What to Expect

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Free consultation

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• We meet. We chat. 

• You check me out -- Rapport is essential if hypnosis is going to work and so I want you to get a sense of if I am a "fit" for you. If not, I can provide you names of other Hypnotherapists who may be a better match 

• I  check you out -- I get great results with my clients because I take on only people who I KNOW I can help. I am looking for clients who are motivated to achieve their goals, willing to look within, willing to go wherever the therapy takes us and willing to explore the origins of their symptoms. These are the clients who get the best results. Lacking these traits may lead to my decision to not work together

• I take a thorough history of events that could be contributing to your symptoms. I will be asking you what you are struggling with, when it began for you, what was going on in your life leading up to or prior to the time of your symptoms beginning. I will ask your theories as to what is responsible for your symptoms. I do not simply suggest symptoms away as is this ineffective.  This is hypnoTHERAPY we are doing, so it is essential that you be willing to discuss your life experiences so we can determine the cause of your challenges. 

• I  pay  attention to your  language, motivation, belief system, history and  personality so that I can create hypnosis sessions that would be relevant, effective and meaningful for you.

•  I will let you know whether I feel I can help you.

• I will tell you the strategy that I have in mind for helping you.

• We decide if we are going to work together and , if so, we can book sessions.

 

I find that most clients leave the consultation feeling excited and hopeful about the work we will do together. In fact, many clients fget new insight into their symptoms as a result of our discussion and some even begin to see changes occurring before we even do the hypnosis!

However, if you decide not to go ahead with session, I do not strong arm anyone into my chair!

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Sessions

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In the first session:

• I take a bit longer to make sure you are in hypnosis, and to prove it to you, before I move on to working on your goal. This is to ensure you won't undo the work we are doing by questioning if you are really in hypnosis. When you are in hypnosis, you take in the hypnotic suggestions that are relevant and acceptable to you. However, you also respond to your own internal voice in hypnosis. In other words, once your mind is receptive, it is receptive to what I am saying as well as to what you are saying to yourself. Therfore, if you are questioning if you are in hypnosis, that can lead to you coming out of hypnosis. So, I am going to show you that you are "there" before we move on so that your internal voice is supporting the work instead of sabotaging it.

• During this session, I also lay a foundation for our work together. For example, I give you a way to bring yourself out of hypnosis if our internet gets disconnected, I give you a way to go deeper into hypnosis should there be a sound or distraction that lightens you, I give you a way to reinforce or cancel suggestions and I explain that you can move, speak (or not) should you wish to. I also give you a way to go into hypnosis more easily for future sessions so we can spend more time on your goals and less time on the hypnosis process itself. 

• I typically do all of the work for you in the first session. I like you to have a no pressure first session. This means I choose the method of hypnosis that would work best for you, take time to get you into a hypnotic state, deliver the "hypnotic argument", address relevant history that is contributing to your challenge, guide you to do exercises to help shift your symtpoms, prompt your subconscious mind for further insight, give you suggestions relevant to your goal,  manage your depth the entire time , bring you out of hypnosis and debrief with you.

• Your job is easy--- you just have to show up!

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Second session and beyond:

I am a client centered hypnotherapist which means I adjust what I do in hypnosis to your style, need, progress and goals. So, where we go in a second session (and beyond) is dependent upon what happens during and after the previous sessions. 

 

Therefore  our sessions may involve: 

• Addressing new insights, dreams, or memories that arise that arise as your subconsious responds to my asking it for more info.

• uncovering the cause of symptoms and then  addressing the cause.

• Reinforcing work done in previous sessions to ensure the results last over time

• Prompting your subconsious mind for more clarity around the goal

• Inner child work or help you to process previous events so they no longer have a negative impact on you

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What I WON'T do is take you back to relive traumatic events as this is not necessary.

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I am solution and goal oriented which means I won't waste your time not getting results. If you do not have some obvious progress within 2-3 sessions, we will be doing deeper work to see what else needs to be addressed. You are asked to understand that this work is a bit like peeling an onion. It is not a one session miracle. My ideal client is one who is motivated to achieve their goal and willing to go wherever the therapy directs.

