Working With

This chapter criticizes the notion of unilateral control of hypnotic relationships, which is historically hegemonic in hypnosis. As a De-sign principle, the partnership is emphasized as a central reference for hypnotic relationship, where both members are considered as De-signers. Therapists and patients are protagonists in constructing change processes, where they can reconfigure their experiences in order to produce meaning for their lives. Highlighting Peircean phenomenological personages—the artist, the bulldog, and the mathematician—the chapter proposes three phenomenological attitudes for hypnotic relationship. The first attitude is “being with” which is characterized by a deep affective connection, such as proposed by humanist therapies. The second attitude is “dancing with” remarked by body choreography and technical application, as commonly emphasized by pragmatic therapies. The third attitude is “thinking with”, permeated by reflexivity, theoretical questions, and symbolic processes, such as highlighted by psychodynamic and narrative therapies. The chapter also discusses the notion of dialogue as a processes that transcend the conversation due to its teleological, collective role that advances beyond the present moment. An Erickson’s case study will illustrate this discussion of dialogue, considering the temporal distortion and the meaning production for a woman who had suicidal ideas and was a wheelchair user.