Category Archives: Personal development

Seminars with Stefan Hammel in 2025

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Here is an overview of the seminars, workshops, lectures and congresses with Stefan Hammel planned in 2025.

The Kaiserslautern seminars will take place “hybrid”, i.e. with physical AND digital participants. Feel free to ask!

Occasional events may still be added! Participant feedback on the video seminars can be found here!

2025

March 04, 2025, 7-9 p.m.: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

March, 6.- 9, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Trainer seminar 3: TH – body language, multi-level communication, utilization

March, 14.- 15, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic storytelling, Seminar 2: Writing good therapeutic stories – in 10 minutes & proven narrative structures

March, 27.- 30, 2025: Kassel, MEG Annual Conference 2025: Therapeutic greetings and other brief interventions in working with traumatized people (Info: www.meg-hypnose.de/veranstaltungen)

April, 1st, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

April, 11.- 12, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Storytelling, Seminar 3: The Island of Love – Maps and Landscapes in Individual, Couple and Family Therapy

May, 6th, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

May, 16.- 17, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Storytelling, Seminar 4: Therapeutic Greetings, Deals & Ordeals and other Brief Interventions

June, 3rd, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

June, 6.- 7, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Modeling, Seminar 1: Introduction to Therapeutic Modeling

June, 12-15, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Trainer seminar 4: TH – Thematic seminar: Addiction and eating disorders

July, 1st, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

July, 4.- 5, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Modeling, Seminar 2: Working with symbolic figures and fragmenting and transforming burdens

July, 24.- 25, 2025: Munich, SySt: The Sofa of Happiness – Therapeutic Modeling with Individuals and Couples

August, 5th, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

August, 29.- 30, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Modeling, Seminar 3: Transgenerational work and integration of real and fictitious persons from the client’s external world

September, 2nd, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

September, 4.- 7, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Trainer seminar 5: TE – Developing metaphors and stories

September, 19.- 20, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Modeling, Seminar 4: The Sofa of Happiness – Therapeutic Modeling in Couple and Family Therapy, with Teams and Groups

October, 7th, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

October, 10.- 12, 2025: Vallendar/ Rhine-Main area: 5th International Festival of Therapeutic Storytelling: Lecture and workshop, Therapeutic Greetings and other short interventions (Info: www.erzaehl-festival.de)

October, 17.- 18, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Hypnosis, Seminar 1: Trance Inductions and Trance Phenomena in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy

November, 4th, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

November, 6.-8, 2025,  Balsthal / Switzerland, SMSH annual conference: Tinnitus – Why it comes when it comes, why it stays when it stays, why it goes when it goes. (Info: www.smsh.ch)

November, 9th, 2025, Wuppertal, Bernd Isert Systemic Conference: Introduction to Therapeutic Modeling: (Systemische Tagung Bernd Isert): Einführung in das Therapeutische Modellieren (Info: www.nlp-ausbildungsinstitut.de)

November, 14.- 15, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic Hypnosis, Seminar 2: Therapy Structure – Anamnesis – Utilization: Transforming Problems into Solutions

December, 2nd, 2025, 7-9 pm: Online, Zoom, free of charge: Online event “Hypnosystemic bag of tricks – everyday miracles in counseling, pastoral care and therapy” (every 1st Tuesday of the month)

December, 4.- 7, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Trainer seminar 6: TE – Therapeutic maps and landscapes

December, 12.- 13, 2025: Kaiserslautern, hsb – Hypnosystemic training, Therapeutic hypnosis, Seminar 3: Body language, voice and verbal implications (multi-level communication) 

Best regards from Kaiserslautern!

Stefan

Kwiat z Wyspy

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The story “The Island Flower” has been translated to Polish by Aleksandra Piatek (pronounced “Piontek”). Thank you Aleksandra!

