Post by Admin on Aug 2, 2020 18:12:21 GMT -7
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_H._Erickson
Milton Hyland Erickson was the second child of nine of Albert and Clara Erickson. Born in a mining camp in Aurum, Nevada where his father mined silver, the family moved to the farming community of Beaver Dam Wisconsin when he was quite young. The family settled on a modest farm, and the children all attended the one room schoolhouse in nearby Lowell. One of only two boys with seven sisters, the family farm was very demanding of physical labor.[4]
Erickson was late in learning to speak and had difficulties in reading which he described as dyslexia. He was also color blind and tone deaf. Later in life as he explained what seemed to be extraordinary abilities, he stated that the "disabilities" (dyslexia, color blindness, being tone-deaf) helped him to focus on aspects of communication and behavior which most people overlooked. This is a typical example of emphasizing the positive, which is characteristic to his overall approaches.[5]
Though the family valued education, books were scarce. His desire to learn led him to read the dictionary front to back, repeatedly, along with the few other texts the family treasured. He overcame his dyslexia and described the pivotal moments in a paper entitled "Auto-hypnotic Experiences of Milton Erickson” which is contained within The Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson, MD. The early moments of creative change, which he described as a "blinding flash of light" was later recognized by him to be an early spontaneous auto-hypnotic experience.[6]
He first became interested hypnosis at an early age when a traveling entertainer passed through the area. He later described his feelings that hypnosis was too powerful of a tool to be left to entertainers and decided to bring this tool into the realm of scientific evaluation and into the practice of medicine. At the time, Erickson already admired the local community doctor and had committed himself to becoming a physician.[2]
At age 17, he contracted polio which left him with lifelong disabilities. Having long been interested in hypnosis, the year of his recovery gave him the opportunity to explore the potential of hypnosis self-healing. He began to recall "body memories" of the muscular activity of his own body. By concentrating on his memories, he slowly learned to tweak his muscles to regain control of parts of his body to the point where he was eventually able to talk and use his arms. Still unable to walk, he decided to train his body further by embarking – alone – on a thousand-mile canoe trip with only a few dollars. After this grueling trip, he was able to walk with a cane which he used throughout his adult life, becoming confined to a wheelchair only in his last decade of life. While he himself attributes his self-healing with giving him insight into the use of hypnosis, the magnitude of the extent that his own ordeal contributed to the techniques he became known for remain speculative.[2]
After recovering his ability to walk, he attended the University of Wisconsin and achieved graduate degrees in both psychology and medicine. It was there that he began his formal studies of hypnosis and worked in the laboratory of Clark Hull. His ideas were somewhat different from Hull’s, and he began to explore his own views of hypnosis, investing himself in rigorous scientific exploration of the nature of hypnosis. Specializing in psychiatry, he took a series of positions at state hospitals that allowed him to continue research in hypnosis while refining his approaches to therapy. He was already a prolific writer focusing primarily on case studies and experimental work relevant to advancing understanding of hypnosis. These earlier writings are now also included in The Collected Works of Milton Erickson, M.D.[2]
During the WWII, he conducted physical and mental examinations of the soldiers. He was called upon by the U.S. intelligence services to meet with other experts to help the war effort through a better understanding of the psychological and mental factors involved in communication relevant to combat. Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson were among those with whom he worked in this capacity and with whom he developed lifelong friendships. Over the subsequent decades, they consulted many times on a series of projects.[7]
In his late 40s, he developed post-polio syndrome which resulted in additional muscle loss and additional pain.[7] At that time, he and his wife Elizabeth and family of five young children departed from Detroit and his position at Eloise State Hospital to relocate in Phoenix, Arizona where it was believed that the weather conditions would support healing. Once in Phoenix, he established himself in private practice, and had a home office for the remainder of his life.[2]
