Healing through Hypnosis

Hypnosis or hypnotherapy - For many people hypnosis has proven quite effective for fostering positive changes and habit restructuring. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are often useful for quitting smoking, weight loss, altering other unwanted habits, and for relief from neurological pain.

Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy often can speed up the elimination of your unwanted behaviors which are often unhealthy or limiting your quality of life, see Hurtful and Helpful Mindsets . For the important psychological issues of depression, anxiety, relationship problems and low self esteem, see Clinical Hypnosis.

If you seek more information on using hypnosis for specific issues or problems, a free one-half hour initial appointment is available which allows each of us to determine if we can work together and have the potential for good rapport. I practice in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California.

Healing through hypnosis - Hypnosis has been practiced to promote healing for thousands of years. Trance states are very common, though frequently unrecognized; i.e. pulling into the driveway without remembering the drive home or getting so involved in an activity that you lose track of time. I like to use the word trance and draw a parallel, as well as a distinction, between common and every-day trance experiences and the deep relaxation of a guided hypnotic trance customized for your benefit.

Hypnosis, involving a guided trance tailored to you, provides deep relaxation during which you can better focus your awareness on your motivations and goals. It is quite effective when used with Mindfulness Techniques or any form of meditation. About 80% of the population finds hypnosis, or trance states, easily available or easily learned. Your inhibitions are not reduced in a trance, choice is enhanced rather than inhibited and your values remain intact and most people recall the details of their trance experiences.

Hypnosis provides many tools to support both your psychological and physical health. According to the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis ( ASCH ), "Hypnosis may be used for unconscious exploration, to better understand underlying motivations or identify whether past events or experiences are associated with causing a problem. Hypnosis avoids the critical censor of the conscious mind, which often defeats what we know to be in our best interests. The effectiveness of hypnosis appears to lie in the way in which it by-passes the critical observation and interference of the conscious mind, allowing the client's intentions for change to take effect.” If you would like a further definition of hypnosis from the Mayo Clinic, c lick here .

I am constantly in awe of the expanding applications of hypnosis. Hypnosis can help to deepen spiritual understandings, as well as augment traditional psychotherapeutic practices. Hypnotherapists have been combining hypnosis with a variety of theoretical approaches to psychological interventions for a number of decades. A number of recent studies have verified the enhanced effectiveness of combining CBT with hypnotherapy, most recently referred to as Cognitive Hypnotherapy. Cognitive Hypnotherapy can be very useful in defining and supporting life goals as well as business goals.

S elf-hypnosis Most people don’t know how to consciously initiate and make use of a trance state. Using hypnosis many people can learn to use self-hypnosis to create and use trance states to achieve your goals. My preference is to teach self-hypnosis in the course of therapy so when you complete your therapy you may have an understanding of how to use self-hypnosis to both explore your own meanings, and to reinforce choices. .

According to the ASCH, "Because hypnosis allows people to use more of their potential, learning self-hypnosis is the ultimate act of self-control."


The main therapies using hypnosis are listed below . They include some, but not all, of the issues or problems treatable with hypnosis.

Clinical Hypnosis , including:

My training and certification in hypnosis - I am an ASCH Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist , PhD, and Licensed MFT therapist-counselor. As such I am quite aware of the emotional component of challenging situations or habit patterns. With this awareness, training, and my three decades of experience, I am able to anticipate possible pitfalls a hypnotist without psychological training might miss. I am here to help you unlock the inner resources, which in many cases remedy troubling issues.

My training in hypnosis began over 30 years ago, first in the traditional authoritarian form (“ You will now … ”), and then with Steven Gilligan, PhD a leading trainer in Ericksonian Hypnosis for ASCH. The difference between traditional hypnosis and Ericksonian Hypnosis is very important. In the traditional form of hypnosis the hypnotist takes control and directs you to do something, thereby putting the control outside of yourself and undermining your self-reliance. Ericksonian Hypnosis works with your meanings, using your own imagery, re-presenting them in a manner designed to enable the opening new possibilities and directions which are compatible and resonate with your essential being.

Again a free one-half hour initial appointment is available upon request. You deserve a happy fulfilling life. With many decades of experience in hypnotherapy, counseling, therapy, and/or psychotherapy practice and by working together, often we can reach that goal. To inquire further contact my office at 707-237-8900 and/or send an e-mail .

I don’t treat life problems as a mental illness.