FAQ

Hypnosis refers to a trance-like, or hypnotic, state. It's a completely natural phenomenon that we all experience daily. Think of those moments:

The morning fog: Just waking up, your mind still hazy, daydreams lingering.

Highway autopilot: Deep in thought while driving, suddenly realizing you missed an exit.

Creative immersion: Losing track of time while painting, writing, or absorbed in any activity.

Relaxed bliss: Basking on a beach or during a massage, letting worries melt away.

These are all examples of light hypnotic states. Simply put, they are shifts in consciousness where your critical mind takes a backseat, allowing your subconscious mind to take center stage. This subconscious mind holds immense potential.

Unlike your critical mind, the subconscious mind operates freely from rigid beliefs and habitual patterns.

A treasure trove of insights: Accessing it can unlock the "why" behind certain behaviors and guide positive change.

A wellspring of strength and growth: By tapping into its resources, we can discover immense motivation and personal development.

Imagine your subconscious mind as a powerful ally. Through hypnosis, we can harness its potential for healing, personal growth, and achieving our goals. So, the next time you daydream, get lost in a book, or simply relax, remember: you're experiencing a natural form of hypnosis, and within you lies untapped potential waiting to be explored.

Hypnotherapy unlocks the power of the subconscious mind to help clients achieve their desired changes.

By guiding them into a relaxed state, the hypnotherapist uses proven techniques to bypass the critical mind. With the client's consent, they plant suggestions in language the subconscious understands, replacing old patterns with new, more desirable ones. This can be a powerful and potentially faster way to break habits and create positive change.

Rei Ki (Reiki) means “Universal Life Force Energy” in Japanese. Reiki is an ancient form of energy healing usually involving some sort of light touch or a hovering of the practitioner’s hands above the client, in their energy field. A person trained and attuned in delivering Reiki energy is using their hands to gather and focus the life force energy to their client in order to help effect healing. The hands are often felt by the recipient as being warm or causing mild tingling or other sensations. The idea is that Reiki has a Divine intelligence and flows first to the area(s) of the recipient most in need of balance or healing at the time. .Sometimes immediately and at others over a period of time, this method may help unblock stuck or stagnant energy, usually resulting in release of pent-up emotion, and/or relief of physical symptoms. While it is widely believed to be a Spiritual healing practice, with the energy emanating from Divine Source, Reiki has no religious connotations. One need not have any particular spiritual or religious beliefs– indeed, any belief system at all– in order to experience the gentle benefits of Reiki. Reiki has been steadily gaining acceptance in the Western world over the past decades. In some countries it is even widely employed as a complementary health practice in hospital systems.

Deep S.E.A. ™ stands for Deep State Energetic Alignment. It is my experience that using additional techniques such as Reiki therapeutic touch allows the therapist to help the client reach a Deeper State of relaxation more quickly, allowing for more time for the actual hypnosis to take place. In addition, the reiki Energy delivered throughout the session often brings about heightened feelings of peace and well being. Physical, mental, and emotional healing of related or unrelated issues has also been known to occur. Alignment is when the Physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental aspect of the client are assisted into better balance, and more open communication between the conscious and subconscious minds is facilitated, as a result of the above method, often yielding profound results.

Note: Deep S.E.A. Hypnosis is appropriate for most types of the therapeutic sessions. It can involve hovering of hands above the body, or occasional or constant light touch on the head, arms, upper chest, mid-abdomen, or legs. It’s done fully clothed, and always with the prior consent of the client. It is not necessary in order to still achieve great results and when a client prefers, I’m always happy to simply do traditional hypnotherapy instead.

We will have already spoken by phone and you will have filled out some paperwork at home and sent it in, which I will have reviewed.

For new clients, the first experience will always be spread out between two sessions:

During our initial in-person session, about 50 minutes long, we will talk in depth, formulating a plan for our second session, during which most of the work will be done. We will end the first session with a brief hypnotic journey that will prepare you for the second session.

During the second session, we will talk briefly and then go right into inducing the hypnotic state, and our work. This visit lasts between 60 and 75 minutes. The first two visits will always be done in person, in my Santa Rosa (Larkfield area) office. In rare cases, they may be done in your home, by prior arrangement. Subsequent sessions with an established client (if necessary or desired for the same issue, or for a different issue) may be done in either in person or via zoom, depending on availability and client preference.

Specialized sessions such as group hypnotherapy, hypnotherapy for weight reduction, smoking cessation, and hypno-birth, will be structured differently. See specialized packages for more information.

You will be seated in a comfortable reclining chair in a private, tranquil space. Specialized sessions such as group hypnotherapy, hypnotherapy for weight reduction, smoking cessation, and hypno-birth, will be structured differently. See specialized packages for more information.

Every person and every session can be different; your trance state may be light or deep. It may feel like simple relaxation all the way to light sleep. However, you’ll be able to use your voice at any time, and, while you are in that state, you will always in complete control of your actions. Time is often experienced differently. You may have more recall of memories, or experience dream-like sounds images, while retaining the sense of being present in the room. You may experience warmth and tingling or other mild sensations at the area my hands are on or near. The overwhelming majority of clients report a deep sense of tranquility and well-being. You will be kept safe and comfortable at all times, and your confidentiality and privacy will be fully protected.

Wear comfortable clothing. Come neither too hungry nor too full. Spend some time beforehand clarifying your reasons for wanting the hypnotherapy….what are your motivators?

After hypnotherapy, most people report feeling as if they just had a nice nap. However, on occasion you may feel emotional or a bit tired. If you suffer from insomnia or sleep apnea, this may be more pronounced (please advise me beforehand if this is the case!). In rare cases, it’s possible to experience some brief mild lightheadedness. Get up and move about slowly and don’t drive until you are sure you feel completely normal. Be sure to build in a little transition time following your appt just in case you need it to relax in your car before driving, or hydrate and walk around a bit. It’s also important to hydrate following any emotional or energetic work, and you’ll be offered water following your session. You may experience cold-like or mild GI symptoms for a day after any intense energetic or emotional clearing. Treat yourself gently after a session, taking rest, good nutrition and adequate fluids as needed. Be on the lookout for changes- likely the desired ones or possibly bonus unexpected ones– either in the first hours or over the next several days. Some deep-rooted issues may take more than the initial session to resolve more fully.

The first and second sessions should be no more than a week or two apart. Specialized package sessions should be weekly.