The Transparent Hypnotist

Location: Salem, Oregon
Cyber Location: www.empoweredwithin.com

1.  Are you a full time hypnotist, part-time or hobbyist?

I currently work part-time.

2. Do you specialize in any type of hypnosis?

I specialize in Intuitive Clinical Hypnosis. I prefer to utilize many different techniques as well such as guided meditation, breath work, NLP, metaphors, and imagery. I have found many treasures by incorporating these different tools to my practice. Why not just straight hypnosis? People have different comfort zones and prefer having more options when it comes to personal empowerment. We have to remember the journey the client is embarking upon is for them. We are only the guide.

3. Is there any type of hypnosis you do not do? Why?

I will not do stage hypnosis because I find it insulting to the profession.

4. Do you use self-hypnosis regularly in your life? If so, how?

I have used self-hypnosis in my life from time to time. I have found help with insomnia, personal change, relaxation, and overcoming my fears. Since I enjoy learning different modalities, I like to try them out on myself. The curiosity of the art still gets the best of me at times.

5. Describe your hypnosis office or work setting.

I have a home office and the setting is very relaxing. The space is comfortable for working with clients one-on-one.

6. Describe a typical day in your life.

Well I have a 10-month old son and he takes up a lot of my time. My day really varies depending on the number of clients, online orders, mailing our products, etc. I will say that my day is VERY busy with very little sleep.

7. Where did you get your training in hypnosis and are you certified?

I have training from various organizations. I first got my training from Positive Changes Hypnosis. I was trained in Psycho-Linguistics, mind of labor, mind over cancer, weight loss, stop smoking, pain management, personal change, and alcohol free. I feel that was the best place to start because I was able to work with hundreds of clients. It was a great learning experience. Currently, I continue to be a professional certified hypnotherapist. I am a member of the following: National Guild of Hypnotists, AAPH, AAH, AIH, ABH, and IRPH.

8. Most fabulous hypnosis technique you use?

I really enjoy NLP and metaphors. I have also discovered that when you work intuitively one-on-one with a client you get better results. It seems more personalized and it’s exactly what the client needs to hear/see/feel. All I can say is clients love it and get it! It’s a great rapport tool as well.

9. Worse moment ever in a hypnosis setting that ended up being a valuable learning experience.

The worst and saddest is when I had to refuse a client. The husband contacted me because he wanted his wife to stop smoking and she did too. When she came into my office, I discovered she was dying of terminal cancer. If she stopped smoking, it would save her about 2+ years of her life. What was so sad is that she really did not want to stop smoking after all. She still “needed” it. Plus her husband drove her nuts and it made her smoke even more. I could not force her to change and it was her last vice. It gave her pleasure and a time to escape. She still loved to smoke. So, I had to talk with the husband and of course he cried. It was so hard see and hear this man’s pain. He really loved his wife.

In this profession you want to help people and I had to give him my personal/professional advice…free of charge. This did not make my employer happy because he was ready to pay $1,000 on the spot. What it taught me is to be true to yourself, honor the client, be a friend when a client needs one, clients do not = $, you do this job because you love it (rich or poor), and honor yourself. Later I spoke with the potential client and she told me that she was very appreciative of my not taking her husband’s money, being supportive and giving them both some good advice about her situation and health condition.

10.  Any words of advice to potential clients or other hypnotist.

I do have advice for both and it may conflict. So here it is.

Advice for the Clients: I have some great advice in picking a hypnotherapist.

1. You have to like the person you are working with and find their voice pleasing. If you don’t have this match, it does not work very well.

2. You have to trust and feel safe with the person you are working with.

3. I would suggest for men to work with a male hypnotherapist when it comes to sexual issues and women to work with women. It is all about “each” party feeling comfortable.

4. Listen to your gut. A person maybe good at selling you, but not good at hypnosis.

5. Get client testimonials! This is a must! If you feel the need to call a past client to get the clarification you need, do it.

6. A hypnotherapist may have a many degrees and years of experience, but may not still be the right match for you. Age and education does not mean you will get great results. The reason why I say this is I had a client who “refused” to work with me because I was too young and did not have enough experience. I did her initial evaluation and took all her personal information, but she did not find me qualified enough.

Then one day the receptionist scheduled this client with me by accident. She was not pleased and was ready to reschedule. Against her better “judgment”, she decide to try me out. After the session, she thanked me. She was thrilled and she apologized for judging me. Later she even had me remake some of her Cds from other hypnotherapists. The saying is, “You cannot judge a book by its cover.”

7. As people we are like onions. We may have layers of issues and stuff that needs to be peeled away. Sometimes it takes patience and dedication..

8. There may come a time during your journey of personal change that your bad habit does have a positive underlining intent. Here are some examples: the weight may serve a purpose, the habit keeps you safe, the behavior prevents you from getting hurt, etc. This is when you will need a NLP parts therapy technique.

9. Phoenix to Yuma: This is something Abraham-Hicks has talked about several times. Let’s say you are traveling in your car from Phoenix to San Diego. You have your road map, its 500 miles and you get into your car. You drive about half way and for some reason your road map is not correct. You are stuck in Yuma. Where is San Diego? You will either do two things. You will either keep on driving “forward” to arrive in San Diego or you will turn around and drive back 250 miles. So many of us get half way to the goal and end up turning back around. Stay committed to yourself on this journey of self discovery. You will hit road blocks, but they will be wonderful empowering lessons of personal change.

10. Know when to take pat yourself on the back. At times we are too hard on ourselves. Focus on your accomplishments, instead of what you have not achieved.

Advice for the hypnotists:

1. Do your job because you love it and it makes your heart sing.

2. Know when to accept a client and when to refuse a client.

3. Study different modalities and techniques.

4. Practice hypnosis. If you have never done it and got positive results for yourself, you should not be in this business.

5. Listen! Communication is the key. The more you know about your client, the better you will be of service.

6. A client may come to see you for one specific condition/issue, but if you listen well enough you will hear the layers that need to be removed before you can get to the core issue.

7. Take GOOD notes! This will assist you later on. I would also recommend reading back your notes to the client. They will know you “did” listen to them and care.

8. If you do not have client testimonials, get some. Do some free work with your friends and family.

9. Be open minded to work outside the box of expertise. In order to better understand that statement, I will give an example. I had an online potential customer contact me about helping her with her addiction. I have training in this area, but NOT that specific drug. I did the research and I felt I could help her. At this time my husband did not believe I could do it.. This was a strong addictive drug, yet it worked! She gave me a wonderful testimonial and it truly saved her life. So be brave and go outside the box!

10. When you feel stuck with a client, use the sandwich approach. This approach has helped me in all areas of my life. The bread is the positive and you use “I” statements. The meat is the issue at hand. There will be times when you can use this technique with your clients and get the results you are after.

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