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Faculty

Stephen Gilligan

PhD
Psychologist
Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D.

STEPHEN GILLIGAN, Ph.D., is a psychologist in Encinitas, CA. He was one of the original NLP students at UC Santa Cruz, where Milton Erickson and Gregory Bateson were his mentors. After receiving his psychology doctorate from Stanford University, he became one of the premier teachers and practitioners of Ericksonian hypnotherapy. This work evolved into his original approaches of Self-Relations and Generative Self and was further developed with Robert Dilts into Generative Coaching. In response to the unprecedented meta-crisis we are currently facing, all this work is now woven into a Creative Mind meta-structure that honors and seeks to realize the interconnection of all life—friends and enemies, nature and humans, spirit and matter.

He has taught in many different cultures and countries over the past 30 years and has published extensively. His numerous books include The Hero’s Journey: A Voyage of Self-Discovery (co-authored with Robert Dilts), the classic Therapeutic Trances, The Courage to Love, The Legacy of Erickson, Walking in Two Worlds (with D. Simon), Generative Trance: The Experience of Creative Flow, four volumes of Generative Coaching, and his ongoing six-volume series on Creative Mind.

2026 Sessions

Generative Psychotherapy: Practical Clinical Applications

In this session, Dr. Gilligan will present his theories of generative psychology and highlight how an emphasis on the creative mind enhances the therapeutic relationship to support sustainable transformation. He will share practical applications of his theories and demonstrate how to bring strategies from generative psychotherapy into daily clinical practice. Finally, Dr. Gilligan will discuss how to meet major psychological challenges within the context of the positively oriented creative path.

Presenter

Tuesday, December 08 8:30–9:30 AM
Faculty

Stephen Gilligan

PhD
Psychologist
Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D.

STEPHEN GILLIGAN, Ph.D., is a psychologist in Encinitas, CA. He was one of the original NLP students at UC Santa Cruz, where Milton Erickson and Gregory Bateson were his mentors. After receiving his psychology doctorate from Stanford University, he became one of the premier teachers and practitioners of Ericksonian hypnotherapy. This work evolved into his original approaches of Self-Relations and Generative Self and was further developed with Robert Dilts into Generative Coaching. In response to the unprecedented meta-crisis we are currently facing, all this work is now woven into a Creative Mind meta-structure that honors and seeks to realize the interconnection of all life—friends and enemies, nature and humans, spirit and matter.

He has taught in many different cultures and countries over the past 30 years and has published extensively. His numerous books include The Hero’s Journey: A Voyage of Self-Discovery (co-authored with Robert Dilts), the classic Therapeutic Trances, The Courage to Love, The Legacy of Erickson, Walking in Two Worlds (with D. Simon), Generative Trance: The Experience of Creative Flow, four volumes of Generative Coaching, and his ongoing six-volume series on Creative Mind.
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