 

The Hypnosis

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People  respond to hypnosis differently. For some it feels like they are basically sitting there with their eyes closed. This is the case for people who are more analytical in nature. Others will feel some interesting sensations like heaviness or "spaciness". Others will feel like they have had moments of dropping off to sleep.

 

However, it is important to remember that how "deep" you are is irrelevant. Depth is not necessary for effective hypnosis and can, in fact, impede the process. For example, people who go deep can have a difficult time following instructions to do exercises wtihin their mind which means I am limited with regards to my interventions.

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What matters more than depth is that what I am saying to you is relevant and useful. This is why  ensure I know what you want by doing a thorough consultation before we work together.  I will ensure you are in a suitable hypnotic state to take in the hypnotic argument I offer and to create the results you want. 

 

People sometimes wonder if they will be talking in hypnosis. That really depends.  It is dependent upon your preference and the technique we are using. Sometimes it is necessary for us to trace back where an issue stems from in which case I give you the option of talking during the session or afterwards. On other occasions you have very little to do as I will be guiding the session. Again, I work according to your preferences.

 

I am comfortable working spontaneuosly if something arises during the session that you want to work on "real time". You are alwys welcome to interupt me during the hypnosis to let me know if somethnig has come up for you that you want to work on. And I am fine with you throwing a new theory or angle at me at the last minute. I pride myself on being able to incorporate new material into a session I have planned and I am often complimented by my clients for my ability to create a powerful and relevant session on the spot.  I am also comfortable throwing my session out all together if things have shifted for you and you want to go in a new direction.

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People sometimes wonder if they will hear me or if they will remember what occurs during a session. Hypnosis is not sleep or unconsciousness. You will be aware of what is happening and, in fact, will be able to reject suggestions if you don't feel they are suitable. You are in control at all times while in hypnosis. 

 

Results

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Let me start this session on results by giving my pie chart explanation. I look at each client's goal as being a pie chart, each slice representing something that is causing or contributing to the client's symptoms that  needs to be addressed. We don't need to address the whole pie to get results, just a majority chunk. 

 

Sometimes there is one piece of pie we need to work on. For example, a client has a car accident and now they have a fear of driving. I address the accident and the fear resolves. Easy and quick.

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In other cases, there are several pieces to the pie that need to be addressed for the client to get results. For example, a client may have several contributing factors to their anxiety that need to be addressed. In the case of there being a complex backstory or several contributing factors, results may not be evident right away as we may need to address several pieces of pie before we tip the scales and we have addressed enough for you to see results.

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The problem is that neither you nor msyelf know how many pieces of pie there are right away or what the relative size of each piece is. Even a client who seems really clear about where their symtpoms stem from can be incorrect. This is because the subconscious is illogical so it can be working below the level of our consciousness. This is why I prompt your subconsious for more information right from session 1. We start by uncovering any other pie peices we may need to address.

 

A brief example: I had a client who told me he started smoking at 28 because he got his first job then and it was a way to deal with stress and to bond with his smoking co-workers. We worked on getting his subconsious to find other ways to manage stress and letting his subconscious know he no longer needed to smoke to fit in. But, we were't getting results. So, in our next session, I traced back to the origin of his smoking. What he didn't share during the consutlation, because he had no idea it was sitll affecting him, is that he had shot a friend of his in a hunting accident at 28.  He felt so guilty he didnt think he deserved to have a good life - -and he picked up smoking to punish himself. This event had occurred thirty years ago and, at the time we worked together, was no longer on my client's mind. He was still friends with the guy, who survived the shooting. In his mind, it was in the past. Over and done with. And yet, his subconscious was still responding to that belief he didnt deserve a good life. When I addressed that event, convincing his subconsious that he DID deserve a good life, he quit smoking and also lost weight and changed careers!

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Where you are in getting results at any given time is related to how much of the pie we have addressed and how much we still have to discover. This is why I encourage clients to be patient and to understand that it is a process that unfolds over time.

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However, the good news is that once we are getting results, the results tend to be stable over time. Once you are done with a goal, you are really DONE!

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