What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a natural state of mind one experiences. A deep physical relaxation is experienced in order to open the subconscious mind and provides a clear and focused mind. While the subconscious mind is open, it is able to accept positive suggestion. Hypnosis is often referred to as an altered state of awareness, however keep in mind you never lose control at any point in time while experiencing hypnosis or during a hypnotherapy session.

Most people experience hypnosis naturally over the course of the day and do not even realize it. Have you been driving home and suddenly do not remember passing the store, or a certain intersection or you might have passed your exit 3 miles back? Perhaps you have become so involved in a movie that time passes by in what feels like 15 minutes time, however it was several hours? Most have been in a class or meeting where our mind wonders and realize that we have not heard a word that has been said.  These are examples of environmental hypnosis, a very natural state of hypnosis that is experienced on a daily basis.

What is a hypnotherapist?

A hypnotherapist is an alternative health care professional who is skilled and specially trained in the use of hypnosis for client’s self improvement goals. It is a holistic modality for healing and changing the subconscious mind for clearing out unwanted or unneeded negativity from a person’s thinking. A hypnotherapist is not a medical doctor, a psychotherapist, or a psychologist, and does not treat or diagnose medical disorders, mental or emotional disorders.  A list of what Hypnosis for Change can assist you with, through hypnosis, can be found on the Services page.

Can I be hypnotized against my will?

Absolutely not! All people are susceptible to experiencing induced hypnosis by a hypnotherapist, however not a single person will ever be subject to induction of hypnosis against their will. If they do not want to be hypnotized, it will not happen.

Will I lose control during hypnosis?

No, you will not lose control of your body, mind or feelings at any point while experiencing hypnosis. You always maintain control of your own body, mind and feelings and at no point will you do anything you wouldn’t normally do while at the conscious level.

If a hypnotherapist were to suggest something during hypnosis which was against your personal morals and values, you would immediately come out of hypnosis and would not accept it as being true or right for you.

Can I trust a hypnotherapist?

My promise to clients is that I will never try to convince them of something that isn’t already true for them.  This is the foundation of trust and credibility. Through hypnosis you gain mastery over your own mind for what is true for the individual not for what the hypnotherapist thinks.   Hypnotherapists are merely “agents of change” for a person to reap the benefits for a life-time.

What will I experience in hypnosis?

People experience many different things while experiencing hypnosis.

At a light depth you may feel very alert and awake and as if you could open your eyes and just walk out of the room, however you will not want to do so when you are in this very calm and peaceful relaxed state.

At medium depths you may feel so relaxed and comfortable that you may begin to tune out the hypnotherapist at times, however, you will recall the entire session with perfect clarity. You may even notice that certain noises of birds outside, passing traffic, or ringing phones are louder, but they are not, your senses are just heightened and your mind is more open and clear.

While at deeper levels it may feel similar to sleeping, although you will not be sleeping as brain waves during sleep are much different than brain waves during hypnosis. During those deep depths, you may even completely loose the sound of the hypnotherapist and afterward not be able to recall any of the session. That is fine, and normal. Everything that happened is still in your subconscious mind. A client will get all the good from the session even though they are not aware of the words being spoken.

It will be just right for the individual what ever way they might experience the hypnotherapy session.

How many sessions will I need?

How many sessions needed to reach your goals vary by the individual, and the goal . Only the client can determine when they have had enough sessions. However, rarely is one session sufficient.  Sometimes a trigger from the subconscious mind will come after a session and we will experience another issue that we might find helpful to release to achieve a new way of feeling and being on our path to self improvement. Over the course of your sessions, the hypnotherapy is able to strengthen your positive suggestions, and eliminate these triggers by how you react to them. By positively eliminating how you used to react to these triggers with repetition, it brings you down a path where the trigger no longer has the same negative effect or “charge” of bringing you backwards in your self improvement.

How well does hypnotherapy work?

A comparison study in American Health Magazine suggests:

Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions

Behavior Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions

Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions