If you’re not trained in Ericksonian hypnosis, it can feel a bit daunting to incorporate aspects of an Ericksonian approach into your client work. I often hear from hypnotherapists that they think it’s too complicated or they don’t know where to start. What they often find, though, is that they’re already incorporating aspects of an Ericksonian approach into their client work — they just weren’t aware of it.

They also often find that if they simply focus on some techniques, it’s far easier to learn from Milton Erickson’s philosophy and approach without trying to learn everything. From what I’ve come across over the years, there’s a degree of gatekeeping from “Ericksonian hypnotherapists”, which can make Erickson’s approaches seem even more out of reach. The following steps can help you incorporate aspects of his work into your client practice.

What is Ericksonian Hypnosis?

Before looking at those practical steps, it’s important to have some context about who Milton Erickson (1901–1980) was and why his work continues to remain relevant. Milton Erickson was a psychiatrist working predominantly in the mid-twentieth century. He was a fascinating character, and many of his attitudes to life and his understanding of people and how the mind works can be traced back to his early — and sometimes serious — health conditions, including polio.

Prior to Erickson, the dominant approach in hypnotherapy was authoritarian, relying on giving direct suggestions and often repeating them. The hypnotised person took on a predominantly passive role.

Erickson’s view of people, the unconscious mind, and communication shifted perspective so that clients were no longer seen as passive recipients of suggestions, but rather as active participants in their own change process. He viewed the unconscious mind as a creative and resourceful ally and worked in a collaborative manner with clients, which respected their inner wisdom.

Erickson never wrote a “how-to” manual on Ericksonian hypnosis. Going back to the original sources, such as his client case studies, what’s apparent is his wealth of knowledge of how the human mind works. Reading these case studies and reports, it’s clear that Milton Erickson’s way of working with clients was highly responsive to each individual. What seems instinctive was the result of years spent researching and working deeply with his clients. Without a manual, it’s difficult to know where to start — which is where the following five tips come in.

1. Using Indirect Language

Some hypnotherapy courses focus on more direct techniques. Communicating in a direct manner with clients certainly has its place, but being too direct can often cause defensive or resistant responses. It also means there’s little room for alternative outcomes.

For instance, if you tell your client they’ll feel “better than they ever have” when they leave the session and they don’t achieve that feeling, it’s very easy for them to imagine the whole session has been a waste of time.

Bringing in an element of indirectness can completely shift your client’s experience. If you tell them they “might well have a sense of feeling so much better than they have in a long time,” you’re introducing the strong possibility of improvement. It’s far easier for clients to acknowledge any small changes and attribute these to their hypnotherapy session, rather than rejecting the outcome because they “don’t feel better than ever.”

2. Using Vague Language

We often have a sense of what we feel our clients want or what they’re experiencing. If we’ve spent sufficient time getting to know them, our ideas may be fairly accurate. But sometimes, we’re entering areas where we don’t know what will come up.

Being too prescriptive can mean imposing our own concepts on our clients, leaving little room for their powerful imaginations. Even when a client has told us what their issue is and what goals they want to achieve, being too specific can block new ideas and experiences during hypnosis.

Introducing vagueness and openness allows them to access whatever is most relevant. For example, prescriptive language might be:

"I want you to imagine you’re walking down a set of wooden stairs towards a sunny beach with the sun glistening in the bright blue sky."

This is lovely — if you like sunny beaches (not everyone does).

Vague language would be:

"Perhaps you can imagine walking down a set of stairs that lead you to a beautiful spot in nature. The temperature is just right for you, and you look towards where the sky meets the land."

This approach allows your client to imagine what is meaningful to them.

3. Using Your Client’s Metaphors

When someone talks about something in a certain way, it has meaning for them. It might not make much sense to you — what does lemony, fuzzy, or cream actually mean? — but it makes sense to your client.

Too often, therapists are quick to interpret these metaphors to “get to the bottom” of what the client is really trying to say. There’s a time and place for this, but there’s also value in encouraging the client to stay with their metaphor. This allows them to experience their world in a way that makes sense for them, without pulling them out of their frame of reference.

Listen carefully to how your client describes their experience. Reflect their metaphors back to them, and work with them. If “fizzy” feels unpleasant, work hypnotherapeutically to help them experience what “not fizzy” feels like in their mind and body.

4. Using Milton Model Language

Learning Milton Model language, an NLP approach based on Erickson’s work, is a huge topic. You might want to explore it later — there are plenty of great examples available. For now, I’ll share one of my favourite Milton Model language patterns: the double bind.

The double bind offers different options, reducing defensive or resistant responses. Clients feel empowered when they have agency. But here’s where it’s clever — the options are limited, usually to two alternatives.

For example, with a weight loss client, instead of saying:

"After today’s session you’ll find yourself preparing fresh, healthy food choices in advance,"

which may provoke resistance, you might say:

"I’m not sure which of these behaviours you’ll notice changing first — whether it’s preparing healthy meals in advance, or noticing how enjoyable it is to go for more early morning walks — but I do know that you’ll find yourself making whatever choice feels right for you."

This phrasing is far gentler and offers your client greater agency over their choices and actions.

5. Metaphorical Storytelling

Erickson often told stories that reflected his clients’ experiences, without directly mentioning the issues they faced. Most of us naturally connect with stories — whether hearing the news, reading a book, or watching a movie. We see ourselves in others' experiences, and stories can motivate and inspire us.

Metaphorical stories allow clients to make connections and insights through the story’s characters, timelines, and developments. This can be particularly helpful for sceptical, analytical, or resistant clients.

Stories can be about anything — a garden changing seasons, a cat stretching its muscles, a warrior princess, or a journalist unearthing a fascinating fact. Once you’ve created a story, you may find you can reuse it for several clients. If writing stories doesn’t come easily, there are books available with metaphorical or therapeutic stories to help you.

If Ericksonian hypnosis is new to you, or it wasn’t covered during your initial hypnotherapy training, I hope you’re feeling inspired to try out one or two of these tips and bring a new dimension to your hypnotherapy practice.