Question 1

Is hypnosis like sleep or being unconscious?

Accepted Answer

Hypnotists commonly use the word "sleep" to induce hypnosis and during hypnosis to deepen the state, but hypnosis is not like sleep or unconsciousness.

In hypnosis, you are aware of what is going on around you, you are responsive to outside stimuli and you can control how things proceed. If you have ever looked into "[lucid dreaming](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream)", some people describe it and hypnosis as being a similar state.

Question 2

What is hypnosis?

Accepted Answer

Hypnosis is a focus and imagination. Usually, relaxation is part of the clinical experience, but it's really a secondary benefit.

The Scottish surgeon James Braid coined the term "hypnotism", then later he sought to change the name to ""monoideism"", but the name had already caught on. He changed his mind on the name because as he researched it, he found that "hypnosis" had a lot less to do with "hypno" (Greek for "sleep") than it did with focus.

In a hypnotic trance, the noise in your mind stops and you are able to focus with crystalline clarity on the voice of the hypnotist and the suggestions being made.

Question 3

Where can I find a list of things that you specialize in?

Accepted Answer

Start with the "[Services](https://hypnotechs.com/services/)" page and go from there. It's not a comprehensive list, but it will get you started. If you don't see what you are looking for, feel free to send me an email.

The Services page includes links to more detailed pages about:

Sleep & Stress
Sports Performance
Body Image
Anxiety, Fears & Phobias
Pain Management
General Hypnosis
Childbirth
Trauma & PTSD
Immune Disorders
Pre & Post Surgery
Stage Hypnosis
Smoking Cessation
Weight Loss
Golf
Mind Massage

Question 4

Can someone hypnotize you without you knowing?

Accepted Answer

Yes, no, maybe. I am sorry to start out that way, but it's really tue. Give ma chance to explain.

The problem really lies with the definition of hypnosis.

There's what I do in my office, where there's a recognized "induction" to create an environment where hypnosis can happen. Then using my training, I use certain techniques to advance that state until you enter into and remain in the state that we call "trance", which is the working space of hypnosis.  Think of it as kind of like "the construct" that Morpheus teaches Neo to use in The Matrix. It's big, infinite really, and we can fill it with pretty much anything we can imagine.  I think we can all agree that is "hypnosis".

However, imagine that you are tired, after a long day of holiday shopping and you are looking for that one last, perfect, gift. You are running out of time, the mall is closing soon when you encounter the nicest salesperson you have ever met. She seems super knowledgeable and she really relates to your dilemma. She's got some great suggestions and she gets you to imagine the scene when you give the gift she has to offer. She describes the joy in face of the person you are giving it to and she tells you a story about how she once got something just as special and how she still cherishes it and thinks goo things about he person who gave it to her. You fine yourself buying what she has to offer, though it's not something you had even thought of before you encountered her.

Were you hypnotized by her? I've had sales training. Heck, I have conducted sales training and I have to say that many of the techniques are mighty close to some of the training I have in hypnosis.  Some people call this "waking hypnosis" or "covert hypnosis".

With that in mind, yes, if you consider influencing you to be part of the definition of "hypnosis", the you are influenced or "hypnotized" by advertisements, media, friends and even salespeople all the time.

Question 5

What is "Kappasinian" hypnotherapy?

Accepted Answer

John Kappas attained his orientation to hypnosis from stage practice whose exponents assumed that only half the population could be hypnotized. Through practical experience, Kappas realized that direct suggestion was resisted by the half of the population that is left-brain dominant (analytical). This led Kappas into a lifetime of study of suggestibility, drawing upon personal experience treating tens of thousands of clients. Those cases covered both behavioral and psychological disorders. In recorded training seminars from the seventies, Kappas frequently stated that psychosis was due to hypersuggestibility - a chronic state of hypnosis - that makes the client unable to distinguish real and imaginary experiences.

The dominant factor in suggestibility is brain bilaterality (left/right dominance, generating respectively the "Emotional" and "Physical" patterns of behavior). Kappas saw hemispheric dominance as arising from nurturance, with natural complementarity arising between mother and infant. Preferential laterality carries through to our mature relationships, where we seek similar friends but complementary partnerships. Unfortunately, dysfunctional partnerships tend to exacerbate laterality, leading to alienation. Extending these insights to sexual behavior, Kappas was a successful marital therapist.

Kappas characterized hypnosis as a state of mind - our ideal learning state. Kappasinian therapy is built upon theories of personality development, most respectably the Ericksons' Stages of Development. The stages are extended with accessible theories of the subconscious and mind-body syndromes. These elements are introduced in dialog to increase client receptivity to suggestion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotherapy

Question 6

What is "Ericksonian" hypnotherapy?

Accepted Answer

In the 1950s, Milton H. Erickson developed a radically different approach to hypnotism, which has subsequently become known as "Ericksonian hypnotherapy" or "Neo-Ericksonian hypnotherapy." Given that dysfunctional behaviors are defined by social tension, Erickson coopted the subject's behavior to establish rapport, a strategy he termed "utilization." Once rapport was established, he made use of an informal conversational approach to direct awareness. His methods included complex language patterns and client-specific therapeutic strategies (reflecting the nature of utilization). This divergence from tradition led some, including Andre Weitzenhoffer, to dispute whether Erickson was right to label his approach "hypnosis" at all. Erickson's foundational paper, however, considers hypnosis as a mental state in which specific types of "work" may be done, rather than a technique of induction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnotherapy

Question 7

What if I want the hypnosis to be over?

Accepted Answer

At any time, you can simply open your eyes and be done. Simply tell me that you don't think hypnosis is for you and I will count you out of it to make sure you are fully awake. That is your call and I won't be offended.

You can also say to yourself, out loud or in your head "One, Two, Three, Four, Five! Eyes Open! Wide Awake!" and you will end the session. I can do very little to keep you hypnotized if you don't want to be and I wouldn't anyway. If you are done, I will help you wake up.

Question 8

Do you offer sessions by phone or online with Skype or something similar?

Accepted Answer

I do not.

I know that many now offer an online version of hypnotherapy, but I find that I have the greatest success with old-fashioned person-to-person contact.

I'm trained in body language, micro-expressions and more and I find that having my client right there in the room with me provides the best experience and results. Online is not the hypnotherapy experience I would want to receive, so I don't offer it to my clients either.

On top of that, I worry about poor connection quality and getting disconnected as well.

Recently questions about what the rules are in various jurisdictions and whether the jurisdiction I am in or the one the distant client is in is the one that matters have arisen, that make me even more skeptical of online hypnotherapy.

Question 9

Do you accept everyone as a new client?

Accepted Answer

Some situations require that we decline to work with certain people from time to time. Those reasons may include, but are not limited to:

A required but missing physician or mental health provider referral.
 	A declined referral request from a physician or mental health provider.
 	The opinion of your hypnotherapist is that you are not a good candidate for hypnosis.
 	The opinion of your hypnotherapist is that you are not a good match for Hypnotechs.

If you have any doubt, please contact us to discuss your situation before booking.

If during your first appointment it is determined that we will not be able to accept you as a new client, your payment will be refunded in full and subsequent sessions canceled.

Unfortunately, we must reserve the right to refuse or discontinue service at any time, at our sole discretion.

Question 10

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the first session going to be like?

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?