Professor Gordon Emmerson is an Honorary Fellow in the School of Psychology at Victoria University, Melbourne. He is the author of the books Ego State Therapy, Advanced Techniques in Therapeutic Counseling, Healthy Parts Happy Self, Resource Therapy, and Resource Therapy Primer. He developed Resource Personality Theory and Therapy and has developed techniques for working with many psychological conditions using Resource Therapy and Ego State Therapy. Dr Emmerson is a registered psychologist and member of the Australian Psychological Society, and has published numerous refereed articles and has conducted and published experimental clinical research. He provides Foundation Training, a Clinical Qualification in Resource Therapy, Advanced Clinical Training in Resource Therapy, and Train the Trainer.
A wonderful encapsulation of an approach to therapy that embraces
the multi-level communication within our psychic system. Students
of Erickson and Gilligan will find further clarification of
familiar processes and principles of healing through self-relating.
Gordon Emmerson is another welcome voice in the movement of therapy
that works to embrace and respect the forces of the unconscious/ego
relationship, enhancing understanding, expression and tutilage of
apartsa rather than removing or dismissing problems states as
irrational or aunresourcefula. Many scholared and experienced
therapists believe that there are many psychotherapies but only
very few core psychotherapeutic processes. If so, Emmerson has done
much to elucidate the practice and application of one of these core
processes that obeys the natural laws of psychotherapeutic recovery
and growth. Drawn from experience, skilled technique and wide
knowledge.Beeleaf Training Pamela Gawler-Wright
An interesting and, in many ways, invigorating new look at Ego
State Therapy has been presented by Dr. Gordon Emmerson of
Australia.in his new book. Dr. Emmerson takes the technique away
from the usual neurosis therapies and/or personality dysfunctions
and strides into the realm of developing innovative techniques with
which to approach therapeutic dilemmas, experienced by the
patient/client as ambivalence, feeling astucka in old patterns of
behavior and interactions, processing intrusive traumatic
experiences, and dealing with unwanted parts and aspects of the
self. As with all interesting and innovative approaches, there is
bound to be some dissent from those who are tied to the more
traditional usagesstill, I might say, very usefulbut that is part
of growth, in any field. This book is an invitation to explore, go
out on a bit of a therapeutic limb, and open new possibilities for
therapist and client alike.Marlene E. Hunter, MD, FCFP(C), Past
President, ASCH, ISSD, CSCH(BC) Director, LabyrinthVictoria Centre
for Dissociation
An interesting book, and definitely an interesting idea. The first
part of the book details the theory behind Ego State Therapy which
appears to be somewhat Freudian based. It's main idea is that the
unconscious is a pessimistic and disconnected place and that ego
states are formed through some type of childhood trauma. Chapter
Two identifies the practical techniques for accessing ego states,
both non-hypnotic and hypnotic. This part of the book shows how to
locate and map ego states and gives general guidelines for talking
to ego states. Chapters Three & Four show how to use and apply Ego
State Therapy within a therapeutic environment. In particular Mr
Emmerson applies Ego State Therapy to cases of pain control,
depression & anger, panic attacks, addiction and PTSD. The last two
chapters overview and conclude the authors thoughts on this subject
hwover I am not convinced after reading this book of the validity
of Ego State Therapy as a separate therapeutic intervention. I
cannot see how it is really any different to Satir's aparts
therapya or some of the hypnotic interventions that I was taught on
the NACHP course. As a therapist I am aware of the different
conscious states that a client can access both inside and out of
the therapy environment. And as an individual I am aware that I too
change states depending on the environment I am in. After all, we
are all slightly different people at home than we are when sitting
in the therapy room (at least I hope we all are!), different again
at a party than when giving a talk to a roomful of strangers.
That's normal. So yes, we all have different states of mind or
behaviour depending on the circumstances we are in but to make a
therapy based solely on this I find hard to accept. It is
nevertheless an interesting book to read.Terri Bodell, NACHP
News
Comprehensive, filled with theory, practical explanations and the
important ahow toa, the reviewer part of me urges you to check the
book out ... and be prepared to be delighted.Lyn Macintosh, ASCH
Extract from a review by LYN MACINTOSH Dip CH. Dip Couns. Dip EST,
Private practice, Killara, Sydney, Past board member of the
ASCH
Ego State Therapy is a rapid psychotherapeutic method which uses
the recognized advantages of hypnosis to produce the lasting
positive outcomes characteristic of psychoanalysis with
intervention times rivaling cognitive-behavior therapy.
