A seminal American psychologist specializing in creative change.

For over 40 years Dr. Gilligan has been writing, practicing therapy, coaching, and teaching all over the world. Considered one of the great hypnotherapists, his work has expanded far beyond the Ericksonian approach...


Stephen was one of the original NLP students at UC Santa Cruz; 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 unfolded into his original approaches of Self-Relations and Generative Self, and then further (in collaboration with Robert Dilts) into Generative Coaching. These different traditions have all been updated and integrated into the present Generative Change Work, which includes the applications of Generative Coaching, Generative Psychotherapy, Generative Trance, Hero's Journey, and Systemic Change work.

Stephen has taught in many cultures and countries over the past 30 years, and has published extensively. His 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), and Generative Trance: The Experience of Creative Flow. His forthcoming book is Generative Coaching (co-authored with Robert Dilts).