Established: 1988
Hillel Zeitlin, LCSW-C
410/358-1381(41)
6118 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
email: HZeitlin@aol.com
Therapy is a commitment to your inner self. As I honor the value of such a step, I would like you to know my commitment to the practice of psychotherapy and hypnosis. Ten years ago, I founded the Maryland Institute for Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy(MIEHP), bringing here innovations in hypnosis, Solution-focused therapy and NLP, that I'd trained in on the West Coast. Continuing to teach and practice therapy here, I have expanded to incorporate the Enneagram, Quantum Psychology© methods and the Core Transformation© process into my work.
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MoreAbout The Maryland Institute
for Ericksonian Hypnosis & Psychotherapyby Richard Landis, Ph.D, C.T.S. From the Journal
of the The Southern California Society for Ericksonian Psychotherapy
and Hypnosis
The Maryland Institute for Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy
(MIEHP) is a multi-service organization providing referral, clinical,
consulting and educational services to both the public and professional
community.
Its "creator," Hillel Zeitlin, LCSW-C,
wanted to create an outlet for his own growth and development
as a therapist and teacher and a regional resource for Ericksonian
training. He was inspired to name his organization for Milton
Erickson for two reasons. He thought that Ericksonian methods
are "pragmatic enough to mobilize changes in a short amount
of time and profound enough to be able to touch the deepest parts
of human beings." He also felt that beyond having blazed
a wide trail for successive, and successful, therapists to follow,
Erickson also was "kind of a hero - an example of someone
who had transformed his personal pain into therapeutic resources
for others."
Zeitlin used an interesting path in the establishment
of this Institute. One of the Institute's first projects was a
year-long training group Zeitlin taught in 1988. The Institute
was not incorporated then. Zeitlin then began working in a larger
framework. He had seen while he was doing his own training, many
institutes of one kind of another come and go. Therefore, he was
inspired to create one that grew "slowly and organically"
and, in this way, insured its success. One of his main goals both
in his own therapeutic orientation, and for the community, was
to foster research and applications of creative therapeutic communication.
With these ideas in mind, Zeitlin structured
a not-for-profit organization called "Choicework Institute."
The Maryland Institute then officially became a project of that
parent organization. It continues to focus on the training of
professionals. The framework with the parent institute, however,
now is in place for a more active organization. The MIEHP currently
is the only project of the "Choicework Institute" but
the established structure will facilitate the formation of other
projects and groups in the future.
There currently are four active members of
the board. Zeitlin, a licensed Clinical Social Worker, is both
the director of the MIEHP and the director of the board of directors.
Mildred Goldstone, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in a private
practice in Washington, DC, also is the current president of the
DC Psychological Association. Ron Kirsner, M.D., completed his
residency in internal medicine and currently is a fourth year
resident in psychiatry. He and Dr. Goldstone have worked with
Zeitlin and the MIEHP since its inception. A newer member of the
board is Eileen Buese, Ph.D., clinical psychologist in private
practice in Bethesda, Maryland.
The MIEHP recognizes that the needs of mental
health workers are ever changing. Originally, the group focused
on training done by recognized leaders in the field. They sponsored
a large number of workshops over the years, most of which featured
internationally known speakers. This met one of their goals -
that of promotion of wider understandings of the principles of
Ericksonian psychotherapy and hypnosis.
The Institute now gears its traiing to the
interest in specific therapeutic directions. Brief therapy is
of increasing interest to all mental health workers. It fits well
within the principles of Ericksonian hypnosis and psychotherapy
because one definition of brief therapy, in the words of Zeitlin,
"is hypnosis talking fast."
This year, MIEHP has expanded its offices to
feature a training room and a group room in addition to therapy
offices to enable them to develop their training further. Currently,
their monthly Ericksonian supervision and practice groups meet
both in their newly expanded Baltimore office as well as in their
Washington, DC office. Next year, the Institute is planning a
year-long series called "The Brief Therapy Skills Series."
This will be a series of one and two-day workshops on hypnosis
and psychotherapy led by Zeitlin.
The group also is planning once-monthly forums
for the community. These meetings would cover common issues with
topics such as dealing with grief, anxiety, attitude, generalized
stress and other areas of interest to the public. The format would
be structured so a short lecture would provide attendees with
information about the psychological characteristics of the problem.
