About the Institutes
The Milton H. Erickson Institutes of South Africa (MEISA) came into existence during 1999. More than 2000 professionals have to date completed their training at the institutes in Ericksonian Approaches to Hypnosis and Psychotherapy and various other psychotherapeutic strategies. The Milton H. Erickson Institutes of South Africa are affiliated to the Ericksonian Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Training and Accreditation
The institutes have been accredited by the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as service providers for the training of professionals for many years. The institutes offer intensive training in Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, Ego State Therapy (EST), as well as many other innovative therapeutic intervention strategies. Professionals are expected to successfully complete the fundamental, intermediate and advanced training courses in their fields of choice. They are also expected to attend regular supervision workshops and are eventually invited for a viva voce examination to demonstrate their competence in their field of choice. Where possible, the institutes only invite faculty members with at least a doctorate degree and international standing to present its courses. The institutes are among 175 institutes worldwide affiliated to the Ericksonian Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. All training courses offered by the Milton H. Erickson Institutes of South Africa are recognised internationally.
Congresses
During November 2003 the institutes organized the very successful First South African Conference on Sexual Abuse. Over 400 participants registered and the conference was a great success. Workshops at this conference were presented by more than 30 faculty members from South Africa, Africa and abroad. The institutes were instrumental in initiating the First World Congress on Ego State Therapy held in Bad Orb, Germany in 2003. This event was organised jointly by Woltemade Hartman Ph.D (Founding Director of MEISA) and Bernhard Trenkle (Dipl.Psych) (Past-President of the Milton Erickson Gesellschaft of Germany).
During February 2006 the institutes hosted The First Changing Faces of Psychotherapy Congress including the 2nd World Congress on Ego State Therapy. The congress was attended by more than 400 participants from all over the world. The institutes also hosted the Best of Psychotherapy Congress during 2006 as well as the Cape of Good Hope congress. Both these congresses were attended by more than 300 professionals. Over 60 internationally renowned faculty members presented workshops at these congresses.
In March 2008 the institutes organised a Congress on Contemporary Approaches to the Management of Trauma in George, Western Cape. This congress was attended by more than 140 therapists from all over South Africa and abroad.
In 2010 the institutes successfully hosted The Second Changing Faces of Psychotherapy Congress which included the 3rd World Congress on Ego State Therapy at Sun City and in Stellenbosch, South Africa. More than 500 professionals from all over the world attended these congresses. The faculty consisted of more than 80 international presenters. Bernhard Trenkle (Dipl.Psych) (Past-President of the Milton Erickson Gesellschaft of Germany and Director of the Milton Erickson Institute of Rottweil, Germany) was instrumental in marketing these events internationally and is on the Advisory Board of the institutes.
From 18 - 27 February 2013 the institutes hosted Diamonds in the Rough: Perspectives on Change in Psychotherapy, a Congress, including the 5th World Congress on Ego State Therapy. The pre-congress workshops were held at Mabula Private Game Lodge, Limpopo Province, the main congress at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, Gauteng and the post-congress in Franschoek, Western Cape
The 2nd MEISA Trauma Congress: Contemporary Approaches to the Management of Trauma took place on 11 and 12 April 2014 in Stellenbosch, Western Cape.
In February 2016 MEISA hosted the Changing Faces of Psychotherapy congress including the 6th World Congress on Ego State Therapy. The main congress was at Mabula Game Lodge and the Post Congress at the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch.
Due to Covid-19 the MEISA 2020 congress was cancelled and the workshops went online.
In October 2022 MEISA hosted an Ego State Therapy Safari and training week at Mabula Lodge, Limpopo Province. The event was attended by psychotherapists from 10 countries and 5 continents.
Ego State Therapy International - ESTI
ESTI was established on 25 November 2011 in Heidelberg, Germany. The founding director of the institutes, Woltemade Hartman Ph.D was elected as President of ESTI and Gordon Emmerson, Ph.D, Australia as Vice President.The aim of ESTI is, amongst others, to co-ordinate the training of Ego State Therapists internationally and to promote rigorous research in this field.
Broadening Perspectives
During 2005 Dr Hartman has been accredited by Danie Beaulieu Ph.D, and the Académie Impact in Québec, Canada to conduct training in Eye Movement Integration internationally. Dr Hartman is conducting training all over South Africa, Europe, the United States, Canada and China. Callie Hattingh on the other hand, has been a pioneer in reaching professionals in the more remote areas of South Africa and Namibia, creating training opportunities as well as promoting psychotherapy and the principles of Milton H. Erickson. We now have reached the stage where our training courses have gained tremendous popularity amongst professionals nationally, internationally as well as in other African countries. The legacy of Milton Erickson has surely had an impact on African psychotherapists. It is said that Ericksonian principles respect African culture, African traditions, African life and African traditional healing methods as well as human dignity in general. In fact, this naturalistic, permissive and contextualized approach is democratising the African psyche by helping our clients broaching their adversities of the past and to increasingly focus on finding solutions for the future.
Mission of the Institutes
The institutes will strive to:
• Promote high standards amongst professionals working in the field of psychotherapy and who associate themselves with the institutes.
• Promote accurate and effective intervention strategies in the field of psychotherapy and counselling.
• Promote cooperation and co-ordination amongst the different professions involved in the field of psychotherapy/counselling and with relevant organisations, both nationally and internationally.
• Promote the efficiency and well-being of professionals working in the field of psychotherapy/counselling and who associate themselves with the institutes.
• Maintain political and religious impartiality and rigorously promote non-racism, non-sexism and an equal society.
• Advance psychotherapy/counselling as a science, profession and as a means of promoting human well-being.
• Promote rigorous research and encourage the application of research findings in advancing professionals, psychotherapy/counselling and human well-being.
• Maintain the highest standards of ethics, conduct and education in the domain of psychotherapy and counselling.
Woltemade Hartman (Ph.D) and Elzette Fritz ( D.Ed)
Directors of the Milton H. Erickson Institutes of South Africa (MEISA)