At this stage of his career, he became active in the Society for Clinical and Educational Hypnosis (SCEH) which promoted research and taught physicians how to use clinical hypnosis. Due to personal differences with others in the organization, and strong feelings about the most effective manner in which to bring clinical hypnosis into the hands of practicing physicians and dentists, Erickson ended his affiliation with the SCEH and broke away to form the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) in July 1957. For a decade he was the founding editor of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis and had at least one article in every issue. He dedicated the next two decades of his life to professional writing, teaching other professionals, and maintaining a private practice. This was a productive period during which he developed and refined his own unique style of hypnotherapy therapy which caught the attention of other notables.[8]
His ongoing relationship with Gregory Bateson led others to take an interest in Erickson’s unique communication skills and therapeutic approaches. In 1973, Jay Haley published Uncommon Therapy, which for the first time brought Erickson and his approaches to the attention of those outside the clinical hypnosis community. Erickson's fame and reputation spread rapidly, and so many people wished to meet him that he began holding teaching seminars, which continued until his death.[9]
Throughout his professional career he collaborated with a series of serious students, and the colleagues who recognized the uniqueness and effectiveness of Erickson’s approaches amassed Erickson’s individual publications into volumes. His weekly workshops remained popular until his death. It was during that interval of time that his students began to create frameworks for the work that Erickson did, and describe in their own way the style of his work. Those efforts have influenced a vast number of psychotherapeutic directions, including brief therapy, family systems therapy, strategic therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, and additional directions.[9]
Milton H. Erickson died in March 1980, aged 78, leaving behind his wife Elizabeth, four sons, four daughters, and a lasting legacy to the worlds of psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, pedagogics and communications.[9]
www.youtube.com/channel/UC26S8Lt86jOwteHnzIXZNxg
Milton Hyland Erickson (5 December 1901 – 25 March 1980) was an American psychiatrist and psychologist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy. He was founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychopathological Association. He is noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution-generating. He is also noted for influencing brief therapy, strategic family therapy, family systems therapy, solution focused brief therapy, and neuro-linguistic programming.[1]
Milton Hyland Erickson was the second child of nine of Albert and Clara Erickson. Born in a mining camp in Aurum, Nevada where his father mined silver, the family moved to the farming community of Beaver Dam Wisconsin when he was quite young. The family settled on a modest farm, and the children all attended the one room schoolhouse in nearby Lowell. One of only two boys with seven sisters, the family farm was very demanding of physical labor.[4]
Erickson was late in learning to speak and had difficulties in reading which he described as dyslexia. He was also color blind and tone deaf. Later in life as he explained what seemed to be extraordinary abilities, he stated that the "disabilities" (dyslexia, color blindness, being tone-deaf) helped him to focus on aspects of communication and behavior which most people overlooked. This is a typical example of emphasizing the positive, which is characteristic to his overall approaches.[5]
Though the family valued education, books were scarce. His desire to learn led him to read the dictionary front to back, repeatedly, along with the few other texts the family treasured. He overcame his dyslexia and described the pivotal moments in a paper entitled "Auto-hypnotic Experiences of Milton Erickson” which is contained within The Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson, MD. The early moments of creative change, which he described as a "blinding flash of light" was later recognized by him to be an early spontaneous auto-hypnotic experience.[6]
He first became interested hypnosis at an early age when a traveling entertainer passed through the area. He later described his feelings that hypnosis was too powerful of a tool to be left to entertainers and decided to bring this tool into the realm of scientific evaluation and into the practice of medicine. At the time, Erickson already admired the local community doctor and had committed himself to becoming a physician.[2]
An important part of his education left out in the following discussion were his observations made while he was paralyzed!
Work demands on a farm didn't give his family much time to care for him, so a hole was cut in the bottom of a rocker and a pot placed under it. Each day he was placed in the rocker so he could look out the window and everyone went about their business.
He became deeply aware of Body Language as he observed family members and farm workers in their daily lives while theri mouths were saying one thing while their body language was in disagreement - the mouth saying yes, the head shaking NO, etc.
Work demands on a farm didn't give his family much time to care for him, so a hole was cut in the bottom of a rocker and a pot placed under it. Each day he was placed in the rocker so he could look out the window and everyone went about their business.