Representing the new generation of Ego State Therapists, Dr.
Emmerson casts the masterful development of the approach over the
years by John G. Watkins and his associates into the first true
textbook on Ego State Therapy that clearly, accurately and
succinctly shows clinicians and advanced clinical psychology
students how to use Ego State Therapy with their patients. Much
more than a ahow to doa approach, Dr. Emmerson is careful to keep
the series of well developed and time proven specific interventions
accurately grounded in the underlying theory. It will become a
classic as an essential text for those psychologists and
psychiatrists who recognize the importance of Ego State therapy to
the needs of their clients.Arreed Barabasz Professor Arreed Franz
Barabasz, EdD, PhD, ABPP Washington State University, USA, Editor,
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis,
President, American Psychological Association Div. 30 Society for
Psychological Hypnosis
Ego State Therapy is based on the premise that our personality is
not a homogenous whole, but is formed of separate parts. This idea
in itself is ancient, you can find it inferred in writers from
Aristotle to Shakespeare. More recently it is echoed in the Parts
Therapy approach which has its roots in the work of Fritz Perls and
was further developed by Gil Boyne, Charles Tebbetts and Roy
Hunter. Systemic therapists talk of our aInner Others', and
Transactional Analysis has explored the term Ego States in a
somewhat different way. The form of therapy that Emmerson describes
derives from the work of John and Helen Watkins and is an eclectic
mix with Hypnosis being a strong ingredient. A reader of this book
would have a very clear idea of the theoretical underpinnings of
this approach as well as a wide range of techniques available to
them by the time they had finished with it. With my NLP background
I am familiar with working with Parts (or Ego States) with
techniques such as Visual Squash and the Core Transformation
process, but this book gave me new ideas about how to extend the
range of my interventions. The detail provided is in-depth without
ever being turgid, and would allow most practitioners to begin
using this approach with confidence, even the question techniques
when working with Ego States is comprehensively covered.
Instinctively I am against therapies that take one aspect of our
humanity and claim it as the single route to cure. Emmerson avoids
this, for all his obvious passion and commitment to Ego State
therapy, but does offer a range of possibilities for working with a
range of issues that are commonly brought to the consulting room.
An intelligent, well-researched and well-written book, put it on
your wish list, but don't leave it there for long.Trevor Silvester
- Hypnotherapy Journal
Emmerson's Ego State Therapy is the first book devoted to basic
applications of Ego State Therapy to appear since the publication
of John and Helen Watkins' Ego States: Theory and Therapy in 1997.
As noted by John Watkins in the Foreword of this more recent book,
Emmerson's experience has been drawn from his applications of this
method with non-hospitalized private patients. In Chapter One the
author describes and defines the personality energy manifestations
that are known as ego states, identifies their qualities, and deals
with the question of their origins. He recounts some of the history
of the creation of Ego State Therapy and differentiates it from
other polypsychic systems such as Gestalt Therapy and Transactional
Analysis. Unlike the Watkins and many other ego state therapists,
he clearly defines introjects as being distinctly different from
other ego states. He also delineates aInner Strengtha as being
different from other ego states and describes some of these
differences. In ChapterTwo Emmerson introduces both non hypnotic
and hypnotic methods for accessing ego states and supplies the
reader with a rich roadmap for therapist interaction with ego
states once they have been accessed. In so doing he enlivens the
fundamentals of Ego State Therapy and maintains excellent focus on
work with the internal family as a group from the inception of
therapy. He places emphasis on the utilization of resistances and
attempts to explain why some aspects of personality may be silent
or choose not to speak. In this chapter he reviews his aResistance
Deepeninga technique (Emmerson, 2000) and introduces his
aResistance Bridgea technique. The third chapter takes the reader
into Emmerson's view of how to work therapeutically with
ego-states. He emphasizes trauma as causative of ego-state
pathology. He clearly expects to find and work with trauma in all
of his clinical work with ego state pathologies, and he directs his
readers to his methods for doing this. According to Emmerson,
abreactions are relatively common when doing ego state work. Like
the Watkins, he believes that sufficient abreaction will extinguish
post-traumatic symptoms. This chapter is enriched by explanation,
direction, and dialogue devoted to helping the therapist increase
understanding and communication with and among ego-states. Emmerson
is a strong advocate of the individual (the greater personality)
developing an ongoing awareness of his/her ego-states, and proposes
a growing awareness as a path to personal development. Chapter Four
proposes to describe the domain of clinical applications of Ego
