Therapeutic Trances

CHAPTER 4

Cooperation Strategies

The last chapter outlined the context, processes, and principles distinguishing the approach of the Ericksonian hypnotherapist, especially emphasizing the cooperative principles of appreciating and utilizing the “realities” of the client as the basis for hypnotic and therapeutic developments. In this approach, the underlying intention is to expand the domain of self-valuing expressions while preserving (i.e., not taking away) client values. Relationship between complementary structures (e.g., subject/object, self/other) is seen as the basic unit of both interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction, and the feedback loop is appreciated as the process of information flow connecting complements.

In this view, self-expression ...