Frequently Asked Questions

How does it work?

While you are in a relaxed state of trance, the conscious mind is distracted by suggestions from the hypnotist. This leaves the subconscious mind more available to accept other suggestions from the hypnotist to make the positive changes you would like to make.

If the conscious mind were aware of those suggestions it would probably reject them as unworkable, too simplistic, too hard, already been tried, etc. But if the conscious mind is not aware of the suggestions, it cannot reject them and your subconscious mind is free to accept them and begin changing your behavior.

Here is a simple example:

Over Thanksgiving, my friend and his siblings were at their parent’s house for dinner. My friend was at the table before dinner talking to his father. His brother came up and said: “Go get the peas and bring them to the table.” My friend told me that he got up, went to the kitchen and got the peas, and on his way to the table he was thinking: “Why am I doing this?”

He was doing it because while his conscious mind was distracted by the conversation with his father, his brother gave him a suggestion and it went directly to his subconscious. He got up and followed the suggestion with no conscious awareness of ever having gotten the suggestion. His conscious mind did not register the suggestion so he did not recall ever getting it. Hence, he was confused about why he was doing what he was doing.

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Can anybody be hypnotized?

Theoretically, yes.

Hypnosis is simply a state of focused attention, much like we experience while being absorbed in a really good book or exciting movie or a good daydream or thinking hard about a problem we have to solve. Consciously we are only vaguely aware of the real world around us. We all go in and out of these trances all day long. So, we all should be susceptible to the hypnotically induced trance.

It turns out however, that about 15% of the population is very susceptible to trance and can trance very deep very quickly. Another 15% of the population has great difficulty allowing themselves to go into trance with the hypnotist (though they go very easily while reading, or listening to music, or even driving). The remaining 70% are in the middle and find the trance state more-or-less easy to enter and can usually get better with practice.

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How long will it take?

This is difficult to answer because so much depends upon how susceptible the client is to trance (see the above question/answer). For planning purposes I suggest that clients think about 3 sessions per issue. Three sessions is the average time most of my clients take to resolve their issue. Some clients then decide to use hypnosis to work on other issues in their life and so they stay for additional sessions. Some clients resolve their issue in one session.

I am always pleased to see this but I never assume that every client can work that successfully that quickly. Because people are so variable with respect to how fast they make the changes they want to make, I never try to lock clients into a set number of sessions or ask clients to pay for any sessions in advance. We work session by session and when you are happy with your results or, occasionally, feel that this is not the modality for you, you are free to stop making appointments. We will still be friends and you are welcome back anytime to do further work.

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Will the hypnotist control me?

No. You have the control over your own work.

If you do not want to go into trance you do not have to. The hypnotist cannot force you into trance. If you are uncomfortable for any reason and want to come back out of trance, you can and will.

The hypnotist is a guide. If you want to go on the journey you will, if not you won’t. If your subconscious hears a suggestion that it feels is not appropriate for you at that time, or is not in your best interest, it will not accept it. If it hears a suggestion that it feels is completely out of line it will bring you out of trance.

Unlike a lot of other modalities, hypnosis requires a great deal of trust not just in the knowledge and skill of the hypnotist, but also in his/her personal character and integrity. Though you are not asleep as we usually think of sleep, your conscience mind is disengaged and you will not remember much, if anything, that was said to you or the suggestions that were given to you while you were in trance.

Before you begin any trance work, you should be very comfortable with the hypnotist. If you are not, you should look for another hypnotist.

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Can I bring somebody with me?

Yes. For some people it is easier to relax into trance if they know that a friend or partner is there with them, at least for the first session. I have no problem with this. If your companion would like to work on the same issue as you (smoking cessation or weight loss, or example), I will arrange a group rate for you.

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What if something happens to the hypnotist while I’m in trance?

Then one of two things will happen. One, you will fall asleep and take a short nap, then wake up; or, two, you will come out of trance because your subconscious is expecting to hear my voice and, when it does not for a few minutes, it brings you out of trance to see why.

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Can I still be hypnotized even if I’m kind of a control freak?

Yes. Some of my best clients were self-described control freaks. You control whether you go into trance today, you control how deep you go, and your subconscious mind controls which of my suggestions you are ready to accept today and which ones later. The experience is not about control. It’s about focusing your attention. If you can do that, and are willing to do that when I ask you to, you will enjoy a beautiful trance experience and get a lot of work done.

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Will I cluck like a chicken?

If you want to we can make it happen. Otherwise, no.

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What is your success rate with smokers?

I do not have accurate data on this but the feedback I receive is very good. Sometimes even people who are not working on quitting smoking manage to quit. A number of people with whom I have worked on completely unrelated issues have reported to me later that they also quit smoking during our work together. I didn’t know they smoked.

However, I must admit that my results are good, in part, because I am very selective in the smokers with whom I agree to work. If I agreed to work with every smoker who came to me my results would not be as good. When I ask smokers why they have come to see me, they often say things like, “My wife wants me to quit smoking,” or “my doctor says I have to quit smoking,” or sometimes “I know I have to quit smoking.”

These people are not ready to quit. I can’t help them do something they do not really want to do. I want to work with the people who are committed to the task; with the people who say: “I want to quit now. I want you to help me do that.” Those are the people I can help.

If you want to quit now, I can help you do that. If you are not ready to quit yet bookmark this site and come back when you are ready.

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What kind of problems do you work with?

I work with a variety of issues including smoking cessation, weight loss, pain management, confidence and self -esteem, athletic and artistic performance, creativity, enhanced spirituality, and past life regression. If there are changes you would like to make in areas not listed above, feel free to call or email me and we can discuss how I might be of help to you.

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Do you accept insurance?

I would if I could. Unfortunately, there is no third party payer that currently covers hypnosis treatment. For this reason I work as quickly as is appropriate to the client and the issue.

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