Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy Masterclass
Carol Kershaw and Bill Wade have been teaching Ericksonian hypnosis since 1985. They have run the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Houston for the same period, one of roughly 175 such institutes worldwide, and they offer their own certification in the method. Twelve hours is what forty years of teaching a single approach compresses into.
Milton Erickson’s own line was that whatever you can imagine, you can accomplish, and he had reason to believe it. He recovered from polio twice, and built a body of work around the capacity people have to recover from pain, illness and trauma that they do not know they possess. The Ericksonian tradition is resource-based for that reason: it works from what the client already has rather than from what is broken.
The course is deliberately scaffolded from the beginning, and they say so: it is designed for both the clinician who has never used hypnosis and the one who wants to go further with it. Seven sessions move from the essentials of Ericksonian and clinical hypnosis, through technique and then advanced technique, into the neuroscience of mind-body healing, deep state work, and finally application to anxiety and depression. Kershaw and Wade also spend time on why the conceptual foundation matters, tracing how psychology inherited a model of competing internal forces and what changes when you stop working from it.
You’ll walk away with
- The essentials of Ericksonian hypnosis, taught from the beginning without assuming prior training
- Simple inductions using the language of the unconscious mind, and advanced inductions built on designed story
- A working model of the conscious and unconscious minds that changes what you expect therapy to do
- How habitual life patterns connect to habitual states of trance, and what that means for entrenched problems
- Recognising signs of trance trauma and what it does to the brain
- Building positive emotion before an intervention rather than after it, so the intervention has something to work with
- Novelty and curiosity used deliberately to motivate change
- Tipping points in client growth: the moment the desire for change exceeds the distress
- The links between stress, illness, mood and thought, and the epigenetic picture of trauma
- Erickson’s own approach demonstrated rather than described
- Deep state and quantum hypnosis work, and application to anxiety and depression
Watch the course trailer
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Where this sits: this is the foundational method course, suitable whether or not you have used hypnosis before. Separate courses apply hypnosis specifically to trauma.
Course Duration: 12 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructors
When clients feel trapped in cycles of anxiety, trauma, or depression, small shifts in brain and body can open the way to real change. Bill Wade helps clinicians use clinical hypnosis, neuroscience, and meditation-informed approaches to create those shifts safely and effectively in everyday practice.
Dr Wade is a psychotherapist and international trainer known for integrating the neuroscience of psychotherapy with practical hypnosis skills. He is co-director of the Milton Erickson Institute of Houston and practices in Houston, Texas, where he works with individuals and couples on anxiety, depression, panic, trauma, relationship enhancement, divorce recovery, parenting, and peak performance. Trained in psychiatry and religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, he brings a thoughtful, mind-body-spirit perspective to his clinical and teaching work.
Clinically, Dr Wade focuses on how targeted hypnotic interventions and experiential methods can help clients regulate arousal, shift rigid patterns, and build new responses. His work draws on current understandings of the brain in psychotherapy while staying grounded in what actually helps clients feel and function better. In his Houston practice and training roles, he uses hypnosis, meditation, and brief, focused strategies to address anxiety, depression, panic disorder, trauma and post-traumatic stress, and relational distress. He also works with couples and families to improve communication, rebuild trust, and support healthier patterns after rupture or divorce.
Dr Wade has presented workshops throughout the United States and internationally on clinical hypnosis, meditation, overcoming anxiety and depression, panic disorder, relationship enhancement, divorce recovery, parenting, and peak performance. He is a regular faculty member for Milton H. Erickson Foundation events, including Erickson Congresses and specialty panels such as “Meditation and Hypnosis.” He also teaches experiential courses on hypnosis for trauma and post-traumatic stress, and has offered trainings on hypnosis and mood and anxiety difficulties.
For your practice, Dr Wade’s teaching is highly applied. Clinicians learn concrete hypnotic language, ways to weave meditation and focused attention into sessions, and strategies to calm the “stress spin cycle” that keeps clients stuck in worry and reactivity. His work is designed to help you strengthen your clients’ self-regulation, deepen their access to internal resources, and support lasting self-directed change.
A key theme in his writing and teaching is that when clients understand how their brains and minds work, they can become active partners in change rather than passive recipients of treatment. His co-authored books, Brain Change Therapy: Clinical Interventions for Self-Transformation and The Worry-Free Mind: Train Your Brain, Calm the Stress Spin Cycle, and Discover a Happier, More Productive You, translate neuroscience and hypnosis into step-by-step clinical applications.
