NCSCH President’s
Message,
January, 2007
SOME
THOUGHTS THAT ARE NOT AS
RANDOM AS THEY MAY FIRST APPEAR…..
As I write this message, I am
reminded of how hard it is to write an article that is both relevant and that
will not rapidly become “dated.” The reason, of course, being that I don’t have
the umph to crank out a new
message regularly. Maybe it is age, or the rapid pace at which we all seem to
be moving, or perhaps the sheer volume of details that is required to
responsibly manage day to day life, but I am particularly concerned with energy these days. Energy management, energy renewal, and in
particular, energy conservation.
As a long time practitioner
and student of hypnosis, and in more recent years, a teacher, I have been
struck with how difficult it sometimes is—how much energy it takes—to “do”
hypnosis, while at other times, it
is as easy as falling off the proverbial log. I have observed my own reluctance
at times to get on with practice sessions at conferences, and the foot dragging
that trainees do. The Thousand Questions Game artfully played so that there
won’t be enough time left to actually do the hypnosis. One of the video’s in my
collection is of Michael Yapko, Ph.D. doing a training demonstration at a
conference, and during the Q & A period afterward a colleague remarked that
it seemed to her he had worked awfully hard. His response, rightfully so, was
that he didn’t care if it (hypnosis) was hard work. He has an obligation to do
his best for the person with whom—or for whom-- he was working. How many times
do we recognize that a hypnotic approach would be timely and potentially very
helpful, and yet opt out of doing so?
In a similar vein, hypnosis has repeatedly been
demonstrated to add significant value to the therapeutic process, and so far it
offers a means by which most skillful clinicians can expect appropriate
monetary compensation. And yet, with these and other compelling reasons to
learn hypnosis, why aren’t our conferences and training opportunities overrun
with clinicians? Because it takes too much energy? It’s not as easy as it
looks? There is too much responsibility involved? I can get tired thinking
about it.
GETTING
TO THE POINT…
The Board (i.e., NCSCH
members who have found or made the time to help carry the torch of learning and
responsible training) has long followed through on it’s commitment to provide
conferences taught by some of the biggest names in the field. This year we are
providing an unprecedented opportunity to experience not one, but two,
remarkable clinician/teacher’s.
Yvonne Dolan will be here on
May 19, 2007. I hope you will read her outline for presentation. Ms. Dolan has
stood in the fire of the most challenging therapeutic encounters, and yet she
teaches about hope, optimism, possibility, and reminds us of all that is good
about this work we do. She will offer us tools and strategies that are do-able,
and can be learned without undo expenditure of gumption-to-try-energy, even for
those without prior hypnosis experience.
In the fall, we are pleased
to announce the return of Jeffrey Zeig, Ph.D. to NCSCH. Dr. Zeig is a ‘first
generation Ericksonian’ who worked with Milton Erickson for years. He is
extraordinarily knowledgeable, engaging, and a consummate teacher who makes
learning as easy as “falling off the log.”
And so, for those of us who
can’t sleep unless we are satisfied that we have done our best work today, and
that the effort we put forth is grounded in solid education, attention to
detail, exquisitely honed listening skills, shared creativity, and a measure of
appropriate necessary risk, having these opportunities to learn are truly
opportunities to re-charge and renew. I can take little or no credit for any of this, as it is the
seemingly perpetually renewing energy and experience of my colleagues Wayne
Townsend, David Aspenson, Roz Heiko, and Ed Lawrence that is carrying the day.
A FINAL NOTE…
It is all well and good to be
able to go to the well of knowledge of The Great Ones. But there are two
messages that have been playing ‘round and ‘round in my mind of late. One is
the question that Wayne posed at our most recent Board meeting: “Who will teach
once the Elders are gone?”
The other is a statement that
Ernest Rossi, Ph.D. made at our Fall, 2006 conference. Ernie made the comment—a
throw away statement actually, tucked in the middle of some other observation
which I completely missed, as I was caught by this remark: “We feel so alone
because of our essential uniqueness.”
He is right, of course. Our “essential uniqueness”
affords us over and
over the opportunity to learn about our common, ordinary, garden variety
loneliness so that we can live ably through the not so ordinary lonely times.
But that “essential uniqueness” gives us so much more. It is our gift to our
client’s, our particular professions, and, yes, to one another.
Due to factors primarily
related to energy and time, we have decided to trim our Spring Conference to
one day with Yvonne Dolan. Our Call for Presentations netted on lone offering.
Thank you Margie. It is my hope that over the next several years, many more of
us will gather up our “essential uniqueness,” our style of doing the work, the
particular strategies and techniques and insights that we have each acquired,
and offer them up as gifts to the larger community. It is my hope that we as a
Society will welcome these offerings and find ways to share with one another.
