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Definition: Milton Erickson

Milton Erickson (1932-1974), is often labelled the 'father of modern hypnosis'. Milton Erickson was a psychiatrist and psychologist who pioneered the use of indirect hypnosis, or Ericksonian hypnosis. Erickson played a major role in getting hypnotherapy accepted by the mainstream medical practice.

Gregory Bateson, English anthropologist and communications theorist was a friend of Erickson and greatly influenced by his work. Bateson's study of Balinese trance dancing was also of interest to Erickson. Bateson introduced the founders of NLP (neuro linguistic programming) to Erickson and they studied Erickson's use of language and rapport skills and as a result developed the Milton Model.

Further information

* Milton Erickson
Find out more about the father of hypnosis, who was famous for his 'miracle cures'.

* The Milton H. Erickson Foundation
'The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to promoting and advancing
the contributions made to the health sciences by the late Milton H. Erickson, M.D.
through training mental health professionals and health professions world wide.'