Neo-Ericksonian Approaches to Psychotherapy & Hypnosis

Any story can become a therapeutic metaphor when you effectively utilize a very simple technique I like to call “realizing.” You have a character in your story have an insight and use that realization to deliver an embedded command to your listener.

Here’s an example of a very ordinary story.

John was working late. He had a deadline to meet for his job at the publishing company where he worked. Somewhere around 10:00 he felt hungry so he ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the office. After paying and tipping the delivery guy he took a break from the computer, ate a couple of slices, carefully labeled the pizza box and put it in the refrigerator in the employee lounge.

Here’s the same story with a couple of realizations stuck in with an embedded command in each.

John was working late. He had a deadline to meet for his job at the publishing company where he worked. Somewhere around 10:00 he felt hungry so he ordered a pizza and had it delivered to the office. When the delivery guy brought the pizza John gave him a very nice tip. He always did that with delivery people because long ago he realized that people really work hard for a living and you should  take care of people who take care of you. So he took a break from the computer and ate a couple of slices of the pizza and really focused on how delicious it was. He loved to take time to eat slowly, even when he was on deadline, because he figured life is what you make it and he believed you should take time to enjoy every moment. After eating a couple if slices he carefully labeled the pizza box and put it in the refrigerator in the employee lounge.

Your character can realize whatever you want your listener to hear. When you  use embedded commands you ensure they will be hearing it.

Premiere Workshop of “Stories from the Outside Inn”

I don’t know how many of you have looked at the web site “Stories from the Outside Inn” (www.storiesfromtheoutsideinn.com), but it is a lovely website Nick Kemp and I put together last year. The imaginary Inn is actually a place you can download free MP3s that are 5-minute trances or stories of various descriptions. There is original ambient music for each track as well.

Well, Nick and I have just completed out first “Stories from the Outside Inn” workshop at the Queens hotel in Leeds. It was a wonderful journey. Fourteen brave souls joined us for the ride. Over two days we explored the elements of story telling, from the writing to the telling. We explored ways of refining and enhancing those elements by use of Ericksonian Language Patterns, voice use, tempo and pacing, and strove to strike a dynamic balance between seemingly disparate parts, like being totally planned and scripted to being totally spontaneous and improvising. A state we called an in-between state but maybe, now that I think of it, it’s more properly an “Inn-between State.”

The results were amazing. It is said that the proof is in the pudding. Universally, the creations of the class were absolutely stellar. You can look forward to hearing them in the next weeks and months to come on the web site. TIl then my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all our guests at the Outside Inn this past weekend and to Nick and his wife Sue for their generous hospitality.

Change of Time Verbs and Adverbs

is a category of presupposition using words like the following: begin, end, stop, start, continue, proceed, already, still, yet, anymore. With these time oriented words you presuppose movement or action in time.

As you start to apply these teachings, you’ll stop being stuck in old patterns.

Continue visiting www.dougobrien’s blog whenever you want to gain useful language skills.

You are still growing and evolving as long as you stay curious.