Utilization Approach

Milton Erickson's foundational philosophy of hypnotherapy, which holds that the practitioner should utilize whatever the client brings — their resistances, beliefs, behaviors, and life experiences — as resources for therapeutic change rather than working against them. The Utilization Approach has three stages: Preparation (exploring the client's repertoire and establishing rapport), Trance Work (activating and utilizing the client's own mental skills during trance), and Evaluation of Results (recognizing and ratifying the therapeutic change that takes place). This approach contrasts with authoritarian hypnosis by meeting the client exactly where they are.