ABSTRACT
Milton H. Erickson, M.D. is considered by many to be the most innovative and influential figure in the modern practice of clinical hypnosis and psychotherapy. His unique background, perspectives, and approaches to treatment are of nearly mythic proportion, having become the focal point for recent generations of hypnosis practitioners through the scores of publications and countless conferences and workshops advancing his methods. In the utilization approach, hypnosis is viewed as a natural experience occurring routinely in people rather than a “special state.” In adopting this perspective, one of the tasks of the skilled clinician is to first recognize hypnotic responses as they naturally occur in the course of ongoing therapeutic interaction and then build on them meaningfully in a spontaneous and conversational manner. The recognition of hypnotic experiences arising spontaneously in people allows for a smooth transition into the induction phase of hypnosis.
