Ericksonian Language Patterns: A Practical Guide | Hypnothera
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Ericksonian Language Patterns: A Practical Guide
By YJ Kim | 2026-01-07T04:25:26.000Z
Ericksonian Language Patterns: A Practical Guide
Milton H. Erickson revolutionized hypnotherapy with his indirect, conversational approach. Unlike traditional authoritative hypnosis, Ericksonian techniques work with client resistance rather than against it, delivering suggestions through elegant language patterns that bypass conscious defenses.
This practical guide covers the essential patterns, with examples you can incorporate into your practice today.
Understanding Ericksonian Approach
Erickson believed that every person has the resources needed for positive change within their unconscious mind. The hypnotherapist's role isn't to impose change, but to create conditions where the client's unconscious can do its work.
His language patterns accomplish this by: - Bypassing conscious resistance - Speaking directly to the unconscious - Utilizing rather than fighting client responses - Creating opportunities for the client's own solutions
Essential Language Patterns
1. Embedded Commands
Commands hidden within larger sentence structures pass below conscious radar while the unconscious receives and processes them.
Structure: Embed the command within a longer sentence, marking it subtly through voice shift or pause.
Examples:
"I don't know how quickly you can relax as you listen to these words."
"Many people find that it's easy to let go when they understand the process."
"You might be curious about when you'll notice the first signs of change."
"I wonder if you've ever felt completely at ease in a situation like this."
Practice Tip: Mark commands with a subtle shift in tone—slightly lower pitch, slightly slower pace. The conscious mind processes the full sentence while the unconscious receives the marked command.
Presuppositions assume something is true, focusing attention on the details rather than the fact itself.
Structure: Embed the desired outcome as an assumed fact within a question or statement about something else.
Examples:
"When you feel more confident, will you speak up first in meetings or wait until you're asked?" (Presupposes confidence will increase)
"How surprised will you be when the change happens?" (Presupposes change will happen)
"I'm curious whether you'll notice the improvement immediately or over the next few days." (Presupposes improvement will occur)
"After you've achieved your goal, what will you focus on next?" (Presupposes goal achievement)
Practice Tip: The more casually you embed the presupposition, the more likely it passes without resistance. Don't emphasize the assumed fact.
3. Double Binds
Double binds offer apparent choices where all options lead to the desired outcome.
Structure: Present two or more options, each of which produces your therapeutic goal.
Examples:
"You can relax quickly, or you can relax slowly—either way, you'll reach deep relaxation."
"Will you begin to feel better today, or will it happen tonight while you sleep?"
"I don't know whether your unconscious will find the solution immediately or take a few moments to work it out."
"You might experience the change consciously, or your unconscious might handle it without your awareness."
Practice Tip: Present both options with equal weight and genuine acceptance. If you seem to favor one option, you've created a single bind that's easier to resist.
4. Tag Questions
Tag questions at the end of statements create implicit agreement and reduce resistance.
Structure: Add a short question to the end of a statement.
Examples:
"You want to feel better, don't you?"
"It would be nice to sleep well, wouldn't it?"
"Change can happen faster than we expect, can't it?"
"You're becoming more comfortable, aren't you?"
Practice Tip: Use tag questions sparingly. Overuse creates a manipulative feel that increases resistance.
5. Negative Commands
The unconscious processes negatives poorly, so saying what NOT to do often produces exactly that behavior.
Structure: Use negative framing to suggest the opposite of what you say.
Examples:
"Don't relax too quickly..." (Suggests rapid relaxation)
"I wouldn't want you to become curious about how good you can feel..." (Creates curiosity)
"Don't think about how comfortable that chair is..." (Directs attention to comfort)
"There's no need to notice the changes happening..." (Highlights changes)
Practice Tip: Use a normal conversational tone. If you emphasize the negative command, you signal its intent and lose effectiveness.
6. Ambiguity
Ambiguous language requires the unconscious to search for meaning, creating engagement and trance.
Syntactic (structure unclear): - "Hypnotizing hypnotists can be tricky." (Who's hypnotizing whom?) - "The feeling of comfort spreading..." (Is feeling a noun or verb?)
Scope (what modifies what): - "Speaking to you as someone who understands deeply..." (Who understands deeply?)
Practice Tip: Let ambiguity work without explanation. The conscious mind may be confused while the unconscious selects the most useful interpretation.
7. Metaphor
Metaphors deliver suggestions indirectly through story, bypassing resistance entirely.
Structure: Tell a story where elements parallel the client's situation, with characters achieving what the client needs.