Na małej wyspie pośrodku szerokiego oceanu wyrósł cudowny, złocisto-żółty kwiat. Nikt nie wiedział, jak się tam znalazł, ponieważ na wyspie nie było innych kwiatów tego rodzaju. Mewy przylatywały, aby z zachwytem przyjrzeć się temu cudowi. „Jest tak piękny jak słońce” – mówiły. „Jest tak piękny jak kawałek korala” – mówiły ryby. „Jest tak piękny jak perła na morskim dnie” – powiedział krab, który wyszedł na ląd, aby go obejrzeć. I prawie codziennie przybywały, by podziwiać ten kwiat.

Pewnego dnia, gdy znów przybyły, aby zobaczyć kwiat, odkryły, że złote płatki są brązowe i wysuszone. „Ojej” – powiedziały mewy, ryby i kraby. „Słońce zniszczyło nasz kwiat. Jak teraz możemy odświeżyć nasze serca?” Wszyscy byli smutni. Jednak kilka dni później, w miejscu kwiatu, pojawiła się cudowna, delikatna biała kula. „Co to jest?” – zapytały zwierzęta.

„Jest miękka jak chmura” – mówiły mewy. „Jest lekka jak morska bryza” – powiedziały ryby. „Jest delikatna jak blask słońca na piasku” – dodał krab. I wszyscy cieszyli się. Powiew wiatru porwał tę białą cudowność i rozrzucił ją po wyspie w tysiącach drobnych płatków. „Ojej” – westchnęły mewy, ryby i kraby. „Wiatr porwał naszą kulę. Co teraz rozweseli nasze dusze?” Wszyscy byli smutni.

Pewnego poranka, gdy słońce wschodziło nad morzem, setki, a nawet tysiące cudownych złocisto-żółtych kwiatów zakwitło w złotym porannym świetle. Mewy tańczyły na niebie, ryby w wodzie, a kraby tańczyły radośnie ze swoimi przyjaciółmi, i wszyscy byli szczęśliwi. (…)

(From: Stefan Hammel: The Blade of Grass in the Desert, impress 2012)

The book is available in my Onlineshop.

Kind regards, Stefan

“Hammel Digital” – AI assistant for utilization and supervision

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I asked an AI developer to build me a chatbot with offers for therapeutic interventions based on my manual for therapeutic utilization, among other things.

The prototype has been refined and improved over the last few months.

You can find the AI assistant for Utilization and Supervision embedded in my

🔗 Blog.

If you feel like it, you can play around with it (e.g. ask: “my client suffers from moth phobia and tinnitus, how can I help her therapeutically / do you have a story I can tell her) and write me what positive / negative experiences you have had with it and what you think should be improved.

The AI also works if you speak to him in other languages.

I look forward to your feedback 📧.

Your Stefan

Koń i Jeździec (Horse and Rider)

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I owe thanks to Aleksandra Piatek for translating the story “Horse and Rider”.

Obserwowałam jeźdźca trenującego konia. Kobieta była niska i delikatna. Wałach, na którym jeździła, był pełen energii. W każdej chwili mógłby ją zrzucić, ale nie o to tu chodziło. Dwie dusze zmagały się ze sobą. „Kto prowadzi?” – to pytanie unosiło się w powietrzu. Kobieta nie spieszyła się z koniem. Chciała go ujarzmić, ale nie złamać jego ducha. Pragnęła jego szacunku i zaufania. Ostatecznie wygrała ten pojedynek i wierzę, że oboje byli szczęśliwi.

(From: Stefan Hammel: The Blade of Grass in the Desert, impress 2012)

The book is available in my Onlineshop.

Kind regards, Stefan

Margaret i Lucy (Margaret and Lucy)

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The story “Margaret and Lucy” has been translated to Polish by Aleksandra Piatek (pronounced “Piontek”). Thank you Aleksandra!

Kiedyś w małej szczelinie między kamieniami muru mieszkały dwie jaszczurki. Nazywały się Margaret i Lucy. Lucy leżała na murze cały dzień, wygrzewając się na słońcu. Margaret większość czasu spędzała, polując na owady dla siebie i swoich dzieci. Czuła irytację, gdy widziała Lucy na murze.

