Dr Ewin has written a very practical, no-nonsense, down to earth book based on his own experiences and is passing on some real pearls of wisdom within its pages. He isn’t sharing with you a new theory on hypnosis, but instead allows you to find your own way to use these ‘pearls’ within the framework that you already use. To him, patient/client power is key to the healing process and this is obvious throughout the book.
Whether you are an ‘old hand’ or just learning, this book really should be part of your library.
Terri Bodell FNACHP, Deputy Chair,
National Association of Counsellors, Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists
In a world where attention to words, the use of metaphors, and assisting people to be relieved of pain and suffering all intersect, we are in the land of hypnosis. Beyond the research labs and clinician’s office, the inhabitants of this world teach each other through their shared experiences, their anecdotes and stories, modeling the wise nuggets as they teach. Dr. Ewin, affectionately known as Dabney, has compiled 101 nuggets of hypnosis wisdom from decades of practicing medicine. He would call them pearls of wisdom, but pure gold better captures both their value and the effort it takes to gather them. The result of our courage, our ignorance, sometimes our hubris, and almost always our mistakes, wisdom is hard won, especially when our goal is to help others. How do we know what psychological ingredients are right for patient X? Dabney reminds us, we often do not know, but if we trust our clients’ subconscious, it knows and with hypnosis we can help our clients access what they need to heal.
The preface of the book sets the tone with Dabney’s down home style and his ever-present modeling of the use of hypnotic language and metaphors. He tells us “Read the little book” a suggestion you will feel compelled to follow. He has utilized the KISS principle (Keep it simple, stupid) with expertise and tongue-in-cheek humor. With unusual candor and warmth, again modeling, the trust he shows the reader builds rapport quickly. We feel safe reading his 101 pieces of advice- To the hypnotically initiated these are familiar pitfalls. Dabney observes them without judgment, only encouragement for us to learn. We can identify with each anecdote with which he illustrates his accumulated knowledge. How many of us, indeed, in those early days of learning, read the scripts while the patient’s eyes were closed? Dabney dares to share his learning process and thus invites us into the hypnosis community where suggestions are both explicit and implicit. He has us watch as he does “rounds”. By item number 54, I could hear him saying, ‘this patient taught me…’ and I realized that more than enthusiasm, the essence of his contribution is the reverence and respect for his patients. He wants them to get better and has shared a lifetime of reflections on what has helped him to help others hypnotically. We can all benefit from these reflections.
Dabney is an outstanding educator and a lifetime learner. Reading 101 things I wish I had known when I started hypnosis, one realizes there are always more things to be learned. The book’s design is a simple prescription: meditate on one item a day. And pay special attention to item number 38 which reminds us that a patient’s name carries emotion. Acknowledging that item and all the linguistic spandex I have nurtured in my hypnosis training, I heartily recommend this book and know that “a little Dabney’ll do you”.
Julie H. Linden, PhD, Past President, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
and President-Elect of The International Society of Hypnosis
This little book is going to be an invaluable resource for practitioners of both hypnotherapy and psychotherapy, drawing, as it does, on the long experience of the author and his acute observations which have obviously stood him in good stead during his career.
The book is full of common sense advice on avoiding the pitfalls many therapists (and medical practitioners) are apt to fall into. Simply by avoiding the use of words which may have negative connotations for clients or patients and substituting words which will be less likely to be viewed pessimistically, therapy can be even more successful and a speedier outcome can be reached. Even pronunciation can have its unforeseen problems. The author cites a case where he lost rapport in an instant with an English client simply by using the Irish pronunciation of her name (Kathleen) at a time when the IRA bombings were rife in the UK.
Dr. Ewin believes absolutely in the power of the mind/body connection and recommends that therapists undergo many of the hypnotic techniques themselves, since it is so much easier to be confident about a procedure if it has already been successful for oneself. He also advocates the use of humour in healing–something that many newly qualified therapists tend to steer clear of, believing that helping people to resolve their problems should be a ‘serious’ undertaking.
I have to say that I agreed wholeheartedly with Dr. Ewin’s approach, finding nothing in the book about which I could say “Oh, I wouldn’t do that!”. In fact, his methodology put me very much in mind of the late, great, Duncan McColl, from whom many therapists in this country learned so much during the last twenty or so years.
In short, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn in a very short space of time what most therapists only learn from years of experience.
Pat Doohan, Fellow of the National Council of Psychotherapists and
also of the International Council of Psychotherapists. (FNCP & FICP),
Editor of Fidelity, the in house publication of the NCP/ICP.
About the author
Dabney M. Ewin, MD, FACS, ABMH is a board certified surgeon and occupational medical specialist. Early in his career he was plant physician for the Kaiser Aluminum plant in New Orleans, and started using hypnosis for some badly burned patients. He became interested in psychosomatic medicine, developed a private hypnosis practice, and began teaching hypnosis at Tulane University Medical School in 1970, and at Louisiana State University Medical School in 1980.
Dr. Ewin is a life member of the American Medical Association, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and former speaker of the House of Delegates of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He is a past president of both the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and the American Board of Medical Hypnosis. He is a Fellow and past secretary of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) and a member of the International Society of Hypnosis (ISH). He has received the Milton Erickson Award of ASCH, the Roy Dorcas Award of SCEH, and the Pierre Janet Award of ISH. He has published numerous articles on hypnosis and is co-author of the book Ideomotor Signals for Rapid Hypnoanalysis: A How-to Manual.
He serves as Clinical Professor of Surgery and Psychiatry at Tulane University Medical School and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Louisiana State University Medical School.
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