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Product reviews for The Wisdom of Milton H. Erickson
Philip & Norms Barrens
If you are one of our readers who never had a chance to meet and experience Milton Erickson in person, Ronald Havens gives you an opportunity to get to know this phenomenal physician/psychiatrist/philosopher - at least in a literary sense - in this collection of quotes directly from the lectures, articles and books of Erickson's work.
Obviously, Havens accomplished a monumental task: this book offers a veritable treasure box of wisdom. Havens writes: “He (Erickson) devoted his life to careful observation of Himself and others-¦ as a consequence he learned how to enable others to utilize potentials they did not know they had and he helped them to resolve personal and interpersonal problems that no other professional has been able to touch” (p. xii).
Anyone with an interest in doing hypnotic work, theoretically, clinically or in research will find this book useful to help in their own exploration of human behaviors, some of which they may have never even thought about until now. It's possible that looking at these bits and pieces of Erickson's verbalizations would be like working on a very intricate crossword puzzle maybe with printing on both sides of some pieces making it very difficult to work this puzzle. Havens helps us (a little), in that he has sorted the content into categories. However, because there is that precious hypnotic gift of ambiguity in many of these utterances, they could be lifted and placed in other categories, and they would still fit! That tells us that much of what Milton Erickson had to say has the lasting quality of wisdom for the ages.
If Erickson had a secret it was his ability to observe people with astute open minded naivete which allowed him to really see and hear them with accuracy. This ability enabled him to respond to them using their framework and then helping them to change what needed changing. Havens gives us numerous examples of this concept. The first section “Relevant Quotations” covers observation. In 1977, Erickson stated: “When I wanted to know something, I wanted it undistorted by somebody else's imperfect knowledge” (p. 15).
Perhaps, this is a key to what Erickson offered us: observation of what is gives us the information we must have in order to proceed. Further, he tells us: Unfortunately lack of critical observation or inexperience sometimes leads to the inference that the subjects are unresponsive rather than the realization that they are most responsive in a more complex fashion than was intended (Erickson, 1980, p. 188).
Just reading through the contents (p. i-iv) gives the reader a carefully structured reference to all the subject matter covered. Part One on Human Behavior, Part Two on Psychotherapy and Part -˜three on Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy allow the reader to select specific topics, and to mix and match Erickson's thoughts about each.
In Chapter Nine, Havens states “Anyone Can Be Hypnotized” - and what a comforting thought that is to those of us who work hypnotically: “Trance is a common experience” (p. 205); “Hypnosis is a normal phenomenon of the human mind” (p. 206); and, “any normal person can be hypnotized provided there is adequate motivation” (p. 206). This is a helpful set of notions to embed as a fine reason to incorporate hypnosis into therapeutic work. Just imagine what an inspiring message this delivers to the beginning students of hypnosis.
Some quotes demonstrate Erickson's fabulous use of language: “... there is something that you know but you don't know you know it. As soon as you find out what it is that you already know, but you don't know, you know then you can begin” (p. 278). There is a certain enticing quality in “not knowing what you know.” In a related manner, John Grinder with his excellent linguistic background was able to decipher and label many of Erickson's linguistic patterns, thereby making them accessible in a way that Erickson himself could not (Grinder & Bandler, 1981). Havens has given us a volume that is nicely sorted and categorized to allow us to absorb some of what Erickson offered. Much of this has served to change the way by which many people view the mystique of hypnosis: there is an amazing amount of common sense in Erickson's statements.
This book is an excellent “desk volume.” It can also serve as an inspiration to us when we encounter some difficult challenge. On those “tougher than ordinary days” turn to p. 232 and read Erickson's thoughts about the use of psychopharmacological drugs. “In all the experimental work that I've done my feeling is that drugs of any sort are a handicap, because then you have to deal with the patient and the drug effects, and you're handicapping yourself. The only drug I favor is an ounce of whiskey half an hour before the patient arrives -you take it.” Obviously, the man also had a great sense of humor!
In his closing, Havens reminds us (in true Ericksonian style): “Becoming an effective hypnotherapist means adopting a hypnotherapeutic style of life. The words and concepts uttered by Erickson can serve as a source of motivation and as a guide, but they cannot serve as the answer. The answer lies within each one of us, in our total commitments to learning by objective observation and experiences how to use our toll range of conscious and unconscious capacities and how to help others learn how to do the same. We no longer have Milton H. Erickson to redirect our attention, to correct our erroneous interpretations, or to chide us for our naive acceptance of whatever “truth” comes our way. Maybe, just maybe, therapists will fill that void with their own objectively based wisdom and experientially derived skills instead of a new theoretical school or a new personality to emulate. If so, then Erickson's message and example will have gotten through. We have to grow up, accept the wisdom given to us, and admit that this is a difficult business, a complex craft. We owe it to our patients to use Erickson's wisdom wisely. More importantly, we owe it to ourselves.”
