Jay Haley On Milton H Erickson

The first chapter provides a succinct biography of this extraodinary man, describing how Erickson overcame numerous adversities in early life, and how these events shaped his development as a highly innovative thinker. Commentaries on Milton Erickson, M.D. examines the practical and theoretical aspects of Erickson's methods, including his therapeutic posture, expectation of change, emphasis on the positive, acknowledgement of more than one solution to a problem, blocking of symptomatic behavior, change in relation to the therapist, use of anectodes, and willingness to "let go" of patients. A Review of Ordeal Therapy focuses on a controversial therapeutic technique successfully used by Erickson. Haley cautions the reader, however, of the care with which this powerful technique should be exercised. A fascinating dialogue between Jay Haley and John Weakland,

Milton H. Erickson, M.D. is generally acknowledged to have been the world's leading practitioner of medical hypnosis. His "strategic therapy," using hypnotic techniques with or without actually inducing trance, allows him to get directly to the core of a problem and prescribe a course of action that can lead to rapid recovery. This book provides a comprehensive look at Dr. Erickson's theories in practice, through a series of case studies covering the kinds of problems that are likely to occur at various stages of the human life cycle. The results Dr. Erickson achieves sometimes seem to border on the miraculous, but they are brought about by a finely honed technique used by a wise, intuitive, highly trained psychiatrist-hypnotist whose work is recognized as a major contribution to the field.

Long known as the world's leading medical hypnotist, Milton H. Erikson developed a strategic approach - for individuals, couples and families - that uses hypnotic-therapy skills in observing and motivating people. His ideas and procedures have been widely used to sharpen the techniques of therapists of many different schools. Jay Haley provides a look at Dr. Erickson's theories in practice, through description and excerpts from Erickson's case studies.--From back cover.

Presents over one hundred "teaching tales" of the hypnotherapist Milton Erickson, which he uses to influence his patients on conscious and unconscious levels, and discusses his approaches to hypnosis and psychotherapy.

The first chapter provides a succinct biography of this extraodinary man, describing how Erickson overcame numerous adversities in early life, and how these events shaped his development as a highly innovative thinker. Commentaries on Milton Erickson, M.D. examines the practical and theoretical aspects of Erickson's methods, including his therapeutic posture, expectation of change, emphasis on the positive, acknowledgement of more than one solution to a problem, blocking of symptomatic behavior, change in relation to the therapist, use of anectodes, and willingness to "let go" of patients. A Review of Ordeal Therapy focuses on a controversial therapeutic technique successfully used by Erickson. Haley cautions the reader, however, of the care with which this powerful technique should be exercised. A fascinating dialogue between Jay Haley and John Weakland,

Conversations took place over 17 years and were recorded as part of Gregory Bateson's project on communication and therapy.