How Does It Work?
What is Hypnosis and How Can It Help You?
Hypnosis is a natural, therapeutic technique that taps into your subconscious mind to retrain and teach you healthy beliefs, behaviors, and coping strategies.
By accessing this deeper state of awareness, hypnosis can help you overcome challenges, such as stress and anxiety, breaking unhealthy habits and improving overall success and happiness in your life.
What is Hypnosis?
Have you ever been driving to work, or home after a long day, and found yourself zoning out, lost in thought, and don't even remember parts of the drive? Maybe you don't remember driving over the bridge you normally drive over, or you even miss your turn because you're not paying attention.
Guess what? You were in a state of hypnosis.
You can also go into hypnosis when you’re engrossed in a movie, fall in love, have a deep conversation, and just before drifting off to sleep at night. Hypnosis is a natural occurrence that we all experience on a daily basis.​
Ancient cultures have recognized and utilized hypnotic states for thousands of years. Shamans, ancient Egyptians, and Eastern meditation practices all used and continue to use these states for healing and spiritual purposes.
Today, technology allows us to measure hypnotic states, showing that hypnosis is actually a slower brainwave frequency.
Delta (0.5 - 4 Hz):
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Deep sleep and unconscious state
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Essential for healing and regeneration
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The slowest brainwave frequency
Theta (4 - 8 Hz):
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Light sleep, deep relaxation, and meditation
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Subconscious mind activity, creativity, and intuition
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Common in hypnosis and deep meditation
Alpha (8 - 12 Hz):
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Relaxed, calm, and peaceful state
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Light meditation and daydreaming
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Bridges the conscious and subconscious mind
Beta (12 - 30 Hz):
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Active thinking, problem-solving, and alertness
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Normal waking consciousness
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Higher frequencies associated with anxiety and stress
Gamma (30 - 100 Hz):
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Higher mental activity and perception
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Associated with peak focus, insight, and expanded consciousness
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The fastest brainwave frequency
​Hypnosis, meditation, and other mindfulness practices can bring you into an alpha or theta brainwave state, providing direct access to your subconscious mind.
How Your Mind Works
The Theory of Mind, created by John Kappas, explains how your mind functions and how hypnosis helps you relearn.
From birth to around 8 years old, you're basically in a hypnotic state, with your brainwaves generally at a theta frequency. During this period, you rapidly absorb information about your environment, family, and societal norms, forming associations that make up your subconscious mind.
For instance, if you cried as a baby and someone came and took care of you, you will make an association between asking for what you need and receiving it. As a child, celebrating birthdays with sweets might create a lifelong association between sugary foods and feeling happy and special. In school, a teacher might have told you that your answer was wrong and praised another child with the right answer, and then you made the decision that you have to be perfect in order to be liked and accepted by those in authority.
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After age 8, you develop logic, reasoning, and willpower, forming your conscious mind. However, even though you are more aware of your conscious thoughts, your conscious mind only makes up 5-12% of your mind power.
The real driving force in your life, that contains your beliefs, memories, habits, and automatic bodily functions— is your subconscious mind. Your subconscious controls 88-95% of your mind power.
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This means, that even if you have the thought that you want to stop eating sweets and lose weight, or that you want to start a business, network and put yourself out there with confidence— if these ideas don't match up with your beliefs about yourself, your subconscious mind will reject them.
Why?
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Because its the subconscious' job to keep you safe and maintain homeostasis. If you try to change something that is a solid belief, no matter how long ago it was formed, this will create stress on your system.
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Your first inclination might be to increase your willpower, or use logic to reason with yourself, or to just DO it!
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But, as you now know, logic, reason, and willpower only make up 5-12% of your mind power. You will find it very difficult to change your subconscious mind this way.
How do you change your beliefs and associations?
You need to get into the same mental state that created them in the first place.
How your subconscious learns:
1. Associations
2. Repetition
3. Emotions
4.Alpha and Theta brainwaves (Hypnosis, meditation, restful state, just before bed or just after waking)
5. Images/symbols/metaphors (imagined or visual)
Hypnotherapy can combine all of these aspects to help your subconscious learn a new belief system, and interrupt old patterns, to create new neural pathways.
It doesn't matter what it is or how long you've believed and/or behaved a certain way, you can relearn anything you want.
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However, its important to know that change requires effort. Hypnosis alone will not create the change you are wanting. It requires a decision on your part, and the determination to do the work of interrupting those patterns in your life, and moving in a new direction.
Hypnosis will greatly enhance the power of your efforts because its allows us to work directly with your subconscious, instead of just relying on conscious effort.