State Therapy. In this chapter Emmerson describes ego state work in
pain control, couples counseling, with depression and anger, panic
attacks, and addictions. He gives detailed instructions for dealing
with patients whose addictions and need for smoking cessation and
diet control are ego-state driven. The population with which
Emmerson is working is much like that described in Edelstein's
(1981) portrayal in Trauma, Trance, and Transformation. Only three
pages of this chapter are devoted to Dissociative Identity Disorder
(DID) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Thus, he defines
the scope of his book as one of working with less disturbed
patients and with relationship problems. The author's work with
couples is detailed and should be very helpful to ego state
therapists who are interested in extending their work into this
field. Emmerson uses the fifth chapter to delineate the components
of an Ego State Therapy session. He show's how the purpose of a
session determines how it will proceed. He offers specific,
detailed protocols for how to conduct sessions for trauma
resolution, sessions to enhance internal communication among ego
states, and sessions for the promotion of self-awareness and
knowledge of strengths. In Chapter Six, aFinal Thoughts, a the
author addresses the roles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CDT)
and Ego State Therapy in the psychotherapeutic armamentarium and
concludes that Ego State Therapy focuses on causes of problems
while at the same time, like CBT, it is brief. He also deals
(albeit briefly) with the problem of memory and its validity or
lack thereof and offers some thoughts about anature versus nurturea
in the formation of ego states. He concludes this book with his
observation that Ego State Therapy has wide clinical applicability,
that it has grown and evolved since its inception in the mid-1970s,
and that it seems to be poised for development in several areas.
Ego State Therapy is a book that will prove useful, especially to
those who are starting in the field. It takes a clear and strong
position that hypnosis training is essential for those who seek to
do this work, and it offers much to any who wish to pursue an
expansion of knowledge into Ego State Therapy. However, it does
disappoint in the paucity of references offered (only 3 pages) and
its failure to connect with and identify the abundant and creative
ego state work that has taken place since the early 1980s by second
and third generation ego state therapists. The only members of this
group mentioned are Beahrs (1982), Gainer (1993), Frederick and
McNeal (1993) whose article on Inner Strength with ego states was
improperly referenced as having been published in 1999, and Newey
(1986). There is a dearth of recent references. For example,
although couples therapy is presented (and quite well), the seminal
article by Phillips and Toothman (1998) was not cited. Absent also
are references to the works of Frederick on trauma and dissociation
(working with malevolent and silent ego states, terminal illness
and transpersonal issues); Hartman (children and Ericksonian
approaches, gender issues); McNeal (trauma and dissociation,
dreams, and EMDR); Morton (conscious-unconscious complementarity
and ideodynamic healing); and Phillips (ego-strengthening,
dissociation, PTSD and body-based approaches, mind-body healing).
Also absent are any references to books dealing with Ego State
Therapy (other than the Watkins') published within the past ten
years. The major problem with these deficiencies is that it
deprives the reader of available and useful pathways to expand
further their understanding of what is a rich and complex form of
hypnotically facilitated psychotherapy to which many have
contributed over the past twenty-five years. In a certain sense
this book can be regarded as being like an ego state that has not
been integrated within the greater family. Make no mistake about
it, however. This is a good book. As a practical and helpful
presentation of Ego State Therapy, Dr. Emmerson's book has much to
offer. I have already recommended it, and will continue to do so.
Ego State Therapy is quite readable, very sound, and eminently
practical. References Toothman, D., & Phillips, M. (1998). Coming
together: Working with couples from an Ego-State perspective.
American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 41(2), 174-190. Claire
Frederick, M.D., Harvard Medical School. American Journal of
Clinical Hypnosis Oct 2003American Journal Clinical Hypnosis
Gordon Emmerson has entered the arena of counselling by
successfully introducing Ego-state therapy in an informative, well
structured format. The reader will be happy with Dr Emmerson's
presentation of the theory, the examples of counselling sessions
utilising the techniques and the diversity of the application of
this fascinating, effective and easy to apply therapy. I am
fortunate to have this knowledge in my agrab bag of skills' and I
use it with my clients to enable them to identify and resolve the
issue that causes their problem. Dr Gordon Emmerson's new book
contains a wealth of information that will help counsellors to
build on their already well developed skills. Ego-state therapy
enables the practitioner to assist the client in determining the
cause of their problem, the root cause, and to effectively deal
with it. The theory and examples are explicit and easy to adopt.