„Jak możesz tak marnować czas! Gdybyś była porządną jaszczurką, zajmowałabyś się swoimi dziećmi. Co ty tam robisz cały dzień?” – zapytała. Oczy Lucy zalśniły, a ona odpowiedziała: „Zbieram energię. Widzisz, robię coś dla moich dzieci”.

„Widzę to inaczej” – burknęła Margaret. „I poza tym, nie zdziwię się, jeśli pewnego dnia jakiś myszołów albo jastrząb porwie cię z tego muru”. „Zobaczymy” – odparła Lucy, wyciągając się na słońcu.

Margaret wolała spędzać czas, ścigając mrówki. W ostatnich dniach wyglądała na wyczerpaną. Czasami jej życie było zagrożone: brakowało jej zwinności potrzebnej, aby uciec przed łasicą czy kotem.

Dzieci Lucy jednak stały się silne i szybkie, jak ich matka. Wkrótce łapały największe pająki, najszybsze biegnące żuki, a nawet ogromne ważki. Ich ulubionym zajęciem było jednak leżenie na murze i wyciąganie się w słońcu.

(From: Stefan Hammel: The Blade of Grass in the Desert, impress 2012)

The book is available in my Onlineshop.

Kind regards, Stefan

The Worry Catapult

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One of the games we used to play at school was to stretch a rubber band between two fingers of one hand and then shoot folded bits of paper at the other pupils, or even at the teacher when his back was turned at the blackboard. It was against the school rules, of course, but it was still great fun and a good way of keeping boredom at bay. A sawn-off forked branch and a rubber ring from a preserving jar could be used in a similar way to make a stone catapult, and even now I still often think of these different kinds of catapults.

Sometimes wrinkles appear on my face because I am afraid, annoyed, sympathetic or troubled. I know that if they become a fixed part of my repertoire of facial expressions, in a few years’ time these expressions will turn into basic facial characteristics which determine my neutral appearance regardless of my mood – wrinkles and all. This is not what I want, and it is also not what I need.

My face muscles are like a worry catapult which is stretched between my ears. Whenever my skin tenses up in one spot and forms wrinkles in another, and whenever a particular level of tension has been exceeded, the catapult goes “pop” and the muscles relax. All the worries, all the annoyance, all the anger – catapulted away into time and space. Sometimes they are fired into nothingness, and sometimes they are sent to someone who – unlike me – will give them a good home. The only thing left on my face is a smile, as I know that the worry wrinkles have not made a home for themselves this time.

https://pixabay.com/de/photos/smiley-emoticon-der-zorn-ver%c3%a4rgert-2979107/ (28.3.2023)

“The Worry Catapult” is an intervention which can be used at a somatic level to avoid or reduce stress-related facial wrinkles, at an emotional level for relaxation and at a social level to practice new behavioural patterns for dealing with interpersonal stress. The procedure is similar to the “clenched fist” technique, a “method which can be used by a child to ‘throw away’ tension and problems by clenching [and then relaxing] his or her fist.” (Olness & Kohen, 2001.)

(From: Stefan Hammel: Handbook of Therapeutic Storytelling. Sories and Metaphors in Psychotherapy, Child and Family Therapy, Medical Treatment, Coaching and Supervision, Routledge 2019)

The Potential of Weeds

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“The Potential of Weeds” is a fable about principles. Every principle applies only in the context from which it originates, and a change in circumstances makes it necessary to review the principles which previously applied. Principles which dictate how to think and act in a particular situation may impede development if they are carried over to different situations.

They were silent for a long time. Then the little dandelion asked his much larger neighbour, “What are you doing?” “I’m growing my taproot.” “That’s what I’m doing too. But I’ve made no progress for days. My root has hit a stone.” “Just do what the couch grass does and grow your root around the stone. Grow more roots if necessary,” said the big dandelion. “I can’t do that,” said the small dandelion. “A taproot is a taproot.” And he never grew any larger.

