You’re sitting in the theater, excited and leaning forward. The stage is full of hopeful volunteers all hanging on every word the hypnotist says. The hypnotist whispers a magic word into one guy’s ear. The next thing you know, he screams like a girl because his belt has turned into a snake. He has to take the belt off because it’s a snake –but he can’t touch the belt because it’s a snake — but he has to take it off because –. Frantically hopping and spinning around, he looks like he’s trying to run away from his own rear end!

Or you're at the movies with your eyes glued to the screen. A mad scientist (you can tell he’s completely daffy – his eyes are buggy and his hair is sticking out like he just stuck his finger in a light socket) waves a watch in front of a helpless victim. Motionless, his victim stares through glazed eyes, seeing nothing as the mad scientist intones, “You are now in my power. I have hypnotized you and you will do whatever I say.” Like a robot, face void of expression, the victim rises and goes forward to do the insane scientist’s dastardly bidding.

Yikes! With press like this, it’s no wonder hypnosis is so misunderstood.

Hypnosis (also known as hypnotic trance) is a natural, altered state. It’s that euphoric, floating feeling you experience for an all-too-brief moment before you drop off to sleep. It’s also when everything around you disappears as you become more and more deeply immersed in your daydreams, or in a good book or movie. The body, mind and emotions all merge into a deep, satisfying relaxation as you shift your focus from the outer world to your inner world.

Self-hypnosis is (Wait for it…) hypnotizing yourself.  With proper instruction, anyone can hypnotize himself or herself.

Hypnotism is the science of applying techniques to induce the state of hypnosis, although the two words are often interchanged.

A hypnotist is trained in the techniques of hypnotism to help others enter the state of hypnosis. The hypnotist simply helps you control your own ability. Say for example, I do a progressive relaxation. If you want to go into hypnosis, you will; if you don’t, you won’t. It’s up to you whether or not you accept the suggestions of relaxation or any other suggestions. (Hypnosis isn’t mind control. In real life, the helpless victim in our movie would snatch the watch from the mad scientist, bonk him on the head with it and demand he seek professional help.)

A hypnotherapist is trained to use proven therapeutic techniques in conjunction with the hypnotic trance to assist in making rapid, permanent changes to deeply ingrained and often unknown negative beliefs.

Traditional hypnotherapy (also called current-life and past-life age regression therapy) is a rapid, short-term (quick results) modality.

While in hypnosis, through the technique of regression, clients access memories from current and/or past lives that bring to light the negative programming residing at the emotional (subconscious) level that is creating undesired results in the current life. Using proven therapeutic techniques, the hypnotherapist then assists the client in changing that programming from negative to neutral or positive.

I work with most hypnotherapy clients an average of two to four sessions. However, all of my clients have experienced greater understanding and relief from the very first session.

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Hypnotic suggestion programming works through repetition so, used on its own, it takes longer than hypnotherapy. Suggestions for the desired behavior are given while the client is in hypnosis. Because the client is in hypnosis, the suggestions go straight to the subconscious level -- the level where the programming exists.

Hypnotic suggestion programming is most effective when used in conjunction with hypnotherapy or another therapy designed to make changes at the subconscious level.

Hypnotherapy and Hypnotic Suggestion Programming are two different aspects of treatment that work beautifully together.

Through Hypnotherapy and Hypnotic Suggestions Programming, we can: