Product reviews for The Wisdom of Milton H. Erickson

Ronald Havens has produced a collection of quotations from the many published articles by Milton H.Erickson. When I first started to read these quotations I was just “dipping in' and didn't do justice to the philosophy behind the purpose of the book.

Now that I have had the time to be more systematic and thoughtful about the concept, I can fully appreciate what is indeed contained within the 360 plus pages.

The book is in three parts-¦. Human Behaviour, Psychotherapy and Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. Each part is broken down into chapters and each chapter contains subheadings e.g.“Observations Regarding Nonverbal Communication”,“The Separate Abilities of the Unconscious”,“Therapists Must Decipher what Patients Say”,“Unique People Require Unique Interventions”,“Use Whatever the Patient Presents”,“Trance is Manifested in a Variety of Ways”,“Keep Your Role and Goal in Mind”,“Use Boredom or Surprise” and “Hypnosis Helps Overcome Conscious Barriers”.

Each of the subheadings has a wealth of information pertinent to that subject and is followed by a collection of quotations that add substance and insight for the reader to absorb.

As an example,in the chapter “Initiating Therapeutic Change” with the subheading “Unique People Require Unique Interventions”, Havens offers some insight into how Erickson worked e.g. “Theoretical considerations, classifications and constructs should not be allowed to define or to limit what the therapist sees or does-¦..” and Erickson is quoted, illustrating his beliefs from a variety of angles e.g.“Be willing to avoid following any one teaching or any one technique.” (Haley,1976,p.535) and “And I do wish that Rogerian therapists, Gestalt therapists, transactional analysts, group analysts and all the other offspring of various theories would recognize that not one of them really recognizes that psychotherapy for person #1 is not psychotherapy for person #2.” (Zeig,1980,p. 104)

“Erickson's use of indirect forms of communication was designed to do more than elicit responses in a reflex sort of way. Many, if not all, of his indirect communications also were designed to bypass the conscious mind and to contact the unconscious mind instead.” enabling him to solicit the assistance of the unconscious mind.

I'm pleased to have had the opportunity to read this book at this stage of my career as a hypnotherapist as I can more fully appreciate the subtlety of the wisdom of the man so many have admired over the years. There is no doubt that Milton H. Erickson has left us a legacy that will endure. All this from a man born in 1901, who was colour blind and could perceive and enjoy the colour purple, but little else, who didn't speak until he was four, had polio when he was 17 and again at the age of 51. “Throughout his lifetime he was forced to overcome an incredible variety of adversities, but he had a way of turning all of his difficulties into advantages and valuable opportunities for learning.”

Ronald Havens can feel justifiably proud of what he has produced.All the hard work of researching, interpreting and compiling has resulted in a wealth of knowledge that he has been prepared to share with the world. Put it on your wish list for Christmas.