Then there would be a demonstration of ways to handle that particular
issue. The Institute also is planning a series of meetings for
professionals in which videos would be shown. After the viewing, Zeitlin would
lead discussions about the techniques and methods in which the
presenters worked.
A smoking cessation clinic using creative and
unusual methods has been developed. Up to 15 people can attend
each session, consisting of a short informational lecture, followed
by auricular acupuncture on willing participants. The acupuncture
is done by a Russion physician, Dr. Gregory Giokhberg, on the
outer ear structure. It seems to promote relaxation. Last, a hypnotic
induction, structured to help people stop smoking, is given. Each
person is entitled to attend up to six one-hour sessions. The
program has ten graduates, all of whom, Zeitlin reports, have
stopped smoking.
The Maryland Institute of Ericksonian Hypnosis
and Psychotherapy has lived up to its creator's vision. It is
a regional resource for Ericksonian training and an outlet for
the professional community's growth and development. It also is
part of a larger structure furthering the dream of facilitating
creative therapeutic communication and more development of research
- both parts of Hillel Zeitlin's original dream.
Core
Transformation®
A Profound Way to Overcome Personal Limitations
by Hillel Zeitlin, LCSW-C
The heart of the Core Transformation® process
is a specific method of communication which guides our inner parts
into experiencing their deepest aspiration or Core State. This
typically awakens a sense of wholeness,
peace or oneness; the very experience of which often literally transforms undesirable behaviors, feelings
or responses.
Can you imagine discovering within the behaviors,
feelings and responses that you like least
about
yourself a gateway to your deepest self? Or that
your limitations might conceal a hidden aspiration for wholeness?That experience is exactly the outcome of Core
Transformation®, an easy to follow
ten-step process for transforming unwanted behaviors, thoughtsand feelings by actually embracing them-like a
subterranean spring that when released,
cleanses the surface. This specific method for resolvingproblems is often described as evoking a sense
of wholeness, peace or oneness.
Based on the pioneering work of internationally
known NLP trainer Connirae Andreas, Core
Transformation® is useful with all kinds of behaviors,
from simple limitations like biting your nails, to deeperissues like trauma, anger, weight loss or abuse.
When using the process through time it
cultivates, for many people, an underlying sense of well-being, even when life is most difficult.
Recent research into intelligence suggests that
our minds are multi-modal. That is, rather
than one continuous consciousness, each of us
actually contains many different kinds of mental strategies.Different parts of us, so to speak, surface to
respond to changing life circumstances.
These "inner parts" evolved to bring to awareness, theinner skills or resources that we might need in
a given setting.
However, many of our inner parts get stuck in behaviors or ways
of being that are outmoded. For instance,
an adolescent may begin smoking cigarettes
as a cool way to manage anxiety, but now as an adult, it isjust an ugly habit that threatens his or her health.
We may have learned as children to throw
a tantrum to get attention, whereas, as adults that same behavior could land us in jail. Core Transformation®
is a specific method of communicating with
those inner parts and inviting them into alignment
with our whole self.
In developing the Core Transformational® approach,
Dr. Andreas found that it is helpful to assume that all partsof us have a positive intention. Even if we may
resist a given behavior, such as overeating,
it is likely that it evolved to fulfill a worthwhile goal. This recognition allows us to communicate respectfully
with our inner parts, and make allies of
those parts that may have troubled us previously.
The heart of the Core Transformation® process
is a specific method of communication which
guides our inner parts into experiencing their deepest
aspiration or Core State. This typically awakens a sense ofwholeness, peace or oneness; the very experience
of which often literally transforms undesirable
behaviors, feelings or responses.
Core Transformation® is a gentle and respectful
process that allows change to emerge from
within a person, rather than being imposed by outside
influence. This easy to follow procedure is useful as atherapeutic procedure, for self-help or even as
a personal meditation practice. It can
be experienced in private sessions and is described atlength in the book Core Transformation: Reaching
the Wellspring Within by Connirae Andreas,
Ph.D., with Tamara Andreas (Real People Press, 1994).
For information, seminar brochure or for
private sessions, call 410-358-1381.
Email the Maryland Institute for
Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy