BOOK REVIEWS

RONALD A. HAVENS, PH.D.: The Wisdom of Milton H. Erickson: The Complete

Volume. Crown House Publishing, Ltd.: Norwalk, CT, 2004, 410 pp.,
$34.95, ISBN 1904424171
"Milton Erickson was probably the most creative, dynamic, and effective hypn
therapist the world has ever seen . . . he hypnotized a nurse in front of a large
audience using only pantomime gestures, a feat made even more impressive by
fact that this Spanish-speaking nurse had no idea . . . she was to be a subject in a
demonstration
So begins the introduction to this book, which is a curious volume consisting
of the author's description of Erickson's ideas and short quotes from Erickson's
writings. The book begins with An Introduction to Milton H. Erickson, M.D.,
which I find to be most interesting and illuminating. Erickson was born color-
blind, "arrhythmic" (I believe the author means lacking a sense of rhythm), tone
deaf, and dyslexic. Some of these disabilities may have contributed to Erickson's
intense interest in meanings and implications of words. Erickson also suffered
from a series of physical ailments including two bouts of polio beginning at age 17.
The author contends that the physical incapacities, including partial paralysis,
made Erickson acutely observant of other people, and their verbal and nonverbal
language. He studied hypnosis under Clark Hull at the University of Wisconsin.
Later, Erickson broke from Hull's experimentalist/learning theorist point of view
to develop his own, individualized view of hypnosis. Erickson eventually received
his M D degree from the University of Wisconsin, worked in the research services
at Worcester State Hospital, MA; Eloise Hospital, M I ; and at Wayne State
University. In 1948, he moved to Phoenix, AZ, where he practiced hypnosis until
his death in 1980. In his later years, he suffered from intense chronic pain for
which he used autohypnosis. Erickson was the founder of the American Society of
Clinical Hypnosis, which was founded in opposition to the more experimental/
scientific orientation of the older, more established, American Society for Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis.
This book consists of three parts—Human Behavior, Psychotherapy, and
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. Each part contains several chapters, each of which
begins with an introductory section written by Havens, followed by verbatim
quotations from various writings of or about Erickson. Each chapter concludes
with a summary section written by Havens. In general, I find the introductory
sections helpful, but find the verbatim quotes (usually one or two sentences each)
redundant and, without context, often confounding.
Erickson views the Unconscious, discussed in Part I , as a brilliant storehouse
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of potentials that has an awareness and response of its own parallel with the
conscious mind. The Unconscious differs from the Conscious Mind in being literal
and childlike. This dual view of personality is often an explicit or implicit basis of
hypnotherapy, whether one is an Ericksonian or not. Parts two and three,
psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, actually overlap in concept, with an emphasis
on the individualization of therapy. Concerning hypnosis, Erickson believed that
"Any normal person and some abnormal persons can be hypnotized provided
there is adequate motivation" (p. 206). It seems, however, that extreme patience,
time, and energy may be needed to hypnotize some individuals. Further, "[T]he
hypnotist-subject relationship is entirely one of voluntary cooperation, and no
subject can be hypnotized against his will or without his cooperation" (p. 210).
One wonders how Erickson was able to create this type of cooperation in the
Spanish-speaking nurse whom he hypnotized by pantomime alone. The use of
confusion and boredom as facilitating techniques in inducing hypnosis is intrigu-
ing, but this book does not provide actual illustrations of these techniques. More
systematic and comprehensive views of Erickson's ideas and techniques are found
in E. Rossi's The Collected Papers of Milton H. Erickson on Hypnosis and in
Erickson and Rossi's Hypnotic Realities, Experiencing Hypnosis, and Hypnother
apy: An Exploratory Casebook. Many of Erickson's ideas and techniques, while
controversial in some areas, have been integrated with today's psychotherapeutic
and hypnotherapeutic endeavors. This book provides a basic introduction to these
ideas and techniques, with quotations from the master. I enjoyed reading the
introductory comments for each chapter, but found the quotes boring. Followers
of Erickson, on the other hand, might find the master's own words dealing with
various subjects handy.
Fresno, CA HOYLE LEIGH, M.D.

THOMAS L . SEXTON, GERALD R. WEEKS, AND MICHAEL S. ROBBINS, (EDS.):

Handbook of Family Therapy: The Science and Practice of Working with
Families and Couples New York: Brunner-Routledge Press, 2003, 520 pp.,
$104.95, ISBN 1-58391-325-4
The editors have succeeded in creating a scholarly work. Most of the authors are
family and couple therapists with a strong interest in both clinical and research
activities within the domain of family-oriented therapies. They present a clear
overview of both the art and the science of family and couple therapy. Models of
intervention described are integrative and clinically focused in the context of the
available outcome and process research. Common factors of differing schools of
thought are highlighted. The importance of accountability focused on outcome is
noted and is the basis upon which much of the present and future funding for
treatment will be made available.
The volume is organized into five sections. Part I : "Understanding Families
and Couples: The Foundations of Practice," Part I I : "Major Theoretical Models
of Couple and Family Therapy," Part I I I : "Evidence Based Couple and Family
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