Process-Oriented Hypnosis: Focusing on the Forest, Not the Trees

Book excerpt: Winner of the 2021 Arthur Shapiro Award for "Best Book on Hypnosis" from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. In Process-Oriented Hypnosis, internationally recognized psychologist Michael D. Yapko provides clinicians with a new framework for utilizing hypnosis with clients. Yapko encourages clinicians to take a broader perspective, in which patterns rather than individual symptoms are the emphasis of therapy. He offers numerous insights into ways clinicians can hone in on the process of how people come to suffer various types of emotional distress. Beyond these insights, Process-Oriented Hypnosis provides highly practical information and specific examples for integrating this innovative perspective into clinical work. The key patterns of human experience are central to the first section of the book, providing a sound conceptual foundation and a wide range of examples. In the second section, Yapko provides ten richly structured hypnosis session transcripts for clinicians to insightfully adapt to their clients’ needs. Process-Oriented Hypnosis offers clinicians a fresh perspective for working with clients that can be integrated into many different treatment models.