Pebble Kicking
Neo-Ericksonian Approaches to Psychotherapy & HypnosisOne of the major principles of doing therapeutic work I learned from Dave Dobson is the idea of “Pebble Kicking.” What is Pebble Kicking? Well, I’m reminded of a story. Actually, a couple of stories. The first story is about a Spiritual Teacher who was walking with one of his disciples along the banks of …
Tag Questions
Ericksonian Hypnotic Language Patterns Tag Questions —are little questions added on to the end of a statement that change it into a question. They are also referred to as “tie downs.” Tag Questions are similar to the previous pattern the “Resistance Dodge,” but different. Rather than dodging resistance, with tag questions you are endeavoring to get agreement, aren’t you?They soften …
Resistance (is Futile)
Ericksonian Language PatternsThis installment features two different ways of dancing with resistance. In the pattern I call “The Resistance Dodge,” when your client exhibits resistance you offer a tag statement that is really a bind. Stops them in their proverbial tracks. With the “Resistance Pace” you use their resistance the way an Aikido expert would use an opponent’s own weight.The …
Suggestions Orienting towards the Future
Ericksonian Language PatternsMilton Erickson once likened traditional psychotherapy to “psychological archeology.” He didn’t see much point in spending too much time analysing a patient’s past and trying to find out the reasons “why” they were displaying certain behaviors. He saw these behaviors as habits. I like to call them patterns. He told stories to illustrate his point, sometimes evoking his …
Embedded Questions
Ericksonian Language Patterns —Embedded Questions are the same thing as embedded commands only different. They are often really statements but are responded to consciously as a question. This is because their grammatical structure is that of a question, but your tonality in delivering them is that of a command. (In most examples below I’ll omit the question mark.) “I wonder …
Download Doug O’Brien’s paper,
“Be your Best with Self Hypnosis”