ABSTRACT
Milton Erickson's study of hypnosis began when, as a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he witnessed a demonstration of hypnosis by Hull. In dealing with modifications of physiological processes by hypnotic means, Erickson activated physiological responses by suggesting appropriate stimuli, and he believed that these hallucinations had the status of reality. Because Erickson spent most of his own life in extreme pain, it is not surprising that he gave serious attention to the analysis and hypnotherapy of pain. Erickson was radically unorthodox in his approach to therapy. His published articles span an impressive range of topics, including studies on obsessional phobias, depression, traumatic neurosis, multiple personality, dental hypnosis, stuttering, epilepsy, drug addiction, migraines, and a myriad of other disorders that encompass a lifetime of problem solving in the unique Ericksonian way. The implications of this analysis are far reaching: Posthypnotic acts reassert the trance state as well as the relationship between the hypnotist and subject.