It is my hope that we will be neither so deflated that we think we have nothing
of value to offer to anyone else, nor that we become so inflated that we mistakenly
think our colleagues at home have little or nothing to offer. A bumper sticker
my son once had on his car said, Education Is Everywhere, and some of our best learning opportunities are
among our own. It is among ourselves that the next Great Ones may very likely
be training.
Finally,
our energy—yours and
mine-- is precious. I have learned that it can be conserved, and renewed when
we work together to lighten the load, as well as when we meet and share our
“essential uniqueness.” The vitality of the Society is funded by the shared
time, energy, and talents of you, our members. Let us know what we can do for
you. Let us know what you would like to do with us. Hope to see you soon.
Sharyn Warren, LCSW,
President
NCSCH---MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
As the
2006-2008 NCSCH Board begins its work, it is with a
spirit of gratitude and appreciation for the leadership whom we succeed. They have
worked so hard, for so long to keep our Society vital, relevant, and strong. It
is always risky business to start naming names, for surely someone who has
worked faithfully behind the scenes will find themselves once again omitted.
That said, the appreciation for the dedication of David Aspenson, Ph.D., Mary
Burns, L.C.S.W., Andrea Meier,
Ph.D., Frank Overton, Ph.D, and all those who contributed their time and
talents can not be overstated. A special word of acknowledgement goes to Chuck
Holton, L.C.S.W. for delivering to the membership year after year our
distinctive purple newsletter to keep us up-to-date on conference and society
activities. And, of course, no recognition would be complete without
acknowledging the life-long contributions of Bob Dick, Ph.D. to our society and
the fine training that many of us received under his direction.
This year’s Board is a blend
of experienced and new
leadership. Roz Heiko, Ph.D. is returning for another term as treasurer. Wayne
Townsend, L.C.S.W. is our expert conference organizer and secretary. A special
note of thanks belongs to Wayne for his generous contribution of creating and
maintaining our on-line presence. Between Roz, Wayne, and the continued support by our previous
board members, we trust that the history of the Society will be well preserved
and carried forward. Lawrence (Ed) Kincade, Ph.D. is our VP. His enthusiasm and
energy will serve the Society well for years to come.
Inevitably as I think about where the Society
is going and
all the opportunities before us, I find my thoughts gently re-visiting the
past. My first encounter with hypnosis and the Society was in 1991 and Kaye
Thompson, D.D.S. was the presenter. I was introduced to hypnosis at the
introductory session led, of course, by Bob Dick and by Judith Roberts. Judith asked
for a volunteer to demonstrate a hypnosis session and I raised my hand, thus
starting a tradition of volunteering myself as often as possible in training
opportunities to be the happy recipient of hypnosis (sometimes in hopes of escaping
having to demonstrate it). Judith is no longer with us, but there is an
intimacy that occurs between people who share a hypnosis experience, and she
lives on in my memories as a special person who helped me begin an amazing
journey of professional and personal discovery and development.
The environment that I encountered
that weekend was one of clinical
excellence, humility, encouragement, non-competitive sharing of knowledge and
information, integrity, authenticity, and a commitment to doing “good work.”
Since then, I have attended many outstanding conferences that the Society has
sponsored, and learned much from
the various famous teachers in the field. Exceptional training has always been
the standard of the Society, but the quality of the community of colleagues,
the atmosphere of professional friendships is, in my experience, what makes the
Society rare and special.
Everyone who has benefited from attendance at a NCSCH
conference, and those who will be discovering for the first time the dynamic
field of hypnosis, have an opportunity to give to and receive from an organization
that is alive, well, and—yes, I will say it—healthy. Hopefully, all of our membership will experience a
strange but perfectly natural impulse to become involved in NCSCH activities.
There
will be many opportunities to advance the Society, clinical
hypnosis, and the healthcare/mental health field in the coming months and
years. Among these are:
1) The fall 2006 conference featuring Ernest Rossi, Ph.D.
and Kathryn Rossi, Ph.D., and an introductory workshop—an opportunity not to be
missed;
2) Program development and training with local clinicians;
3)
Mentoring;
4) Newsletter contributions;
5) Assistance
with the web site;
6) Contributions to research and evidence-based treatments;
7) The fall 2007 conference featuring Jeffery Zeig, Ph.D.
8) Practice
development
9) Community/public education
The Board will be having
a mini-retreat on Saturday, July 29,
2006 for visioning and strategic planning. Please forward your ideas,
suggestions, and participation interests to any of the following board members:
President: Sharyn Warren,
LCSW sewarren@mindspring.com
Past
President: David Aspenson, Ph.D. daspenson@mindspring.com
VP: Ed Kincade, Ph.D lkincate@nc.rr.com
Treasurer:
Rosalind Heiko, Ph.D. sandplayer1@yahoo.com
Secretary: Wayne Townsend, L.C.S.W. wtowns@mindspring.com
I am looking forward to seeing you in September.
Sharyn Warren, LCSW, BCD
President
