Stephen Brooks

From the mid 1980's to the late 1990's Stephen Brooks ran many Ericksonian Hypnosis

training courses in the UK and Europe. He is founder of British Hypnosis Research (1979)

and the British Society of Clinical and Medical Ericksonian Hypnosis (1995).

He has taught extensively throughout Europe and his training organisation (BHR) was the

major training body for health professionals in the UK for many years. He ran courses at about

a dozen hospitals during that time and his staff of trainers and supervisors were very influential

in the field of Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP in the UK.

He is author of the video and book "Training in Indirect Hypnosis " and numerous video and

audio training programs, many of which have been selling on Ebay for hundreds of pounds

(and dollars) over the past few years. In 1998 He retired to Thailand where he had already been

living for about 5 years. Since then he has been teaching in Asia and now would like to teach

again in the UK, Europe and the States.

He is very keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in having him teach for their

organisation as he is now available. He specialises in innovative approaches to Ericksonian

Hypnosis with an emphasis on demonstrations of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy with real patients

during training courses, something that many trainers are still afraid to do.

Biography

Inspired and encouraged by top American Psychiatrist Milton H Erickson, Stephen Brooks

introduced Ericksonian Hypnosis into the UK in the mid 1970's. Since then, his therapy techniques
have had a major influence on the caring professions both in the UK and Europe. Prior to this, most
practitioners hypnotised their patients in a regimented and formalised way (some still do), and
believed that if the patient did not respond it was because they were not suggestible. Stephen
challenged this theory and changed forever our perception of hypnosis and how it should be used

in therapy.

Using Erickson's ideas, Stephen developed innovative techniques for hypnotising patients indirectly

and in a non-threatening way. His patients often found themselves pleasantly drifting into

hypnosis without knowing how it was happening. What is more, they often found that they were

then able to solve their problems on their own without knowing how they were doing it. Stephens

patients were able to help themselves by trusting their innate unconscious ability to heal

themselves. Very much like how, in an emergency situation, a person is able to summon up

enormous physical strength that they didn't know they had. Or how, in a life or death situation, a

person can make the right decision, despite not really knowing what to do, simply by trusting their
intuition.

He believed that the cure for any problem was already inside the patient, and that they just

needed to learn how to access it. He used hypnosis to put the patient in touch with their inner
resources so that they could learn how to resolve their problems regardless of the type of problem.
Although unconventional at the time, Stephens ideas have now become part of the mainstream,

primarily because of the many health professionals who attended his courses in the 1980's and

90's.

A common thread in Stephens work is his compassionate and creative approach to therapy and

his deep respect for the unique needs of the patient. Where many therapists fall back on

traditional "off the peg" techniques he treats problems by spontaneously doing what is most
appropriate for the patient at that time, tailoring each therapy session to the patient. He has always
said that patients have the means to heal themselves, and that his job is to empower them to do it.

Stephen is one of the most respected hypnotherapists in the UK, with 27 years experience

of working with severe problems and difficult patients. As the UK's foremost hypnotherapy trainer,

his two-year Diploma courses became the standard training for thousands of health professionals

and over a period of twenty-five years he practised and taught Ericksonian Hypnosis at St George's
Hospital London, St Anne's Hospital London, St Peter's Hospital London, Royal Masonic Hospital
London, University of East London, Regent's College London, Selly Oak Hospital Birmingham,
Highfield Hospital Birmingham and St James' Hospital Leeds.

His Diploma courses also became the standard training for hypnotherapy associations and
organisations in France, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1979 he
founded British Hypnosis Research, which became the UK's major clinical hypnotherapy research

and training organisation. In 1991 archive recordings of his work were preserved in the National

Sound Archives.

To contact Stephen please e-mail stevebrooks@asia.com