MAY 2005, VOLUME 33, NUMBER 1, Abstract 8
The Right Way to Scratch Hogs! Reflections of an Apprentice Hypnotist
Susan Hutchinson-Phillips, Psychologist
Hypnosis education in Australia has been conducted by such organisations as the Australian Society of Hypnosis state branches. In the last decade, universities in three Australian states undertook to provide postgraduate courses for psychologists, doctors, and dentists. There is only a small literature devoted to hypnosis training, but such articles are generally written by those who provide the hypnosis education. An identified gap in literature, which this article addresses, is the critical assessment of such programs by the students. One such program was conducted by the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Queensland University of Technology (Carseldine campus). Major strengths identified in this program included the use of group dynamics to facilitate the training process; the diversity of backgrounds and wide practical experience of the trainers; the emphasis on practical skills and reflective practice, combined with a thorough grounding in background theory; and, above all, the approach of the coordinator who both challenged group members and encouraged individual talents and proclivities in a manner decidedly Ericksonian.
This article is framed as an Ericksonian metaphor about personal experiences about teaching processes while learning about hypnosis practice and research, and is in no way intended to be an analysis of different courses in hypnosis in Australia.