|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is the transcript of my recent interview with Steve Kovacs. You can hear the audio in full here.
SK: We’re talking about a mysterious subject today – hypnosis.
Are you here with me Carmen?
CL: I am yes, hi Steve and hi listeners.
SK: How are you doing, Carmen?
CL: Very well thank you.
SK: Carmen, am I wrong to say that hypnosis – before we get into your credentials and before you tell me and the folks a little bit about you – would you consider, do you think most people think hypnosis is somewhat mysterious?
CL: Yes, they do. And I don’t really know why they think it’s mysterious. Probably because there just isn’t very much information about it out there. But it’s really not as mysterious as most people think, and I will explain that.
SK: Excellent, okay I’m looking forward to the explanation. Now this is Carmen Lynne. She’s from California, I’m talking to her via telephone, I’m in Ohio and we’re broadcasting all of this through New Jersey. Talk about modern technology. But Carmen obviously is not from the States. We talked earlier, I said she’s from across the pond. I’m not going to say anything more about you because I’ll probably botch it up so do me a favor if you’d be kind enough Carmen to tell the folks and me a little bit about you and how you got into hypnotism.
CL: Yes, people very often ask me that. Well, as you can tell I am from England although I live in Redondo Beach California. People say why did you move here. Well I saw the blue sky, and I was like, okay. [LAUGHS] That’s where I want to be. So, I’ve been living here for about 11 years. I actually was in entertainment all my life up until becoming a hypnotherapist a couple of years ago. And that is kind of surprisingly a really good fit. I feel like I can use a lot of the skills that I had as an actress and writer and creative person in my hypnotherapy sessions. So a couple of years ago I was going through a bit of a life transition and a friend of mine was an actress and hypnotherapist and she said to me why don’t you try this. I was looking for something I could do which was more meaningful, something in the healing arts, something where I could help people. But I didn’t want to have to spend ten years or so studying to be an MFT or something like that. So I went to a school called HMI, which stands for Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana, and in my opinion they offer the best education in hypnotherapy available. It’s a whole year of training, and a lot of hypnotherapists can say that they’re certified having done a weekend or a couple of weeks training, which is to my mind kind of a scary thing. But so I did a whole year, and it was a wonderful course. And what I like about that is it’s very thorough and you’re being trained by people who are working professionals, so they can tell you about all their experiences, you can benefit from their knowledge and experience. And then for the second half of the course, at the same time as training, you’re also in what they call clinical residency. So you’re seeing clients under supervision. So you very much feel like you’re not just being thrown out to the wide world, cold as it were, but you’re seeing clients at the same time as being trained and under supervision. So it was wonderful training, I actually graduated almost a year ago now so, I’m still fairly new to this although I do feel very much like this is my absolute vocation, and I feel that I was always a natural and you know, it was something I always should have done really.
SK: Simple question but you know, most people that have heard about hypnosis probably think that they know the answer to this. I thought I did. But tell me, what is hypnosis?
CL: Yes, very good question. [LAUGHS] And also, a lot of people get confused between hypnosis and hypnotherapy, and they are two different things.
SK: I didn’t know that.
CL: Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in a therapeutic context. But hypnosis is something that we all go into, into and out of every single day spontaneously. And that’s why, when someone says to me, I cannot be hypnotized, I say well you have been hypnotized many times. So it’s not true to say that there are people who cannot be hypnotized. It is true to say that we all have a different type and level of suggestibility, which means that some people are better hypnotic subjects you might say, because they’re more suggestible, it’s easier to be able to put them under. But anyone can go under. So what is hypnosis? Well hypnosis is an actual brain state. It’s a brain state where the brain waves slow down – I can’t remember which is which, alpha, beta, delta. Suffice it to say that you do go into a different brain state when you’re in hypnosis.
SK: Would it be fair to say if somebody popped an EEG that you put on your brain, they would actually see a change in brain waves?
CL: Absolutely. So scientifically it’s been proven that something different is happening in the brain when we’re in hypnosis. So it’s not just all your imagination, there is actually something going on. Can you think of when would be the times when we’re spontaneously in hypnosis?
SK: Watching television maybe?
CL: Yes, very good. And in fact, watching television and particularly if you’re watching something that is very emotionally involving for you – a scary movie or an action movie or something that’s emotionally involving. When you go to the movie theater that experience is even more heightened, because everything about it is really causing a hypnotic trance. You’re sitting in a darkened room, you’re looking at huge images that are filling your field of vision, and the sounds and everything are enhanced and it’s very emotional and they’re using music to guide your emotions. So the whole thing is designed really to put you into a hypnotic trance. And of course people who make commercials have known for years the benefits of using people’s subconscious mind to persuade them to do things.
