether in individual, group, or family therapy. Therapists from all disciplines and at every level of experience can benefit from this widely acclaimed training program.

Educational Objectives:

To determine five characteristics that made Milton Erickson a master clinician.
To identify three professional strengths and weaknesses, and describe beneficial and related self-development exercises.

6. Hypnosis and Sex Therapy

This workshop surveys major areas of sexual functioning and counseling. We will examine some of the advantages that Ericksonian hypnotherapy can bring to sex therapy. A phenomenological and experiential approach to enhancing intimacy will be emphasized.

7. Lasting impressions in brief therapy: What can clinicians learn from filmmakers…and social psychologists?

“I want to he happier; more confident; more positive; more relaxed.” Clinicians commonly hear these and similar complaints.

Clients want changes in mood and perspective. Traditionally, changing mood and perspective is accomplished by educating clients about their patterns, encouraging them to change their behaviors and thoughts. But, experiential methods can be more immediately effective.

All art is, by definition “experiential.” And altering mood and perspective is the point of it – whether drama, painting, literature, dance, or music. Movies use multilayered methods for change. The viewer is often unaware of the intricate dramatic, experiential methods that filmmakers use to exert influence.

Social psychology studies the way in which people are influenced outside of awareness. People respond to contextual markers and demand characteristics without realizing their response or what precipitated it.

Brief therapy can be advanced by harnessing effective methods from other disciplines. Concepts from filmmaking and social psychology can advance the practice of brief therapy.

We will explore how some experiential methods from other fields can be folded into our brief therapy repertoire. We will look at Milton Erickson, one of the founders of brief therapy, through the lens of the filmmaker and social psychologist in order to elucidate his unique clinical approach.

We will go on to deconstruct a scene from a movie, and then extract principles that can be applied in psychotherapy. We will deconstruct some of Erickson’s cases from the perspective of the dramatist. Demonstration and small-group exercises will enhance our ability to incorporate these approaches into our own work. Regardless of professional orientation, everyone will find ways to use the concepts we uncover.

Educational Objectives:

List three filmmaker methods that can be used in psychotherapy
Given a patient, describe an experiential method to advance treatment goals.
Given a therapy goal, describe a method to make it more effective by appealing to the client’s visual system.
Describe three ways of increasing dramatic tension in therapy, and indicate why it is useful to do so.
Given a patient, describe a social psychology method to advance treatment goals.

8. What can hypnotherapists learn from filmmakers…and social psychologists?

“I want to he happier; more confident; more accomplished; more relaxed.” Clinicians commonly hear these and similar complaints.

Hypnotherapy can be advanced by harnessing effective methods from other disciplines. Concepts from filmmaking and social psychology can advance the practice of hypnosis.

We will explore how some experiential methods from other fields can be folded into our hypnotherapy repertoire. We will look at Milton Erickson through the lens of the filmmaker and social psychologist in order to elucidate his unique clinical approach.

We will deconstruct a scene from a movie, and then extract principles that can be applied in hypnotherapy. We will deconstruct some of Erickson’s cases from the perspective of the dramatist. Demonstration and small-group exercises will enhance our ability to incorporate these approaches into our own work. Regardless of professional orientation, everyone will find ways to use the concepts we uncover.

Educational Objectives:

List three filmmaker methods that can be used in hypnotherapy
Given a patient, describe an experiential method to advance treatment goals.
Given a therapy goal, describe a method to make it more effective by appealing to the client’s visual system.
Describe three ways of increasing dramatic tension in hypnotherapy, and indicate why it is useful to do so.
Given a patient, describe a social psychology method to advance treatment goals.

9. Therapeutic Shape-Shifting: Altering States of Consciousness through the Arts

The unremitting depression, anxiety, and disappointment that often bring clients into therapy are deeply experientialstates that include rigid sub-states, physical sensations, patterns of social relationship, and sequences of behavior. Traditionally, therapists have tried to help clients emerge from these states by exploring with them their pasts and life patterns, and encouraging them to change their thoughts and behaviors. But there’s a vast array of powerful human change agents that have a proven record of altering people’s inner emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual states: the arts–poetry, drama, music, theatre, film, painting, sculpture, and comedy. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to use structural methods from the arts to help clients experience different states of being, envision themselves and their lives in a new way, and begin inhabiting a more energetic, hopeful, creative, and expansive inner/relational self.

10. THE EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: or Masters of Therapy

What are the essential ingredients that make a master psychotherapist? In this program we will view sections of clinical demonstrations from presenters at the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conferences and extrapolate the differences and commonalties that underlie effective clinical work. Experts include: Aaron T. Beck, James Bugenthal, Albert Ellis, Eugene Gendlin, William Glaser, Mary Goulding, Robert Goulding, James Hillman, Otto Kernberg, Ronald D. Laing, Al Lowen, Erv Polster, Miriam Polster, Carl Rogers, Ernest Rossi, Carl Whitaker, Joseph Wolpe and Jeffrey Zeig. The program also includes lecture and small group exercises to help students master principles and practice.

11. THE UTILIZATION OF ERICKSONIAN METHODS IN COUPLES AND FAMILY THERAPY

Ericksonian methods offer ways to empower both individuals and systems. Techniques from hypnosis can be applied in systemic therapy, regardless of the orientation of the practitioner. Whether or not formal hypnosis is used, alone, Ericksonian hypnotic methods can create more rapid and enduring change. In this experiential workshop, we will explore the use of advanced techniques of reframing, posthypnotic suggestions without trance, and the use of imagery and metaphors with couples and families. We will investigate systems in which one member is the symptom bearer and we will also identify family patterns such as pursue/distance, hostile/dependent, and borderline/narcissistic.

12. ERICKSONIAN HYPNOSIS DEMYSTIFIED: BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR CLIENTS

Rather than exorcists casting out the hidden demons of trauma and deficits, contemporary therapists look more like treasure hunters seeking the unrecognized gems in their clients’ lives and personalities. Ericksonian hypnosis is an especially powerful tool for helping clients plumb for the best in their own natures and experience directly the untapped reservoirs of determination, intelligence, optimism and love that ultimately provide healing. In this intensive workshop, dramatic advances in the enhancing of the experiential impact of therapy through trance will be presented. Participants will also learn the use of such classic hypnotic methods as the interspersal technique, the confusion technique, and anecdotes, with a range of common clinical problems including anxiety and depression. Designed for both the beginner and the more experienced practitioner, this session will feature live clinical demonstrations, as well as lecture, videotapes, and experiential exercises. No previous training in Ericksonian hypnotherapy is necessary. Attendees must be licensed/certified to practice psychotherapy.

Specialty workshops are available on other topics such as:

Key Concepts in Effective Therapy
Therapeutic Tasks
Hypnotic Pain Control
Training Trainers: An Ericksonian Approach
Fundamentals of Psychotherapy Supervision