Ericksonian — psychotherapy techniques

Erickson

Age Progression (Pseudo-Orientation in Time)

Invite the client to experience a future point where change has already begun.

Erickson

Age Regression

Use earlier states symbolically or experientially without treating trance material as literal historical proof.

Erickson

Amnesia Suggestion

Use forgetting or letting-go suggestions to reduce over-attention to symptoms or intrusive material.

Erickson

Anchoring

Pair a resource state with a cue so it can be accessed later.

Erickson

Catalepsy

Use stable, effortless muscular holding as evidence of trance responsiveness and focused attention.

Erickson

Confusion Technique

Use ambiguity or overload to interrupt rigid conscious control and open responsiveness.

Erickson

Crystal Ball Technique

Use future imagery to explore solutions, resources, and consequences.

Erickson

Dissociation Technique

Create safe distance from overwhelming sensations, memories, or symptoms.

Erickson

Double Bind

Offer two acceptable choices that both move toward the therapeutic direction.

Erickson

Ego-Strengthening

Build confidence, coherence, and self-efficacy through resource-oriented hypnotic suggestions.

Erickson

Eye Fixation Induction

Guide attention toward a stable visual focus so absorption can develop naturally.

Erickson

Hand Levitation Induction

Use ideomotor lightness in the hand as a pathway into trance and unconscious responsiveness.

Erickson

Handshake Induction (Pattern Interrupt)

Interrupt an automatic social sequence to create a moment of focused expectancy and trance readiness.

Erickson

Ideomotor Signals

Use small involuntary movements as yes/no or information signals from non-conscious processing.

Erickson

Implication

Let the structure of a sentence imply change without ordering it directly.

Erickson

Metaphoric Task Assignment

Give a behavioral task whose symbolic structure parallels the therapeutic problem.

Erickson

Naturalistic Trance

Use everyday absorption as the route into therapeutic focus.

Erickson

Nested Loops (Multiple Embedded Metaphor)

Use several unfinished stories nested inside one another to bypass rigid analysis and deliver layered learning.

Erickson

Ordeal Therapy

Pair the symptom pattern with an agreed constructive ordeal so maintaining the symptom becomes less useful.

Erickson

Paradoxical Prescription (Symptom Prescription)

Prescribe the symptom in a controlled way to interrupt helplessness and automaticity.

Erickson

Posthypnotic Suggestion

Link a future cue to a helpful response after the trance ends.

Erickson

Reframing

Change the meaning of a symptom or behavior so new responses become possible.

Erickson

Seeding and Interspersal Technique

Introduce small ideas early and return to them later as embedded suggestions.

Erickson

Therapeutic Metaphor

Use a story or image with a parallel structure to let unconscious learning reorganize the problem.

Erickson

Utilization Technique

Turn whatever the client brings into therapeutic material instead of treating it as an obstacle.