SK: So hypnosis is going into a different mental state?
CL: Exactly and there are other times too when you automatically go in, such as, have you ever driven down the freeway and missed your exit, daydreaming, zoning out?
SK: Oh yes.
CL: That was a state of hypnosis. Your body’s in the car, you’re fully functional and able to take care of driving down the road and if someone cut you off or if there was a noise you would be aware of it, but you’re actually in a state of hypnosis and that’s why sometimes you might miss your exit or you might end up somewhere you didn’t know you wanted to be.
SK: I just did that today. So that is the hypnotic state. Now apparently there are ways to get people into this state, correct? And when you get into that state, are you more suggestible, is that what I’m getting out of this?
CL: Exactly, you’re more suggestible. See, what happens is, do you know how much of the mind is conscious and how much is subconscious?
SK: No idea.
CL: Oh that’s great, I love it when people say that, because they’re always amazed when I tell them the answer. Actually 12% of our mind is conscious which means 88% is subconscious.
SK: So the 88% is kind of driving our boat, so to speak.
CL: Yes, and I have a big picture of an iceberg on my wall in my office, because it’s a great analogy. The tip of the iceberg is our conscious mind and everything under the water that we can’t see that we’re not aware of, is our subconscious mind. So that is exactly why people can make changes using hypnosis that they haven’t been able to, using other things. It’s because if you’re trying to make a change, such as quitting smoking, and you’re only using 12% of your mind and the other 88% for whatever reason is not on board with this whole idea, then guess who’s going to win? The 88%. So what I’m doing is I’m allowing you to get in touch with that 88% and get that 88% on board with making that change that you want to make.
SK: You’ve explained this better than, either I asked the right questions or my money’s on you, you’ve really explained this very fully for me.
CL: Good.
SK: I never really understood that, and as I said in my little talk before I introduced you, I went to a session for smoking, and I never really understood, no one ever explained it to me, that the conscious mind is only 12% of what’s running your ship and the rest is your unconscious mind. So to try to make some changes that you want to make, that your conscious mind even wants to make but is having a difficult time, hypnosis can bring that unconscious mind into play, can help them get on board and become closer to the conscious and there we go, that’s how we get into the therapeutic effects.
CL: Exactly, yes, and as you discovered, it is not necessary even for you to believe in the process or to know how it works for it to actually work. And that’s the cool thing about it. I’ve had a lot of people come in to me and say, well I don’t know if this is going to work, and well I didn’t think I was hypnotized. And then they come back for the next session and they’re like, hey I made these completely different behaviors and I just did all these things differently and I didn’t even know why, it just was like, I don’t even want that cigarette, you know. So that’s very cool how that works.
SK: It was very surprising to me because, well our session – when they have the more mass hypnosis sessions, and I’m sure those aren’t as respected as the one on one, but I’m not going to argue with the one I went to because something worked for me. How long do those generally last? ‘Cause I can’t remember, I’m thinking back, two hours, does that make sense or are they longer than that?
CL: Yes it might have been two hours. I mean I was quite surprised when you said that you had quit smoking after one group session. I would think that’s unusual for someone to be able to do that, but I do some group sessions, but I believe that one on one is of course much more effective, because you’re able to target it specifically to the person.
SK: You know what I noticed, is I think that may have been good for my experience, what might have made it work for me where for my wife it didn’t, was that I made a commitment to let go, and I actually said to myself I’m going to let this man, the hypnotist, let this man, I’m going to listen to everything he says, I’m going to trust him. Now granted I was never out of it, as you know, totally conscious and totally in control of myself, but yet in the same breath I told myself I am going to totally trust what he says and what he suggests that I do. You know what’s funny, during the session, there was somebody walking behind where my wife and I were sitting, and I remember – and I’m an ex policeman so when I hear, I see somebody behind or hear something I will usually look behind me and see is it a bad guy or something to be concerned with, and I told myself consciously let it go. This time he was asking us to really relax on and on, that kind of thing, and I told myself I am just going to let it go and listen to him. Now my wife later told me that she broke her concentration at that time, looked around checked out who was there, put her purse under the chair and then started again. Now I don’t know if that had anything to do with it but I know that I really let myself go. Is that important?
CL: Yes I would say that’s very important. Because you know really it’s the client making the change, and I know you have a question where you’re going to say, can I make someone do something. I cannot make anyone do anything. Because it’s the client, it’s you, the person that wants to make a change who really is in control of whether you make the change or not. All I’m doing is guiding you and giving you tools and techniques to help you, but if you don’t want to take those tools and techniques or if you don’t make the commitment to use the tools and techniques then you’re not going to be helped, you’re not going to make the change. So yeah, your commitment to yourself and your saying to yourself, I’m going to do it this time, I believe that absolutely was what made it positive for you.
