ABSTRACT
Personality restructuring meant, for Erickson, reassociating and reorganizing the patient's phenomenal world. With some patients Erickson did uncovering work that resembled traditional psychotherapy. However, he was unique in his use of hypnotic amnesia and in his management of a clearly delineated separation between conscious and unconscious awareness. We describe an approach to personality restructuring that more gradually aligns and integrates conscious and unconscious division. We describe and illustrate five ways in which Erickson influenced and shaped our approach: (a) viewing neurotic responses as obstacles to development; (b) minimizing interpretation while maximizing experience; (c) facilitating the “inner articulation” process; (d) utilizing transference and resistance; and (e) emphasizing the two-person relationship.
