Fail-Safe Indirect Approaches in Therapeutic Hypnosis (MNSCH)

Organization: Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis 

Website: https://www.msch.us/education/2026-advanced-workshop/ 

Event Title: Fail-Safe Indirect Approaches in Therapeutic Hypnosis 

Agenda: 

Dates: 6/14/2026 

Location: Virtual 

CE: 6 

Contact : Deb Schrobilgen, deb@msch.us 

Description: Many clinicians learn a wide range of hypnotic techniques and interventions. While these tools are valuable, technique alone does not always translate into a psychotherapy process that feels fluid, responsive, and reliably effective. This workshop focuses on the underlying fundamental principles that allow therapeutic hypnosis to unfold in a way that minimizes the risk of failure for both client and clinician. 

Drawing from approaches modeled by Milton Erickson and Ernest Rossi, often demonstrated in practice but less frequently articulated explicitly, we will examine how indirect methods support a dynamic and collaborative therapeutic process. Rather than directing outcomes, these approaches emphasize following the client’s experience, supporting autonomy, and creating conditions in which meaningful and often numinous change can emerge naturally. 

Participants will explore how fail-safe principles reduce performance pressure, deepen attunement, and foster client-led transformation. By shifting the focus from technique execution to moment-by-moment responsiveness, therapists can create greater freedom for exploration while maintaining clinical integrity. This workshop is well suited for newer clinicians who want a clear conceptual framework for working indirectly, as well as for experienced clinicians interested in refining their use of subtle and responsive hypnotic processes. 

Learning Objectives: 

Participants will be able to explain the importance and relevance of fail-safe approaches in psychotherapy, including: 

• Asking questions rather than giving statements. 
• Leaving out the use of “I,” reducing the client’s natural tendency to please the therapist. 
• Following rather than leading the therapeutic process. 

Participants will learn the application of sensory modality priorities for individual clients, including: 

• Identifying how each client most naturally learns and processes experience, whether through sight, hearing, feeling or proprioception, intuition, taste, or smell. 
• Remaining grounded in the present moment. 

Participants will demonstrate the ability to follow the client’s lead through careful attention to minimal cues, including: 

• Understanding how to notice, read, and utilize subtle body and breath cues. 
• Supporting client independence and self-directed change. 

Finally, participants will examine the principle that the Burden of Responsibility in Effective Psychotherapy ultimately belongs to the client, and how indirect hypnotic methods naturally reinforce this orientation. 

 Presenter: Kathryn Rossi, PhD