Editing Milton H. Erickson (section)

===Trance and the unconscious mind===
Erickson's view of the unconscious mind was distinctly different from that of [[Freud]] whose ideas dominated the context of the times. Zeig quotes Erickson as describing "The unconscious mind is made up of all your learnings over a lifetime, many of which you have forgotten, but which serve you in your automatic functioning".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zeig|first=J.|title=A Teaching Seminar with Milton Erickson|publisher=Brunner-Mazel|year=1980|isbn=978-0876302477|location=New York}}</ref> Andre Weitzenhoffer points out: "The Ericksonian 'unconscious' lacks in particular the hostile and aggressive aspects so characteristic of Freud's system".<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Weitzenhoffer|first=A.|title=The Practice of Hypnotism, Vol 2|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=1989|isbn=0-471-62168-4|location=New York|page=271}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pitner|first=J.A.|date=2010|title=Il n'y a pas d'hypnotisme: A History of Hypnosis in Theory and Practice|journal=Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis|page=37|via=American Psychological Association}}</ref>

Erickson relied on a supposition of an active, significant, unconscious.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Scheflin|first=A.|title=Trance on Trial|publisher=Guilford Press|year=1989|isbn=0-89862-749-4|location=New York|pages=130}}</ref> It was Erickson's perspective that hypnosis provided a tool with which to communicate with the unconscious mind and access the reservoir of resources held within. He describes in a 1944 article on unconscious mental activity, "Since hypnosis can be induced by trance and manifests the unwarranted assumption is made that whatever develops from hypnosis must be completely a result of suggestion, and primarily an expression of it". In the same publication Erickson repeatedly comments about the autonomy of the unconscious mind and its capacity to solve problems.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rossi|first=E.|title=The Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson, Vol 5|publisher=The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-932248-34-0|location=Arizona|page=197}}</ref>

The essential element of Erickson's jokes was not hostility, but surprise.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosen|first=S.|title=My Voice Will Go With You|publisher=Norton|year=1982|isbn=0-393-01583-1|location=New York|pages=211–212}}</ref> It was not uncommon for him to slip indirect suggestions into a myriad of situations. He also included humor in his books, papers, lectures and seminars.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Zeig|first=J.|title=Experiencing Erickson|publisher=Brunner-Mazel|year=1985|isbn=0-87630-409-9|location=New York}}</ref>

Early in his career Erickson was a pioneer in researching the unique and remarkable phenomena that are associated with that state, spending many hours at a time with individual subjects, deepening the trance. Erickson's work on depth of trance is detailed in his 1952 paper<ref>Erickson, M.H. (1952), "Deep Hypnosis and its Induction", pp.70-114 in LeCron, Leslie (ed.),  ''Experimental Hypnosis: A Symposium of Articles on Research by Many of the World's Leading Authorities'', New York: The Macmillan Company.</ref> in which he provided history, justification, and ideas about its use. ("Trance states for therapeutic purposes may be either light or deep, depending on such factors as the patient's personality, the nature of his problem, and the stage of his therapeutic progress".<ref>p.669 of Erickson, M.H. (1945), "Hypnotic Techniques for the Therapy of Acute Psychiatric Disturbances in War", ''American journal of Psychiatry'', Vol. 101, No. 5, (March 1945), pp. 668-672.</ref>)

Where traditional hypnosis is authoritative and direct and often encounters resistance in the subject, Erickson's approach is permissive, accommodating and indirect.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lankton|first=S.|title=The Answer Within: A Clinical Framework of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=1983|isbn=978-1-84590-121-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rossi|first=E.|title=The Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson, Vol 2|publisher=The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-932248-31-9|location=Arizona|pages=181–208}}</ref>