What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is an educational and self-improvement process that facilitates access to a person’s inner wisdom to assist them in solving problems, increasing motivation, or altering behavior patterns to create positive change. Such change includes but is not limited to overcoming fears, altering habits, managing stress, improving relationships and enhancing performance. It is the application of universally accepted self-discovery techniques and self-improvement methods utilized during the hypnotic state, that help to free you from fear-based programming and assumed limitations.

What does it mean to be in a hypnotic state?

The hypnotic state is a natural state that everyone has experienced. If you have ever been in the flow and had no concept of time, you were there. If you have ever been so occupied with a thought while driving home that you have no idea how you reached your driveway, you were there. When hypnosis is induced, you experience an extraordinary quality of mental, physical and emotional relaxation. Hypnosis induces a state of deep relaxation that activates the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the rest and digest response, which research suggests supports digestive function and reduces the body's physiological stress load. Emerging neuroimaging studies from Stanford University and others show measurable changes in brain activity during hypnosis, consistent with reduced anxiety and improved mind-body regulation. Your critical mind becomes relaxed and you are accepting of new beneficial programming.

What are your qualifications?

I am a Certified Medical Support Clinical Hypnotherapist and Fellow of the International Board of Hypnotherapy (IBH). IBH has the most rigorous requirements for certification and exists to regulate and maintain a demonstrated level of professional training, ability, reliability and ethics in the hypnotherapy community.

I studied at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America and practice Integral Hypnotherapy, developed by Tim and Angela Simmerman Sierra, which combines classical hypnotherapy with modern methods and protocols. A National Institutes of Health-funded randomized controlled trial conducted at the University of New Mexico, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2019, compared hypnotherapy to standard drug therapy for urinary urgency incontinence in women. The study found hypnotherapy produced substantial symptom improvement and was non-inferior to medication at 6- and 12-month follow-up. This research demonstrates that hypnotherapy is a clinically meaningful, evidence-informed option for women seeking a drug-free approach to managing overactive bladder symptoms. Citation: Komesu YM et al., Am J Obstet Gynecol, 2019, PubMed 31449805.

How is the subconscious mind involved?

Research on cognitive science, including Nobel Prize-winning work by Daniel Kahneman, shows that a large portion of human behavior is driven by automatic, habitual patterns that operate below conscious awareness. Hypnotherapy is designed to work at the level of these deep-seated patterns, supporting lasting behavioral and emotional change in ways that conscious effort alone often cannot reach. Hypnosis taps into your subconscious mind, allowing limiting negative beliefs to be reprogrammed. With hypnosis, your critical, analytical mind is relaxed, facilitating communication between the conscious and subconscious mind. The newly programmed positive beliefs then empower you to achieve your goals.

Will I lose control while in hypnosis?

No. This is a common myth regarding hypnosis. You will not lose control of your mind or body. While you are accessing your subconscious mind in hypnosis, you will still have access to your conscious mind. Be assured, you will not share any deep dark secrets that you don’t want to reveal. 

What happens in a session?

All sessions occur over Zoom so that you can easily relax into hypnosis from the comfort of your own home. At the start of each session, we’ll discuss how you’re doing with your goal and I will explain the induction technique and protocol I will use during that day’s session. With my guidance, either before or during hypnosis, you will identify or reveal the negative or limiting beliefs that need to be replaced. Together, we will construct positive suggestions and imagery to reprogram the mind with new empowering beliefs. Once you are in the hypnotic state and accessing your subconscious mind, we will saturate it with these positive suggestions and imagery. It is important for you to dwell on the positive ideas, picture the imagery completely and feel the corresponding positive emotions in order to re-educate your subconscious mind. I will then count you out of hypnosis and we will discuss your experience. I will also give you an audio recording or some simple exercises to do at home that will help you achieve your goal faster.

How many sessions are required and what is the cost?

The majority of goals require 3 to 8 sessions. Each session is 60-90 minutes in length with the exception of the first session which may last up to 2 hours. Packages start at $900.