The Essence of a Single-Session Success, Vol. 9

A rare and remarkable opportunity awaits readers of this ninth volume in the Ericksonian Monographs Series ? the chance to explore, in its entirety, a highly successful, on'session therapy with a woman suffering from both chronic and acute anxiety, along with the perceptive commentary of several renowned and diverse experts. This extraordinarily well'crafted therapeutic session by Stephen R. Lankton, M. S. W., contains many of those elements comprising "classic" Ericksonian psychotherapy. The client, a 37?year'old divorced mother of one son, suffers from almost unbearable feelings of anxiety, dread, hopelessness and worthlessness. We follow Lankton as he opens the session with his purposefully faltering behavior and see him deftly lead his client towards the experience of self'worth and self'fulfilment. We witness his masterful orchestration of the therapeutic conversation as he establishes rapport, normalizes pathology, challenges presuppositions, provides guidance, reframes, implicitly expects improvement, weaves suggestions so they are interlocking and mutually reinforcing, and seemingly effortlessly, induces a trance. The result is a woman who, 18 months later, is virtually free from anxiety, reports feeling confident and "reempowered" and has made significant changes in her life. A fascinating and broad diversity of opinions and interpretations of Lankton's single'session success is then provided by William Matthews Ph. D. ; Robert Schwarz, Psy. D. ; Richard Fisch, M. D. ; Bradford P. Keeney, Ph. D. ; Gregg Eichenfield, Ph. D. ; Lynn D. Johnson, Ph. D. ; Carol Kershaw, Ed. D. ; Betty Erickson?Elliot, M. S. L. P. C. ; Robert Pearson, M. D. ; and Jane Parsons?Fein, M. S. W. Four related articles in this monograph enhance the volume's theme with their examination of theory, context, case research, and short'term therapy as related to Ericksonian concepts. These include an article by Jay Haley in which Milton Erickson discusses his older work as viewed on a kinescope film while questioned, probed, and analyzed by Haley. Akira Otani then explores the importance of "context" in Ericksonian therapy. He examines 29 Ericksonian interventions and clearly explains them as contextual change maneuvers classified into six major types. In "A Multischema Model for Combining Ericksonian and Cognitive Therapy," Jeffrey Feldman, Ph. D., unites cognitive therapy frameworks so as to apply both conscious and unconscious attitudes. He then shows practical application of the concept and framework with two cases employing Ericksonian techniques. Finally, Janet Sasson Edgette, Psy. D., illustrates two cases in which she too succeeds by means of a single'session intervention. The Essence of a Single Session Success will enhance the thinking and practice of any psychotherapist who wishes toLankton, Stephen R. is the author of 'The Essence of a Single-Session Success, Vol. 9', published 1994 under ISBN 9780876307274 and ISBN 0876307276.