Simple Example:
"I worked with someone once who had a similar challenge. They discovered that just like a garden needs time to grow—you can plant the seeds, water them, provide good conditions, but then you have to trust the natural process—their change happened the same way. One day they just noticed the flowers had bloomed."
Elements of Effective Metaphor: - Isomorphism: Story structure matches client situation - Embedded suggestions: Within the story narrative - Resolution: The metaphor character succeeds - Open ending: Allows unconscious to complete the meaning
Practice Tip: Don't explain metaphors. Saying "and the garden is like your mind" destroys the indirect power. Trust the unconscious to make connections.
8. Truisms and Obvious Statements
Starting with undeniable truths builds a yes-set and paves the way for therapeutic suggestions.
"Your unconscious mind has been learning since birth..." (True)
"Sooner or later, everyone relaxes..." (Eventually true)
"People can learn to do things in new ways..." (Obvious)
Practice Tip: Build chains of truisms, gradually moving toward therapeutic suggestions. Each agreement makes the next more likely.
9. Utilization
Perhaps Erickson's signature technique: accepting and using whatever the client presents, including resistance.
Structure: Incorporate the client's response (even negative ones) as part of the process.
Examples:
Client says "I don't think I'm hypnotized" → "That's right, and you don't have to think you're hypnotized to benefit from this relaxed state..."
Client opens eyes → "Good, and when you close them again, you can go even deeper..."
Client shifts → "That's right, make yourself comfortable, and notice how comfort leads to deeper relaxation..."
Practice Tip: Utilization requires flexibility and the ability to genuinely accept all responses as useful. Practice seeing every response as something to work with, not against.
Building Patterns into Scripts
Here's how these patterns combine in practice:
"And I don't know whether you'll relax completely in the next moment or take a bit longer... but you're becoming comfortable now, aren't you? Everyone relaxes at their own pace... and while you don't have to notice all the ways your body is letting go... you might be curious about when you'll feel that first wave of deeper comfort... just like a wave that builds and releases... builds and releases... and isn't it interesting how easily the unconscious knows exactly what you need?"
Notice how the patterns layer: - Embedded commands (you'll relax, you'll feel) - Double bind (next moment or take a bit longer) - Tag question (aren't you?) - Truism (everyone relaxes at their own pace) - Negative suggestion (don't have to notice) - Presupposition (when you'll feel) - Metaphor (wave) - Tag question (isn't it interesting)
Practicing Ericksonian Patterns
Daily Exercises
Embedded Commands: In conversation, practice embedding single commands. Notice what happens.
Presupposition Practice: Write 10 statements that presuppose positive change for common client issues.
Metaphor Collection: Start gathering and creating metaphors for your most common therapeutic goals.
Utilization Mindset: For one day, practice accepting everything that happens as useful information.
Script Development
Our Ericksonian induction scripts provide templates incorporating these patterns. Study them, notice the patterns, and use them as models for your own scripts.
For faster script creation, AI-powered tools can generate Ericksonian scripts incorporating these patterns, which you can then review and refine.
When to Use Ericksonian Approaches
Ericksonian techniques are particularly effective for:
Resistant or skeptical clients
Analytical personalities who would counter direct suggestions
Clients with control concerns
Long-term behavioral change
Complex psychological issues
They're less necessary for:
Highly suggestible clients
Simple relaxation work
Clients who prefer direct approaches
Quick interventions
Further Study
To deepen your understanding:
Essential Reading - "My Voice Will Go With You" - Sidney Rosen (edited teaching tales) - "Hypnotic Realities" - Erickson & Rossi - "Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson" - Bandler & Grinder
Practice - Study and emulate [Ericksonian scripts](/induction-library/ericksonian) - Record and review your sessions - Seek supervision from Ericksonian-trained practitioners
Conclusion
Ericksonian language patterns represent some of the most sophisticated tools in hypnotherapy. They're not tricks or manipulation—they're ways of communicating that respect client autonomy while creating conditions for change.
Start with one or two patterns, practice until they become natural, then add more. Over time, you'll find yourself using them conversationally, not just in formal hypnosis.
Our free Ericksonian script library gives you models to study and adapt, while our AI platform can help you generate scripts incorporating these patterns for specific client needs.
The goal isn't to sound like Erickson—it's to develop your own voice that incorporates these powerful principles.
Ready to explore Ericksonian techniques in depth? [Browse our Ericksonian scripts](/induction-library/ericksonian) or [generate personalized scripts with AI](/for-hypnotherapists).
