I met Milton Erickson, M.D., in 1974, at the ripe age of 19. It was a momentous event for me, awakening a great fire in my soul that persists all these years later. There are few (if any) people that have affected me so positively and deeply, both personally and professionally.

I met Gunther Schmidt not that long afterwards, still in the 1970’s. We met in my home town of San Francisco, where a young Gunther was on his “hero’s journey”. Our connection has grown over the years, both personally and professionally. 

I feel Gunther has about as deep an understanding of Erickson’s work as anybody i’ve met, and the even more impressive thing is that he has developed it in his own unique and amazing way. 

When we were teaching together in Heidelberg this past May (2017), the opportunity arose for this conversation about Milton Erickson. I found it a very interesting exchange, and feel so lucky that Lutz Berger and Frieder Ittner have done such an exceptional job in recording and then crafting an extraordinary video from it. I hope that you find the conversation illuminative and helpful.