Question 1

What happens if something you tell me conflicts with the advice of my doctor?

Accepted Answer

You must ALWAYS follow the advice of your doctor. Hypnotherapy is considered to be an "adjunct" therapy. That is, it is designed to compliment the services of your doctor or mental health advisor, not overrule them.

If you become aware of a conflict, inform me right away so that I can correct my approach to better align with the wishes of your doctor or even ask to speak with your doctor to make sure we are "on the same page".

The instructions of a medical doctor or mental health professional must always override those of your hypnotherapist, up to and including the discontinuation of the use of hypnosis.

Question 2

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?

Accepted Answer

Too smart, focused, intelligent, imaginative, in control, skeptical, and so on...

We ALL think that. Trust me, it wasn't true for me, it hasn't been true in any of the hundreds of times I've heard it and it's not true for you either.

Question 3

Does everyone respond to hypnotherapy?

Accepted Answer

Anyone with even average intelligence and a bit of imagination can be hypnotized to one degree or another. Once hypnotized, if the therapist knows what they are doing, therapy can be conducted in a way that works best for the client.

There is a range of susceptibility to both hypnosis and hypnotherapy, but in general, "yes", virtually everyone will respond. In some cases, a person may be only capable of only light levels of hypnotic trance, but the good news is that most therapies can be conducted at even Stage 1 on Arons Scale of Hypnotic Depth.

Hypnosis almost always requires a willing participant. If you actively resist or work to prevent trance, then you would be the exception to this. You can actively resist being hypnotized and there is virtually nothing I could do about it.

Question 4

hat happens if "nature calls" while I am hypnotized?

Accepted Answer

Subtitled: "I won't have an accident, will I?"

Okay, don't laugh. It's a common question and face it, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Most importantly, no, you will NOT have an "accident". Unless you are prone to accidents already either while you are awake or when you are sleeping, in which case PLEASE mention that to your hypnotist in advance, all the normal warning systems remain in effect. You will feel all the normal symptoms and you won't ignore them to the point of an accident.

If you feel it coming and it's to the point or even beyond the point where it's distracting or is interfering with your ability to stay focused, simply tell your hypnotist you need a break, using whatever words you are most comfortable using. Your hypnotist will bring you up so that you can take care of the problem. When you return, you will go back under quickly and in all likelihood, even deeper than you were.

Relax, it happens and it's not a big deal.

Question 5

Do you offer a guarantee?

Accepted Answer

No. Neither do most other healthcare providers. Your trainer won't, your weight loss advisor won't and so on.

In hypnosis, I play a navigator role. I call out directions and if you want to get where we are going, you follow them. I'm good at giving directions that follow a route that you will approve of. But if you choose not to follow my directions, I simply can't guarantee where you are going to end up.

This doesn't apply so much to session work, done while we are together, but virtually every type of hypnotherapy comes with homework. For example; If I recommend that you keep a regular bedtime to assist with sleep improvement and stress reduction, then you work on your laptop in bed until the wee hours of the morning, I can't promise results.

With that said, I have really good success rates and the odds are that if I accept you as a client, it's because I am confident I can help you meet your goals and I believe you are going to do the work. I generally have a client waiting list and can't take clients I don't expect to succeed.

I WANT you to succeed and I will work with you to make it happen. I will even fire you as a client if I sense that you aren't doing your part. But I can't offer a "money back guarantee" like a retail store.

The one exception would be if for some reason I could not get you to go into trance during our first session. I would, of course, refund your money, since I had not done my part. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET.

Question 6

What should I look for in a hypnotherapist?

Accepted Answer

That's a question that is so important that I dedicated an entire page to it.

Please see the Choosing a Hypnotherapist page.

Question 7

What if the hypnotherapist makes a suggestion I don't like?

Accepted Answer

As a rule, the content of a session has been discussed in advance, but it can happen where the hypnotherapist is using imagery you aren't seeing or don't like.

In most cases, if the hypnotherapist keeps saying "green" and you are seeing "blue", you will simply see blue and go on. For most things, the exactness of the image is not the point. If you find it jarring or the hypnotherapist is using an image you can't deal with, you will simply open your eyes and correct what is being said.

I had one client who didn't reveal a phobia to me. With her in a trance, I was using a flock of birds moving in formation in the sky as an image. She opened her eyes and asked if could skip the birds because birds are "too pecky". I changed images and she was back under, more deeply than before.

Question 8

Is "deep" hypnosis required for therapy to work?

Accepted Answer

No. Most change work can be done at even the preliminary levels of hypnosis.

As long as the subconscious is open to suggestion, work can proceed and that happens in even the lightest trances.

You can see one system for measuring trance depth on my "Arons Scale" page.

Question 9

Can you diagnose my mental health or conduct psychotherapy?

Accepted Answer

No. Washington prohibits diagnosis and psychotherapy by hypnotherapists.

As a hypnotherapist, I am NOT credentialed to diagnose mental disorders or to conduct psychotherapy as defined in WAC 246-810-010.

"Psychotherapy" means the practice of counseling using diagnosis of mental disorders according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the development of treatment plans for counseling based on diagnosis of mental disorders in accordance with established practice standards."

I can refer you out if needed, but these things are not particularly useful in the practice of Subconscious Behaviorism or Hypnotherapy anyway.

Question 10

Will I give away all my secrets?

Accepted Answer

In many sessions, the client doesn't even speak. In those where the client speaks, they won't tell me anything they wouldn't have told me before the session.

The military actually invested a ton of money to see if hypnosis could be used in interrogation. As it turns out, it's useless for that application. The "client" can come out of it any time they want and they won't reveal anything. Not a single thing.

You family secrets, the skeletons in the closet and the access code for your debit card will remain in your head, safely out of reach.