We recommend you read this book and heed the messages.
Obviously, Havens accomplished a monumental task: this book offers a veritable treasure box of wisdom. Havens writes: “He (Erickson) devoted his life to careful observation of Himself and others-¦ as a consequence he learned how to enable others to utilize potentials they did not know they had and he helped them to resolve personal and interpersonal problems that no other professional has been able to touch” (p. xii).
Anyone with an interest in doing hypnotic work, theoretically, clinically or in research will find this book useful to help in their own exploration of human behaviors, some of which they may have never even thought about until now. It's possible that looking at these bits and pieces of Erickson's verbalizations would be like working on a very intricate crossword puzzle maybe with printing on both sides of some pieces making it very difficult to work this puzzle. Havens helps us (a little), in that he has sorted the content into categories. However, because there is that precious hypnotic gift of ambiguity in many of these utterances, they could be lifted and placed in other categories, and they would still fit! That tells us that much of what Milton Erickson had to say has the lasting quality of wisdom for the ages.
If Erickson had a secret it was his ability to observe people with astute open minded naivete which allowed him to really see and hear them with accuracy. This ability enabled him to respond to them using their framework and then helping them to change what needed changing. Havens gives us numerous examples of this concept. The first section “Relevant Quotations” covers observation. In 1977, Erickson stated: “When I wanted to know something, I wanted it undistorted by somebody else's imperfect knowledge” (p. 15).
Perhaps, this is a key to what Erickson offered us: observation of what is gives us the information we must have in order to proceed. Further, he tells us: Unfortunately lack of critical observation or inexperience sometimes leads to the inference that the subjects are unresponsive rather than the realization that they are most responsive in a more complex fashion than was intended (Erickson, 1980, p. 188).
Just reading through the contents (p. i-iv) gives the reader a carefully structured reference to all the subject matter covered. Part One on Human Behavior, Part Two on Psychotherapy and Part -˜three on Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy allow the reader to select specific topics, and to mix and match Erickson's thoughts about each.
In Chapter Nine, Havens states “Anyone Can Be Hypnotized” - and what a comforting thought that is to those of us who work hypnotically: “Trance is a common experience” (p. 205); “Hypnosis is a normal phenomenon of the human mind” (p. 206); and, “any normal person can be hypnotized provided there is adequate motivation” (p. 206). This is a helpful set of notions to embed as a fine reason to incorporate hypnosis into therapeutic work. Just imagine what an inspiring message this delivers to the beginning students of hypnosis.
Some quotes demonstrate Erickson's fabulous use of language: “... there is something that you know but you don't know you know it. As soon as you find out what it is that you already know, but you don't know, you know then you can begin” (p. 278). There is a certain enticing quality in “not knowing what you know.” In a related manner, John Grinder with his excellent linguistic background was able to decipher and label many of Erickson's linguistic patterns, thereby making them accessible in a way that Erickson himself could not (Grinder & Bandler, 1981). Havens has given us a volume that is nicely sorted and categorized to allow us to absorb some of what Erickson offered. Much of this has served to change the way by which many people view the mystique of hypnosis: there is an amazing amount of common sense in Erickson's statements.
This book is an excellent “desk volume.” It can also serve as an inspiration to us when we encounter some difficult challenge. On those “tougher than ordinary days” turn to p. 232 and read Erickson's thoughts about the use of psychopharmacological drugs. “In all the experimental work that I've done my feeling is that drugs of any sort are a handicap, because then you have to deal with the patient and the drug effects, and you're handicapping yourself. The only drug I favor is an ounce of whiskey half an hour before the patient arrives -you take it.” Obviously, the man also had a great sense of humor!
In his closing, Havens reminds us (in true Ericksonian style): “Becoming an effective hypnotherapist means adopting a hypnotherapeutic style of life. The words and concepts uttered by Erickson can serve as a source of motivation and as a guide, but they cannot serve as the answer. The answer lies within each one of us, in our total commitments to learning by objective observation and experiences how to use our toll range of conscious and unconscious capacities and how to help others learn how to do the same. We no longer have Milton H. Erickson to redirect our attention, to correct our erroneous interpretations, or to chide us for our naive acceptance of whatever “truth” comes our way. Maybe, just maybe, therapists will fill that void with their own objectively based wisdom and experientially derived skills instead of a new theoretical school or a new personality to emulate. If so, then Erickson's message and example will have gotten through. We have to grow up, accept the wisdom given to us, and admit that this is a difficult business, a complex craft. We owe it to our patients to use Erickson's wisdom wisely. More importantly, we owe it to ourselves.”
We recommend you read this book and heed the messages.
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08/11/2006 00:00
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