Milton Hyland Erickson was an American psychiatrist who specialized in medical hypnosis and family therapy. He was founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution-generating.
Erickson was plagued with enormous physical handicaps for most of his life. At age 17, he contracted polio and was so severely paralyzed that doctors believed he would die. While recovering in bed, almost entirely lame and unable to speak, he became strongly aware of the significance of nonverbal communication — body language, tone of voice, and the way that these nonverbal expressions often directly contradicted the verbal ones.
By concentrating on these memories, he slowly began to regain control of parts of his body to the point where he was eventually able to talk and use his arms again.
His doctor recommended exercising his upper body only so Milton Erickson planned a 1, miles canoe trip to build up the strength to attend college. His adventure was challenging, and although he still did not have full use of his legs at the end, he was able to walk with a cane.
He conducted extensive research on suggestion and hypnosis, first as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, and later throughout his medical training and during his initial professional appointments in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Michigan. By the late s, Dr. He could not speak until he was four years old and later diagnosed with dyslexia , As well as with Tonal deafness Y Colour blindness.
In addition to these problems, when he turned 17 he suffered his first poliomyelitis. It was a very serious infection, so he was not expected to survive.
He went into a coma, and when he awoke three days later he was completely paralyzed. He could only move his eyes and could barely speak. Because Erickson could not know where his legs or arms were in bed, he spent hours trying to locate his limbs. He did so by paying the most attention to the slightest sensation he had, whether in a hand, a foot or even a finger. This technique made him particularly attentive to the movements, which he tried to amplify in some way.
The young man, not being able to do anything else, began to observe in detail the people around him and thus managed to understand the importance of nonverbal and corporal language. In the next two years, Erickson learned to walk again aided by the observation of one of his sisters who was just beginning to walk. Thanks to your observations I can also understand how humans communicated and how their mind worked.
Despite his limitations, Erickson managed to graduate as a psychologist and physician at the University of Wisconsin. His first contact with hypnosis occurred when he participated in research on suggestibility, performed by Dr. Clark L. Erickson was fascinated by the practice of hypnotic techniques, so he practiced and studied as much as he could about the method. The following year, he attended a seminar with Hull, where the specialist spent most of his time analyzing his experiences.
However, in spite of having had these experiences and of having discovered somehow the hypnosis of hand of Dr. Hull, later Erickson was one of its critics, since the specialist - driver of the conductismo - it tried to define objective methods of hypnosis ignoring The opinion of the subject. On the other hand, Erickson also criticized the psychoanalysis Because it attempted to establish universal truths and a standardized therapeutic method.
Following these experiences, Erickson focused on finding a more"naturalistic"way of doing hypnosis. The specialist posed a concept of the unconscious different from that of Freud. Unlike the father of psychoanalysis, Erickson was more inclined towards modern cognitive conceptions, so he was interested in the unique reality of the individual.
However, his frequent work with families made him one of the Systemic and family therapies. Erickson was the impeller of a new way of applying therapeutic hypnosis. The specialist did not postulate any explicit theory of personality, because he was convinced that doing so would put limits on psychotherapy.
When theories are established, professionals tend to act more rigidly because they try to pigeonhole people. Its therapeutic action was defined as a novel and different clinical exercise that did not fit with anything that existed until then, that is, psychoanalytic therapy or behavioral therapy. Erickson was not limited to a theoretical model and based his methods of therapy on creativity, novelty, a deep understanding of the other and especially the importance of change.
Thus, Erickson created a new vision of hypnosis. For him, each individual was unique, so psychotherapy instead of seeking to mold the person to fit a theory of human behavior, had to be formulated in a way that would allow us to find the peculiarity of the needs of each individual. Erickson was a promoter of flexibility, uniqueness and above all individuality. His way of doing therapy was eccentric and even filled with some mystery that few could understand.
So much so, it was called from guru and mad genius to a wizard of hypnosis. He retired after one year to continue his passion for teaching, writing, and private practice. Later in life, Erickson had another bout with polio and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Milton Erickson passed away in March of Later, he conducted several experiments to find out the therapeutic benefits of hypnosis.
In , with the publication of The Uncommon Therapy , Erickson and his approaches were brought to light by Jay Haley. His practice involved flexibility with respect to each and every patient. Erickson was supremely flexible, adapting his approach to each individual client. Milton Erickson was renowned for his ability to assist people in making dramatic personal change.
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