Webinar held at 10 am EDT (Philadelphia)

Workshop Description:

As advances are made in better understanding the power of focus in shaping one’s
subjective perceptions and even one’s physiology, the field of clinical hypnosis has played
an especially important role in this ongoing process of discovery. Despite too many
clinicians’ terribly misinformed dismissal of hypnosis as little more than a gimmick, in fact
hypnosis has evolved a strong scientific basis arising from its insights into neuroscience,
cognition, suggestive language and information processing, placebo and nocebo
responses, the therapeutic alliance, and more.

Just as there are many different models of psychotherapy, each with different foundational
philosophies and methods, there are many different models of hypnosis, each with a
different emphasis and utilizing different approaches. The highly innovative work of Milton
Erickson in particular is widely acknowledged by therapists who may or may not use
hypnosis but are definitely influenced by his strategic methods.

Milton Erickson was often credited with being a “mind-reader,” but he simply said he was
more observant than most. Realistically, there are many common denominators of human
experience that can make one seem a mind reader to a client when touching on them in
the course of therapy. Hypnosis can be especially well used to address generalities that
can have very specific effects. In this presentation, we’ll explore this gentle style of
process-oriented hypnotic intervention. The emphasis will be on targeting the structural
components of problems rather than their content. This means striving to understand how
clients generate their symptomatic experience rather than attempting to explain why.

Presenter:

Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist residing in Southern California. He is
internationally recognized for his work in advancing clinical hypnosis and outcome-focused
psychotherapy, routinely teaching to professional audiences all over the world. His
presentations are well known for being both practical and enjoyable.

Dr. Yapko is the author of 16 books and editor of three others, as well as numerous book
chapters and articles on the subjects of hypnosis and the use of strategic psychotherapies.
His newest book, Process-Oriented Hypnosis: Focusing on the Forest, Not the Trees
(W.W. Norton, 2021), is the subject of this presentation. It was awarded the Arthur Shapiro
Award for being the “Best Book on Hypnosis in 2021” by the Society for Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis. His other books include his recent 5th edition of his widely used
hypnosis text, Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis as
well as Taking Hypnosis to the Next Level, The Discriminating Therapist, and
Mindfulness and Hypnosis: The Power of Suggestion to Transform Experience.

See www.yapko.com for teaching schedule and publications. Dr. Yapko is recipient of
Lifetime Achievement Awards from American Psychological Association Division 30’s
Society of Psychological Hypnosis, International Society of Hypnosis’ Pierre Janet Award
and The Milton H. Erickson Foundation.