Qualifications
- Master of Divinity (MDiv), Psychiatry and Religion; Union Theological Seminary, New York City, USA; year unverified
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); field, institution, and year unverified
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); Texas, USA
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT); Texas, USA
- Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
- Member and Approved Consultant, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
- Member, International Society of Hypnosis and American Counseling Association
Selected Books
- Brain Change Therapy: Clinical Interventions for Self-Transformation (2012); Co-author; W.W. Norton & Company
- The Worry-Free Mind: Train Your Brain, Calm the Stress Spin Cycle, and Discover a Happier, More Productive You (2017); Co-author; Career Press
Teaching & Roles
- Co-Director, Milton Erickson Institute of Houston; Houston, Texas, USA
- Psychotherapist, Institute for Family Psychology; Houston, Texas, USA
- International trainer in neuroscience of psychotherapy and clinical hypnosis; workshops throughout the United States and abroad
- Former review editor, Milton Erickson Foundation Newsletter; Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Consider joining Dr Wade’s course if you want clinically grounded, neuroscience-informed hypnosis tools you can use immediately to help clients calm distress, process trauma, and build more flexible, resilient lives.
Stress, anxiety, and trauma that overwhelm traditional talk therapy approaches often respond dramatically to brain-based interventions that tap into the mind's natural healing capabilities. Carol Kershaw has spent over four decades perfecting this integration, becoming an international authority on the neuroscience of therapeutic change.
As Co-Director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Houston since 1983, Dr. Kershaw has trained thousands of clinicians worldwide in combining clinical hypnosis, neurofeedback, and evidence-based psychotherapy. Her three books - including Brain Change Therapy: Clinical Interventions for Self-Transformation (W.W. Norton) and The Worry-Free Mind (Career Press) - translate complex neuroscience into practical clinical tools. Recognition as both a Fellow in EEG Biofeedback and Approved Consultant for the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis reflects her mastery of brain-based therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Kershaw's expertise spans clinical hypnosis, neurofeedback, trauma resolution, couples therapy, and peak performance coaching. Her approach combines Milton Erickson's naturalistic hypnosis methods with cutting-edge neuroscience research, showing clinicians how to activate clients' innate capacity for change at the neurological level. She has presented her work internationally - from NASA to medical teams in Saudi Arabia - and regularly teaches at Evolution of Psychotherapy conferences, Erickson Congresses, and major professional meetings.
What sets her training apart is the seamless integration of science and artistry. Kershaw doesn't just teach hypnosis techniques or neurofeedback protocols in isolation - she shows practitioners how to weave together multiple modalities to create powerful therapeutic experiences. Her methods help clinicians move beyond symptom management to facilitate genuine neuroplastic change.
For your practice, expect to gain specific skills in clinical hypnosis for trauma and anxiety, practical neurofeedback applications, and brain-based interventions that accelerate therapeutic progress. Her approach particularly benefits clinicians working with clients who haven't responded well to traditional therapy or who need rapid symptom relief.
Quick Win: Kershaw's "brain change breathing" technique teaches clients to shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system activation in minutes - a foundational skill that enhances every subsequent therapeutic intervention.
Qualifications
- Ed.D., Counseling and Psychology, Texas A&M University-Commerce (now East Texas A&M University), 1979
- M.Ed., Counseling, University of North Texas, 1976
- M.S., Speech Communication, University of North Texas, 1971
- B.S., Secondary Education, University of Texas at Austin, 1969
- Licensed Psychologist, Texas no(#22130), 1981
- Fellow, Board Certified in EEG Biofeedback (BCIA)
- Approved Consultant, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
- Approved Supervisor, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
Selected Books
- The Worry-Free Mind: Train Your Brain, Calm the Stress Spin Cycle, and Discover a Happier, More Productive You (2017, co-author with Bill Wade)
- Brain Change Therapy: Clinical Interventions for Self-Transformation (2012, co-author with Bill Wade, W.W. Norton)
- The Couple's Hypnotic Dance (author)
Teaching & Roles
- Co-Director, Milton H. Erickson Institute of Houston, 1983 - present
- Consulting Psychologist, Brain Change International, 2016 - present
- Psychologist, Institute for Family Psychology, 1983 - present
- International workshop presenter, 2006 - present
Featured & Recognition
- Invited speaker for NASA
- Featured on MindMovies Inspiration Show (2024)
- Invited author, Family Therapy Magazine
- Faculty, Milton Erickson International Congresses (2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019)
- International presentations: Saudi Arabia, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Canada, Italy, Australia
- Workshop presenter, Esalen Institute
Ready to harness your clients' neuroplastic potential for lasting change? Discover how Dr. Kershaw's brain-based methods can transform your therapeutic effectiveness and accelerate client breakthroughs.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 2
- Topics 8
- Duration 12 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English