He became deeply aware of Body Language as he observed family members and farm workers in their daily lives while theri mouths were saying one thing while their body language was in disagreement - the mouth saying yes, the head shaking NO, etc.
At age 17, he contracted polio which left him with lifelong disabilities. Having long been interested in hypnosis, the year of his recovery gave him the opportunity to explore the potential of hypnosis self-healing. He began to recall "body memories" of the muscular activity of his own body. By concentrating on his memories, he slowly learned to tweak his muscles to regain control of parts of his body to the point where he was eventually able to talk and use his arms. Still unable to walk, he decided to train his body further by embarking – alone – on a thousand-mile canoe trip with only a few dollars. After this grueling trip, he was able to walk with a cane which he used throughout his adult life, becoming confined to a wheelchair only in his last decade of life. While he himself attributes his self-healing with giving him insight into the use of hypnosis, the magnitude of the extent that his own ordeal contributed to the techniques he became known for remain speculative.[2]
After recovering his ability to walk, he attended the University of Wisconsin and achieved graduate degrees in both psychology and medicine. It was there that he began his formal studies of hypnosis and worked in the laboratory of Clark Hull. His ideas were somewhat different from Hull’s, and he began to explore his own views of hypnosis, investing himself in rigorous scientific exploration of the nature of hypnosis. Specializing in psychiatry, he took a series of positions at state hospitals that allowed him to continue research in hypnosis while refining his approaches to therapy. He was already a prolific writer focusing primarily on case studies and experimental work relevant to advancing understanding of hypnosis. These earlier writings are now also included in The Collected Works of Milton Erickson, M.D.[2]
During the WWII, he conducted physical and mental examinations of the soldiers. He was called upon by the U.S. intelligence services to meet with other experts to help the war effort through a better understanding of the psychological and mental factors involved in communication relevant to combat. Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson were among those with whom he worked in this capacity and with whom he developed lifelong friendships. Over the subsequent decades, they consulted many times on a series of projects.[7]
In his late 40s, he developed post-polio syndrome which resulted in additional muscle loss and additional pain.[7] At that time, he and his wife Elizabeth and family of five young children departed from Detroit and his position at Eloise State Hospital to relocate in Phoenix, Arizona where it was believed that the weather conditions would support healing. Once in Phoenix, he established himself in private practice, and had a home office for the remainder of his life.[2]
At this stage of his career, he became active in the Society for Clinical and Educational Hypnosis (SCEH) which promoted research and taught physicians how to use clinical hypnosis. Due to personal differences with others in the organization, and strong feelings about the most effective manner in which to bring clinical hypnosis into the hands of practicing physicians and dentists, Erickson ended his affiliation with the SCEH and broke away to form the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) in July 1957. For a decade he was the founding editor of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis and had at least one article in every issue. He dedicated the next two decades of his life to professional writing, teaching other professionals, and maintaining a private practice. This was a productive period during which he developed and refined his own unique style of hypnotherapy therapy which caught the attention of other notables.[8]
His ongoing relationship with Gregory Bateson led others to take an interest in Erickson’s unique communication skills and therapeutic approaches. In 1973, Jay Haley published Uncommon Therapy, which for the first time brought Erickson and his approaches to the attention of those outside the clinical hypnosis community. Erickson's fame and reputation spread rapidly, and so many people wished to meet him that he began holding teaching seminars, which continued until his death.[9]
Throughout his professional career he collaborated with a series of serious students, and the colleagues who recognized the uniqueness and effectiveness of Erickson’s approaches amassed Erickson’s individual publications into volumes. His weekly workshops remained popular until his death. It was during that interval of time that his students began to create frameworks for the work that Erickson did, and describe in their own way the style of his work. Those efforts have influenced a vast number of psychotherapeutic directions, including brief therapy, family systems therapy, strategic therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, and additional directions.[9]
Milton H. Erickson died in March 1980, aged 78, leaving behind his wife Elizabeth, four sons, four daughters, and a lasting legacy to the worlds of psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, pedagogics and communications.[9]
www.youtube.com/channel/UC26S8Lt86jOwteHnzIXZNxg