The living room lamp had stopped working. The whole family was trying to get it going again. “No, Simon, don’t!” Simon had Down Syndrome. Too late! Simon had turned the bulb, and the light was burning again.
Simon and the Lamp
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What does “HYPS” mean?
The name of the blog means “Hypno-Systemics” or also “Hypnotic Storytelling”. The term “Hypno-Systemics as well as “Hypno-Systemic Therapy”… or Hypno-Systemic Coaching, Consultation, etc., refers to a combined approach of Systemic Therapy and Coaching (i.e., all the methods which originate from family therapy) and Hypnotherapy (mainly in the tradition of the American therapy pioneer Milton Erickson). The term “Hypno-Systemics” has been introduced by a German trainer called Gunther Schmidt who is one of my teachers and who uses Systemic principles (like those of Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg) as well as Erickson’s hypnotherapeutic techniques. This type of consultation can be applied with families, teams and single people in relatively “awake” states, i.e. without explicit rituals of trance induction. My working style is called “narrative hypnosystemics” because it’s working a lot with stories, metaphors, inner films and so on. But mostly I call it “Therapeutic Storytelling” because for me most of what I hear, say and do in consultation is “a story” or “a game”.
The Loud Boy
“My parents never listen to me. They don’t even notice me”, the boy sighed. “He’s forever talking. He speaks long and often. He interrupts others and doesn’t want to be interrupted”, his parents reported. “The louder I got, the less they listened”, said the boy later. “And the less they listened, the louder I got.” Then he learned to speak in a low voice, and his parents listened.
The “Blade of Grass” book on amazon
Meanwhile, I have succeeded to get the “Blade of Grass” book on the website of Amazon.com. Strangely, the system wouldn’t allow me to state that the books are new. So I sell them as “used – like new”. Maybe I’ll get that changed in the next few days. They’re new anyway. Just in case anyone wonders why I’ve got 200 used books all with the same title on my shelf…
Stefan’s Stories in a Book
Not all but many of the stories I am relating in this blog are written down in my book and E-book “The Blade of Grass in the Desert” which was released this October. There will also be stories which I write as life goes on, and there may be some which are – unfortunately – otherwise only available in some untranslated German books like the “Handbook of therapeutic Storytelling”. If you are interested to discover which of the stories can be found in “The Blade of Grass in the Desert” you will find the table of contents in the preview of the “Blade of Grass” E-Book on amazon.com or on amazon.co.uk. The book is also available in a paper version. You can order it from me, from amazon.de or amazon.com.
Different Ways to deal with Dogs (or Life)
Today is a snowy day. Just some minutes ago I have been shovelling snow in front of the house and in the driveway. Ma neighbour who is American did the same. His two large dogs came out and greeted me happily. They seemed enthusiastic about the weather. They greeted a mother with her child just as happily. The girl got afraid and drew near to her mother.The dogs’ owner shouted to his dogs and they instantly ran back to him. He gave them a sign to go into the house which they immediately did.
“Why do these dogs run around here? What’s this all about?” shouted the mother. “They’re already going into the house. They’re nice dogs” I said. “Anyway. They shouldn’t run free! Whose dogs are they?”
I imagine that the woman tried to care well for her daughter who was afraid and that she had the very best intentions for her child. Yet, it is possible that the girl was not afraid because of the dogs. It seems to me that she was afraid because of her mother.
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog!
I’ve been writing a blog in German since a few years. Doing this in English is new territory for me. Inevitably, I will make some mistakes… Never mind! This is a blog about therapeutic storytelling and other means that can make therapy and any kind of counseling and self-counseling quick, effective, and fun! I am convinced that therapy should be quick, and that it should be fun, both for the therapist and for the client. There should be a lot of things to laugh about and to find interesting. I am aware that life is not always fun and that most of my clients are more in the mood for crying than for laughing when we meet. I remember a 30 year old woman in the hospital who, according to the doctors, was going to die very soon. When she heard that I was a chaplain (whatever she imagined a chaplain to be like) she told me that she didn’t wish to be supported. I told her that I would love to invite her for a dance tonight, but that this didn’t seem possible in the state she was in at the moment. In hospital I don’t believe in making a solemn face and carrying the patient’s depression from one room to the next like a multi-resistant germ, and in my therapist’s office I wish to enjoy my work, and I hope that my clients enjoy our talk as well. As for the woman in hospital, we had a lot of fun together.
Not to mention that therapy and consultation are at their best if they are not only fun but also highly effective. I would like to share my stories about how to effectively reduce suffering and increase happiness. I would like to share them not only with my clients or patients or with those specialists who attend my training seminars but with you!
The Blade of Grass in the Desert
A man travelled across a desert. All around him there was only sand, stones and rocks, the luminous blue sky, and above him the glowing hot sun. Halfway it so happened that he wanted to have a rest and he looked around for a suitable place. A little further away from the path he found an overhanging rock which could offer him shade for the duration of his rest.The man went to the spot. When he arrived, he saw something unusual. In the shade of this rock, there actually grew a blade of grass.
“Well, well, well, where do you come from?”, asked the man, and then laughed at himself: “In my loneliness, I’m already talking to the grass. It would be better if I were to investigate where the blade of grass comes from”. He pulled the little plant out of the sand and laid it carefully to the side. Then he dug deeper and deeper. Although he didn’t exactly hit a bubbling well, the earth here was truly somewhat damp. As the man continued on his way, he did not forget to place the blade of grass in the damp earth again. He built a small wall in front of it with a couple of stones to protect the plant from drying out through the hot desert wind. Then he went on his way.
On his way back he passed the spot again. Naturally he looked to see if his plant still lived. He was very happy: a proper little tuft of grass had grown out of the blade. The man dug a little deeper in the earth and pushed it in even damper earth. With a scarf, two poles and a pair of ties, which he had taken with him for the return journey, he improved the wind-protection for his plant.
Many years later, a friend of this man had to travel across the same desert. The man bade his friend: “Take a look and see what has become of my plant – whether it is still there!” The friend promised he would. When he returned from the journey he reported: “A small meadow has grown out of your blade of grass. Other travellers have discovered the spot. They have made the wall bigger and placed more poles with scarves there. Someone has dug a well there and covered it with a piece of leather. A beautiful fig tree is growing next to the well. A cricket chirps in its leaves.”