Trancework An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis

by Ph.D. Michael D. Yapko

Trancework, the most comprehensive guide to learning the fundamental skills of clinical hypnosis, is now available in an updated and improved third edition. Yapko clearly and dynamically introduces readers to a broad range of hypnotic methods and techniques that will greatly enhance the effectiveness of preferred modes of therapy. Chapters are filled with new and practical information, including extensive academic references, sample transcripts, thorough summary tables of key points, and interviews with leading figures in the field-Jay Haley, Theodore X. Barber, Ernest R. Hilgard, David Spiegel, Jeffrey Zeig, and Karen Olness, among others. This new edition specifically addresses the growing emphasis within psychotherapy on proving efficacy through empirical data, the controversy of repressed memory that has divided the profession, and the advances in cognitive neuroscience that are stimulating new research.For newcomers, Trancework is an authoritative primer, demystifying hypnosis and offering step-by-step instruction for integrating it into clinical practice. Those familiar with hypnotic procedure will welcome Yapko's presentation of influential theories, controversies, treatment approaches, and rich case material. All readers alike are guided through personal and professional enrichment as they discover the art and science of clinical hypnosis as presented in this essential guide.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Counselling

Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not planning to use formal hypnosis in my practice but I have to admit I am curious about this "dark art". Yapko sheds light on this mysterious and maligned practice. Intrigued as I am by the mysteries of consciousness this book illuminates alternative approaches to accessing the unconscious and helping patient's make change. Comprehensive but readable.

[Myridian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I am pretty sure that hypnosis is not a thing. At least not a thing that is conceptually different from a lot of other things. Yapko struggles through the first theoretical section of this book to try to cover the myriad definitions of hypnosis and that’s basically what it comes down to. Some people think everything is hypnosis (like watching a movie, having sex, exercising) while others think it comes down to the specific structure of guiding someone to focus and/or dissociate their attention that has built up within the tradition of what is currently called hypnosis. All of this lack of agreement makes the distinction clinical hypnosis tries to draw between itself and “stage hypnosis” a more difficult argument. I do worry that hypnosis practitioners and researchers might be selecting for those with a tendency toward wanting to be a guru.

There is also this emphasis on both arguing that people have full control over their acceptance of suggestions within hypnosis and that people can be guided towards false memories and beliefs that could be damaging. I understand that for Yapko (and perhaps this is also the most widely accepted argument within the field) the distinction lies in the power of influence we are all exerting on one another all the time vs. some kind of more concrete control over someone else’s actions. And at the same time hypnosis is trying its hardest to strengthen that power of influence, hopefully for good. That I think is where the layperson’s potential for misunderstanding and potentially justifiable concern comes in.

The confusion all strategies that are taught as part of traditional hypnosis are a case in point. As Yapko presents it, hypnosis is explicitly trying to demonstrate the power and capability of the hypnotic subject and I do have a hard time envisioning that being as effective in a modality that highlights and capitalizes on that power differential with strategies that are intended to intentionally confuse clients as a way of managing resistance, even in their own best interest.

All of that aside, this is a really nice overview of the state of the literature and the practice of primarily Ericsonian hypnosis. Yapko lays out the basic teachings around setting up expectations, induction, building a response set, utilization (suggestions), post-hypnotic suggestions and then conclusion of the hypnosis. I know everybody seems opposed to the use of scripts for hypnosis and at the same time, the scripts that Yapko provides are a great source of ideas.

I feel like my own use of hypnosis is going to much more build on the mindfulness practices that I am more familiar with and which, at least in the West but not so much in the East, have a very different foundation when it comes to their patriarchal and hierarchical background.

[BVC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eccezionale. Fornisce un'ottima base di stampo teorico (non di tipo neuropsicologico e psicobiologico purtroppo, a parte rari spiragli, ma perché ne ammette la propria ignoranza in merito e si tratta comunque di un testo molto datato per gli standard) e nozioni sparse di natura 'storica', bibliografie variegate, si accosta ai vari approcci riconoscendone meriti e difetti, debunka ogni tanto diffuse false nozioni diffuse nella "letteratura-pop" e nei media, a ogni conclusione di capitolo offre una serie di domande/esercizi con cui far pratica in modo graduale e progressivo e dedica più della metà del libro a sistematizzare suggerimenti e metodi sul come impostare proprie sessioni di ipnosi con finalità terapeutica (puntualizzando alcuni fattori su cui porre particolare attenzione, di volta in volta).

Se si vuol studiare la ricerca sull'ipnosi con approccio laboratoriale, più propriamente sperimentale (in termini contemporaneamente scientifici e non di pratica clinica), e con integrazione di nozioni neurobiologiche/neuropsicologiche è meglio rivolgersi ad altro (contando che la manualistica in merito però è rarissima, attualmente - meglio, quindi, darsi allo studio di singoli paper).

[Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. Not only does this remarkable book demystify hypnosis, but it also clearly shows how hypnosis, as a tool, can be used to heal. The first two hundred pages explain how hypnosis works, while the remaining three hundred pages demonstrate how it can be applied. Readers will quickly realize that knowing how to perform hypnosis won’t make one a therapist. Indeed, hypnosis alone is pretty useless. A therapist needs not only knowledge of human psychology but also must possess wisdom, if not outright sagacity. I believe it's this aspect of the therapist, rather than the technique of hypnosis, that matters more. An exception is hypnosis-induced anesthesia. The point is, if the therapist lacks great insights into the human condition, effective therapy will not ensue. That seems pretty obvious. The book is a cornucopia of techniques. Some of the transcripts are actually quite moving (I guess that’s the point). At around US$50, it is unbelievably inexpensive. Five stars

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very impressed by "Trancework." This was handed down to me by a clinical psychologist who was no longer in private practice and gave up using hypnosis (he went academic) and I was one of his students who was technically still a lay hypnotist but wanted to be clinical. This book is primarily Ericksonian (which is my favourite) but if you are not keen on that perspective you are not going to like it. It is a very large book, 450 pages, and is incredibly well written. I could see this as possibly being used as a textbook assuming there are any introductory hypnosis classes out there in academia. I think one of my favourite little charts was the difference in different types of hypnosis in Appendix A.

[Jillybb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yapko is brilliant. I want to attend his training while he is still lucid.

[Gorav Goyal]

i'm intrested this title and search for hynotise books

[Achraf El]

i love these book

[Camalia]

better book