You will still need to take action, pay attention to your patterns, use the tools that you will be taught, and notice your thoughts and feelings throughout the day.
But you are not alone! I’m here to support you every step of the way.
What to Expect in a Hypnotherapy Session
Sessions are on zoom. Many people have found that they are able to go deeper into hypnosis while in the comfort of their own home using headphones. You can sit on a chair or couch, or you can lay on your bed— it depends on how you respond in hypnosis, and which feels best for you.
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Can I Be Hypnotized?
Yes, everyone can be hypnotized.
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We enter hypnotic states every day, whether deeply relaxed or fully focused on an activity.
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Everyone experiences hypnosis differently— some feel very relaxed and heavy, while others just feel normal while their thoughts wander.
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Many people have found, when using biofeedback to measure their brainwave activity, that often the times when they don't think they are very deep in hypnosis, their measurements are even more coherent than in previous sessions.
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So, if you find yourself wondering if you are in hypnosis, you might be deeper than you think!
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Everyone learns differently. I will test your suggestibility and learning style, to enable me to give suggestions that will have a greater impact on you. Everyone also learns at different speeds. Some see changes within 24 hours, while for others it takes at least a week.
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How many sessions?
I have found that 3 sessions are usually enough for most presenting issues, however some challenges could require more.
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In the first session, I arm you with all the tools you need to change your patterns and reprogram your subconscious. So, if all you wanted was 1 session with me, you could literally continue the programming on your own. But if you are looking for lasting change, I do suggest at least 3 sessions to dive deeper into root causes and reinforce the new associations and behaviors.
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I offer a 3-Session Bundle at $120 per session, or you can just book 1 session for $170. Again, the first session is packed with all the subconscious tools that allows you to create the change you are looking for, but I do suggest going deeper and reinforcing the work from the first session.
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To give an idea, quitting smoking can usually be accomplished in 3 sessions, but depends on how ready you are to change, that you use the tools I teach you between sessions, and complete any other homework that is given.
Weight loss is a more intensive lifestyle and mindset change, and could easily take 6 sessions. I offer a 6-Week Intensive program, that can be utilized whether you're wanting to get fit and healthy, are starting a business, or have other big life goals you want to achieve. This program will give you the accountability, coaching, easy step-by-step guidance, and deep subconscious work that you need to get there.
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If you need a nervous system reset, to calm your mind and body and allow you to release built up stress, I offer a 30-min Nervous System Reset. This is a quick way to get out of fight/flight so you can feel more in control and more easily find solutions.
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I'm here to support you, whether it be short term, intermittent, or ongoing support.
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What to Expect
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Free 30-Minute Consultation: Discuss what you want to change, how I can help, and get an overview of the process.
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First Hypnotherapy Session (1.5 hours): This session includes discussing your presenting issue in more depth, creating a plan of action, testing your suggestibility and learning style, and then I teach you multiple pattern interrupts and rapid self-hypnosis, which you can use to begin the change right away.
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Follow-Up Sessions (1 hour): These sessions include cognitive discussions (30-45 minutes) and hypnosis (15-20 minutes). The cognitive portion is an essential aspect of successful hypnosis, and then its integrated into your deeper mind in the trance state.
When you agree with the suggestions consciously, your subconscious is more likely to accept them during hypnosis.
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I can record the hypnosis section for you to listen to if you would like extra reinforcement. I will recommend using the rapid self-hypnosis technique daily, as this is the most beneficial for your self-directed change.
When is a referral from health professions needed?
A referral isn’t necessary for vocational or avocational self improvement, which is related to work, hobbies and the development of your self-empowerment and confidence. Examples include improving public speaking, becoming more confident in social settings, managing work stress, and changing bad habits.
However, a referral is required for diagnosed mental or physical health issues to ensure hypnosis is appropriate for your condition.
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Hypnosis can help alleviate many symptoms and emotional issues related to a diagnosis, but I am not a licensed healthcare professional. Therefore, I would need to collaborate with your healthcare provider to ensure there are no contraindications and to have their support.
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I will also require a referral if I suspect there is a mental or physical health issue that needs to be addressed with a licensed professional before I continue hypnosis.
Who I Help
I help entrepreneurs, professionals, introverts, and those struggling with overwhelming emotions or unhealthy patterns to change how they feel, gain control over their behavior, and confidently take action toward achieving their personal and professional goals.
How I Do It
I empower you with tools to interrupt the old patterns, give healthy replacements for coping, and use hypnosis to reprogram new behaviors and beliefs for lasting change.
What's in It for You
Even if you only have 1 session with me, you will walk away with ways to regulate your nervous system, interrupt unwanted patterns, and learn rapid self-hypnosis to change your subconscious programming.