Borrowing aenergy' from a negative part and giving that energy to a
part that needs it is nothing short of brilliant. I've used
Ego-state therapy with clients for a number of years and I feel
sure that this valuable book will influence many to also use this
most effective technique. Here is a book that counsellors and
therapists of any modality will gravitate to. I am impressed with
the basics let alone the Advanced Counselling Skills and
Techniques. Ego-state therapy forms a large part of my counselling,
hypnotherapy and NLP practice and now Gordon Emmerson has produced
another outstanding book that is not just a follow on from his
earlier book which is also filled with user friendly information.
Dr Emmerson's highly ethical and respectful approach is conveyed
throughout the text. The theory and the examples contain all that
is needed for the practitioner to model in order to assist a client
to determine the cause of their problem and to deal with the issue
causing the problem. His suggestion of borrowing aenergy' from a
negative part and giving that energy to a part that needs it is
nothing short of brilliant.Lyn Macintosh Australian Society of
Clinical Hypnosis
I believe Gordon Emmerson's book to be a definitive and valuable
resource for hypnotherapists. The opportunity to assist clients
reach problem or symptom resolution through dialogue with Ego
States is powerfully illustrated. Working with Ego States provides
an opportunity to accomplish solution oriented outcomes in a
powerful and creative way using our natural dissociative abilities.
This is a practical and understandable guide to gaining access to
inner resources that can be utilised for significant therapeutic
gains.Bill Patterson, Mind Body Solutions, Australia
Mind, matter and life are the three distinct factors that
constitute human beings with inconceivable possibilities, of which
Ego forms a crucial part. Ego determines whether he becomes his own
creator or destroyer. In him are found both evil and virtue, both
criminal tendencies and saintly characteristics. He may either be a
blessing or a curse to himself and others. Thus the good old
saying, asome are wise and some are otherwise.a Ego State Therapy
by Gordon Emmerson incorporates Hypnotherapy and presents
innovative techniques of working with Ego States. The theories of
Ego State and the practical methods illustrated in this book will
enable the reader to master the therapy with ease and thus to
harness his own resources. This book will be a very valuable
addition to the subject of Ego State Therapy.V M Mathew Professor
V. M. Mathew MBBS, DTM&H, DPM, MRCPsych, M.Phil
The fundamentals, and practical application of ego state therapy
techniques have never been so easy to learn as with this book.
Exceedingly clear, concise, and comprehensive, Ego State Therapy:
Practice and Use, is a state-of-the-art protocol, which will
acquaint academicians and clinicians with the dynamic, diverse, and
constantly evolving field of ego state therapy. A well-researched
and well-written book in which the epistomology of ego state
therapy are explained and illustrated by means of detailed case
examples.Woltemade Hartman Ph.D, Director, Milton H. Erickson
Institute of South Africa
This book will he a very useful addition to any therapist's library
and particularly beneficial to those new to the profession, in that
it will give them an even greater grasp of the technique known to
many as aParts Therapya. Although the book is, in essence, based on
the Watkins' Ego State Therapy, the author has built on the
technique and used innovative ways of expanding its use. Some of
the case studies in' the book are fascinating and are used to
enable the reader to more easily understand how the technique works
and the uses it can be put to. I must confess that I had never
thought of using the therapy in some of the ways that the author
does and can see that its use could be expanded in any number of
different directions, thus enabling the therapist to do brief
therapy with many clients who might have been considered too
difficult to treat quickly. Gordon Emmerson has drawn on some of
the different therapies which use these techniques, including
Transactional Analysis. Gestalt Therapy and Voice Dialogue Therapy
and he illustrates how Ego Stale Therapy can be incorporated into
and used alongside almost any discipline to very good effect. I
found this book very enjoyable and easy to understand and I felt as
if I'd added considerably to my tool-box after reading it.Pat
Doohan, National Council of Psychotherapists
This is a clearly written book, well constructed around a subject
that will have an instant, intuitive appeal for many people. It is
always refreshing to read something that actually conforms to the
tried and tested format of beginning, middle and end, even when one
does not agree whole-heartedly with the content. aEgo state
therapya, says the author, ais based on the premise that
personality is composed of several parts, rather than a homogeneous
whole. any one expressing itself at a given moment.a These astates'
are created at different points in our lives. They are coping
mechanisms that develop in response to repeated experience - or a
single incident or trauma - and are aa normal part of the healthy
psychea. The state that is conscious and overt at a given time is
called the executive state. Needless to say, these states can
become troublesome, leading to conflict and confusion in people's
lives. For example, a child punished by their parent may develop a
passive response to cope with the situation. This awithdrawn' state
might then become an ego state that will return throughout life
whenever the individual feels threatened by an authority figure.
