Volume Two Foreword by Gil Boyne

“I commend this book to you, understanding its concepts cannot help but make you a better therapist.”

Trevor will tell you later that we met following his attending a master class of mine. As the editor of the Hypnotherapy Journal in England he arranged to interview me and duly arrived at my home with his tape recorder. And so began a friendship.

His interview led to a collaboration that had the initial purpose of creating my biography, but instead became a pleasant 18 months of chats, and lunches. At least so I thought. Now seeing the Boynian pattern was an offspring of our enjoyable meetings I realise the good use he made of our time.

In many ways ours is an unlikely friendship. Not only are we separated by age, but by approach. As someone who’s always shied from models and theories I’ve seen NLP grow into an influential force in therapy, without ever becoming personally attracted to the study of it. I believe therapy involves the transformation of negative affect and getting the client to get in touch with that part of us that is divine. You can tell that Trevor’s approach is far more scientific and much less spiritual, which I guess is the way the world is going.

With that in mind, I suspect some people might find it strange to find me writing the foreword for a book that integrates ideas and models from a wide range of fields. I hope at my age I’m wise enough to realise that none of us have a monopoly on what’s right. What is evident throughout this book is the breadth and depth of the author’s knowledge and the ability he has to bring ideas from different fields together in a coherent and compelling way, and I’m glad that some of those ideas are mine!

I remember telling Trevor over one of our lunches that I saw in him one of the future leaders of our profession. As an activist I take pride in what I’ve achieved in promoting the benefits of hypnotherapy and developing it as a profession. Now it’s time for a new generation to continue the work. Within this book, for all the differences between Trevor’s philosophy and mine, I see a passion, intelligence and desire to advance that many will respond to, which gives me confidence that his intention is the same as mine – to free people from their limitations and help them live blessed lives.

I’m proud to have been an influence on him, but you can see plainly within this writing that I am one of several. We’re all standing on the shoulders of giants. If I’m standing on the shoulders of Fritz Perls and Dave Elman, and now mine share Trevor’s weight, I have no doubt that in time his shoulders will be ones that others seek to climb upon.

I commend this book to you, understanding its concepts cannot help but make you a better therapist.

With respect to all,
Gil Boyne