The Replanted Tree

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The story “The Replanted Tree” is designed in particular for children finding
it hard to come to terms with a new living situation after a house move
or adoption, or after their parents have divorced and the family has been
restructured. Once again, it is a good idea to refer to a minor injury in the
story in order to incorporate the problem which the listener is facing and its
predicted improvement without lending too much gravity to the story (and by
analogy to the way in which the patient handles the associated situation in his
or her life). The story can also be used for patients who are forced – for agerelated
or health- related reasons – to move out of their own house in order to
go and live with family or in a home, or adults with disabilities who are forced
to move away from their families and into sheltered accommodation.

One day a gardener was working in his garden when he found a small tree
right in the middle of some shady undergrowth. “A shadbush!” he cried.
“How on earth did that get here?” He would never have suspected that
such a beautiful and valuable tree could be found in such a dark location.
Perhaps the wind or a bird had carried its seeds there?
The gardener thought carefully about what he should do next. He
knew that it is sometimes diffi cult to move a plant to a different location,
but he also knew that his shadbush would never grow into a large, strong
and beautiful tree if it stayed here in the shade. So he decided to replant it
in a different location, where it would get enough sun and wind to thrive
and fl ourish. He took his spade and dug out a broad ring of soil around
the trunk of the tree before digging a hole in the ground where he wanted
the tree to grow and placing the shadbush there, root ball and all. He then
fi lled the hole back up with soil, added exactly the right amount of fertiliser,
and gave the plant a good watering.
When he looked at his tree the next day, he was dismayed to see that all
the leaves on it were drooping. He thought to himself that the tree’s roots
had probably extended a long way under the ground before it had been
dug up, and that it must have lost some of its tiniest hair- like roots. The
tree would need to conserve its energy to heal these injuries, but it should
be able to regrow its roots, and so the gardener decided to give his tree the
best possible care and simply be patient. He waited and gave the tree all
the time it needed, and soon the leaves had indeed regained their former
strength. After a few months the tree was a fi ne specimen, and after a few
years it had grown into a large and strong tree.

Terminé!

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« Terminé! » , cria l’œuf quand il fut pondu. « Maintenant terminé! » , cria le tétard quand il fut sortie de l’œuf. « Maintenant je suis au complet! », cria la créature quand elle eut deux pattes. « Je suis enfin au complet de la tête aux pieds! » , cria l’être, quand il eut quatre pattes et une longue queue. « Qui sait ce qui va désormais encore se produire… » , dit la grenouille quand elle fut terminée.

Le loup de mer et le loup de terre

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Un jour, le loup de mer reҫu la visite du loup de terre. Les deux se connaissaient déjà depuis l’école des loups. Le loup de mer avait parcouru le monde et vécut beaucoup d’aventures et il rentra chez lui riche de trésors et d’expériences. Le loup de terre était resté chez soi dans sa tannière. Il rencontra une louve de terre et eut des louveteaux de terre. Et maintenant, il a beaucoup de petits-louveteaux et des arrière-petits-louveteaux, et tous sont devenus de vrais, bons loups de terre.

«Parfois j’aimerais refaire ma vie», dit le loup de terre au loup de mer. «C’est la même chose pour moi», dit ce dernier. «Je ferais beaucoup de choses différemment», dit le loup de terre. «Oui, moi aussi», répondit le loup de mer. «Je naviguerais les océans», rêva le loup de terre. «Je me marierais», soupira le loup de mer. «Je vivrais des aventures», expliqua le loup de terre. «J’aurais des louveteaux», dit le loup de mer. «Je serais un loup de mer riche. J’aurais vécu des expériences  périlleuses et magnifiques, dont je pourrais raconter les histoires», dit le loup de terre avec enthousiasme. «Moi, j’aurais des petits-enfants et des arrière-petits-enfants qui m’aimeraient et qui s’occuperaient de moi quand je serais vieux et malade», assura le loup de mer.

«Et ce serait moi qui serait maintenant assis avec toi dans cette tannière de loup de mer», continua le loup de terre, « …et moi avec toi… », rajouta le loup de mer. Le loup de terre hocha la tête : «Et puis maintenant tu me dirais : “Parfois, j’aimerais bien refaire ma vie” et moi, je répondrais : “Oui, c’est la même chose pour moi.”»