The person may have difficulty changing this response so therapy a
which uses hypnosis for maximum effect - is directed at
communicating directly with the troubled ego state so a change can
be made. Emmerson describes the process and underlying theory with
great clarity all the time drawing freely on psychodynamic theory.
This is why I said that I think the book will have an intuitive
appeal for many people; the metaphor that we are being arun' by our
defence mechanisms is a well established one in our society so it
feels right when we read about it. The author is also duly
authoritative: aThe average person has five to 15 ego states that
are used during the weeka; aEgo state theory is more than a theory
of therapy. It is also a theory of personality.a The emphatic style
of writing will charm some therapists, and this, I think, is a
serious down-side to the book. Exploring ideas around any of the
200 or so talking therapies we are exposed to in the UK makes
interesting reading particularly when laid out as they are here.
But the theories supporting ego state therapy and the clear
methodology fall into the common trap of popular therapy how-to
books, of separating the process from the people. Therapy is
interactive and asuccess' due in large part to the quality of the
interaction. Little space seems to be given here for the quality of
the relationship or the uniqueness of individual clients; therapy
becomes something we do to people rather than something we do with
them. Emmerson says that he does not want to give recipes, but that
is what he does. There are bullet pointed lists to reinforce the
main points as well as transcripts to illustrate the process. The
result is a book which, if taken too literally by inexperienced or
unthinking therapists, simply becomes more dogma; a product with
which the therapy market is already too well served. He also
compares his approach with several major schools of thought, or, as
he puts it arelated therapiesa: psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy,
transactional analysis and cognitive behavioural therapy. In
contrasting the latter he says that Ego State Therapy provides aa
causal solution, not a coping strategya. This is a continuation of
the pro-psychoanalysis view that the newer approaches to therapy
can only provide quick (and by implication superficial) solutions.
The author is clearly committed to his viewpoint and, as the case
studies and other examples show, his expertise and experience
clearly benefit his clients. It has often been observed that
experts fail to recognise their own level of expertise. Emmerson's
over simplistic reliance on method may overlook the essential
qualities which make his therapy effective: his own qualities as a
human being. This book is interesting to read but should not be
taken too literally. However agood' the technique, there is no
substitute for a good therapist.Positive Health Barry Winbolt DHyp
BHR(Distinguished) FSSM, Magazine
We have all experienced good teachers in our time a someone who
engages us, holds our attention and shares knowledge with us,
filling us with enthusiasm for the subject. Gordon Emmerson is such
a teacher. His practical approach of providing the theory of a
technique, demonstrating the technique and then monitoring his
students as they practice the technique is unsurpassed. Gordon has
successfully transposed his teaching expertise into this book that
has been described by a Professor as aa classic as an essential
text.a A book that meets the needs of all readers, regardless of
their level of expertise in Ego State Therapy. The author discusses
the goals and benefits of Ego State Therapy and the nature,
development and permanence of ego states. He includes the steps to
be taken in numbered point form, offering a full explanation of
each step and ademonstratesa with client/therapist dialogue. The
only thing missing is for the author to be there when the student
practices. At the end of the book, we are taken through 3 sessions;
each step is fully explained and there is no holding back of
information. I have fulsome praise for this most welcome text that
gives valuable insight into Ego State Therapy and a practical
approach to using the techniques in one's practice.Australian
Hypnotherapists Association Lyn Macintosh CMAHA ASCH, Hypnopatter,
Official Newsletter of the Australian Hypnotherapistsa Association
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