The Science of Psychotherapy Academy

This program is of value to all mental health practitioners including lay practitioners and those seeking self-development. Mirroring Hands is a therapeutic practice that utilizes focused attention to create a state in the client where they are able to process both explicit and implicit experience simultaneously. The practice has emerged from the non-directive hypnotherapeutic style of Milton Erickson, that have been developed since Erickson's death in 1980 by Ernest Rossi. 

It is a rapid and gentle form of therapy where the client and the therapist are able to co-create a deep insight into what lies beneath the presenting problem. It is also an approach to therapy that can be applied to all modalities. Client-responsiveness is generated through language styles, a heightened sensitivity of observation and a curiosity for the meanings that can emerge spontaneously in response to our natural human capacity to recover from illness, be it physical and/or mental. The videos include numerous demonstrations and recordings from workshops. The program has a gentle balance of theory and practice.

It is important  to understand the theoretical elements that are the foundation of effective therapy. We need to shift the standard way we think about how the mind works and how we can best create a beneficial therapeutic experience for the client. During the program you will learn how thinking in the context of a complex system gives you insights into not only how the Mirroring Hands process works, but also, more importantly, how clients are able to access their own resources and be a pro-active part of their own healing. You will also understand the value and importance of getting out of the client's way as they find, with your help and facilitation, their own best resolution. In the workshop we are then to take the time to get a genuine "felt sense" of these technical concepts through a series of practical activities and exercises designed specifically for the workshops.

When you think about it, most of the therapies that we practice today can be found in the stories and theater of the past, back to Shakespeare and even to Plato and Socrates. There is much to discover in our natural human recovery system and this foundational course will both guide and, I hope, inspire you. This video program lays the foundation for the onsite workshop programs that are presented around the world. You will be informed about locations as they are organized. I hope to see you before too long in person. Meanwhile, this video program and, of course, the book, The Practitioner's Guide to Mirroring Hands by myself and Ernest Rossi, provide a wonderful start to your engagement with Mirroring Hands.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the fundamental concepts of human behaviour that support mirroring hands; review the history of the name and the technique; 
• learn the neuroscience behind using the hands; 
• describe the principle of differentiation; 
• describe the three states of consciousness; 
• review the concept of focus, orientation and perception; 
• learn the basis and the concepts behind the three elements of dynamic curiosity; 
• learn the process of induction utilising the three elements of dynamic curiosity; 
• describe and utilised the language principles, including the incomplete sentence and supportive responses; 
• review and utilised the basic accessing question protocol; 
• review and incorporate the principles of complexity theory including organising principles, feedback and self-organisation; 
• observe demonstration of the technique; 
• describe the basic forms including review, polarity, and closing the door; 
• describe the 4-stage creative cycle and the 90-120 minute ultradian rhythm; 
• review the concept of sensitive observation and client responsiveness ; 
• Explore ways to develop self-awareness; and experience a group demonstration of the mirroring hands technique.