Ego States

I enjoyed this book. Some of it is very theoretical - which is not so much for me - as I prefer the experiential parts of the book; but all in all a very good book on ego states.

AAA

For a recent graduate in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, this book was extremely easy to read and to understand. It has opened up a whole new way of thinking for me and to be honest, I can't put it down. I only want to read a little at a time, absorb what I have read and then go on. Gordon Emmerson writes with passion, great understanding and it is what I would call an unputdownable book and one that I will always carry with me. I only wish I had the money to fly to Melbourne, Australia and enrol in one of his courses.

I read this book because I am about to enter into some ego state work as a client. It's a solid introduction to the topic, written by the people who developed it. I would love to read about this theory in the light of more recent discoveries in neuroscience—this book was published in 1997.The book starts out with basic concepts, which assumes some history with traditional Freudian psychotherapy. If you have some basic understanding of the Freudian psychotherapy tradition, this may even seem remedial to you. I found rather annoying the discussion and use of "energy", that perenially undefined term in both mental health and new age circles. Some other fundamental concepts (subject-object, for example) are sketched out or muddily described rather than precisely defined. These problems aside, the authors provide a rough enough understanding to proceed on to the main idea: that we all have a variety of more-or-less distinct personality states, which we shift amongst in our different life situations. Most people behave differently at work, with friends, and with family, for example. It's when these states become more distinct, separated from one another, or out of volitional control that we head into the realm of pathology. At the severe end of the spectrum is dissociative identity or multiple personality disorder. At the milder end are general difficulties or problems in particular situations, such as severe reactions to criticism or difficulty with public speaking. The idea there is that, typically, some early trauma or difficult situation that couldn't be resolved at the time resulted in the formation of an ego state stuck in that trauma, falling back on the same failed strategy every time a situation reminiscent enough of the original occurs.In ego state therapy, the therapist interacts with these different ego/personality states directly, often with the client under hypnosis. They present various techniques for revisiting and resolving trauma, either through direct confrontation or through enlisting the help of ego states not involved in the traumatic event as remembered.The theory and practice seem quite plausible to me, especially based on my reading in related topics. It'll be interesting to see how the work pans out for myself.If you are interested in this field, I would also recommend:• The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization, by Onno van der Hart, Ellert R.S. Nijenhuis, and Kathy Steele• A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action, by Esther Thelen and Linda B. Smith• Thinking in Systems: A Primer, by Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright• Anything by V.S. Ramachandran

This book which gives some fundamental insights into the ego-state therapy. It is essential to have read this one for every hypnotherapist.