SK: Now you said that you were surprised that one session did it for me.
CL: I was surprised that one group session did it for you, yes, that’s fairly unusual that would indicate to me that you are probably…
SK: I’m very stupid.
CL: You’re very stupid, no. [LAUGHS] You’re very suggestible, which would mean that you’re a good hypnotic subject. And you know, it’s not good or bad, it’s just that some people have more resistance to the process. And all that means is that their conscious mind is very active and likes to kind of keep control and grab on and go, “I’m not going to let go” and analyze this or whatever.
SK: That’s exactly what I would have done, but I actually made that, ‘cause that’s, and at that time I was an active policeman. I mean you know, you pretty much have to be in control if you’re going to survive and do a decent job. And I actually told myself, now is the time, I’m going to let go. So I think if anybody is going to or is considering hypnosis, and if they’re a person that maybe likes to keep that control inside them or they want to be more controlling and aren’t that open to somebody else’s suggestibility, if they’re going to go to hypnosis if I can give them any of my experience, let go for that time.
CL: Yes, let go and trust. It’s really all about trust. And absolutely I’ve had clients who it was difficult to help them because they put up all these barriers and resistance to the process, either because they didn’t trust or they didn’t believe I was enough of an authority figure to them. And in fact ironically it’s very difficult, they told us at school and I believe it’s true, it’s very difficult to work with friends. Because your friends see you as, oh you know, good old Carmen who I’ve known for years and she’s a good laugh or whatever. And they don’t see you as this authority figure. And you need to be able to establish that in the client’s mind establish that you are an expert, that you are an authority figure and that you are capable of helping them. They need to be able to believe that in order for you to help them.
SK: What can hypnosis be a help in?
CL: Oh lots of things. So smoking cessation is an obvious one and one that a lot of people know about. Now smoking of course is an addiction. And there are many other addictions. And so I specialize in helping people with all different types of addictions, whether it’s smoking, drugs, alcohol, I haven’t gone into much behavior addictions such as gambling or sex addiction but I know that hypnosis can help with that. I also deal a lot with weight management and to my surprise really people seem to do really well with it. I think just about anyone I have seen, as long as they come and see me for at least six sessions which is my program length, they have all benefited, I’d say 100% of people who’ve come to see me for weight management, they’ve all seen results, i.e. they’ve lost weight, either a little bit or a lot and they’ve continued to lose weight. And then I also, I specialize in helping people with pain and that’s a big one for me, because I work with a medical doctor and he specializes in helping people with pain and addiction to prescription drugs, and those two are very often linked. And I have some great stories of clients who’ve received incredible benefits from hypnosis with pain. And what I love about working with pain is that you can get very immediate results. With weight it’s a little difficult to see the results initially because people are losing one to two pounds a week, not like going on a crash diet where they lose 50 lbs in a week, it’s more of a long term slow process. But with pain I have literally had people come in to the session in agony and leave feeling great, you know, feeling no pain. And to be able to have that kind of effect on someone instantaneously is a huge thrill for me.
SK: Let me play the devil’s advocate here.
CL: Sure.
SK: Is hypnosis really doing this, or are people fooling themselves?
CL: You know I love that question because, my answer to it is, does it matter? [LAUGHS]
SK: That’s a good one, that’s right, that pain stops, does it really matter if…?
CL: Right, does it matter why it stopped? It stopped. You know, it’s all coming from the brain. So if somebody comes to me and they say well I had this surgery five years ago and supposedly it helped me but I’m still feeling the pain, I know that pain is not a warning signal from the body, so it’s okay. They’ve still got this alarm bell going off from the brain and they don’t need the alarm bell to be going off at level 10 24/7. As long as they are aware that there’s an issue and they’re dealing with the issue they don’t need to have so much pain that their life is unmanageable. So if I can help them to use their own inner healing to be able to reduce that pain down to level 1 where it’s just on the threshold of their awareness, who cares who’s doing it or how it’s being done? You know, it’s helping, that’s my response.
SK: What’s interesting, you mentioned that you work hand in hand with a medical doctor?
CL: I do.
SK: That’s interesting and some psychiatrists utilize hypnotherapy also, don’t they?
CL: Some do, yes, and I wish more would. Because a lot of times psychiatrists will just resort to giving out drugs without actually really looking in more depth into the person’s issues.
SK: The reason I bring that up is, I want to end this part of our session at least to the point where hypnosis, we’ve shown that it is real. I don’t have a horse in this race, you’ve shown me that it’s real. Psychiatrists do it, you work with a medical doctor, you’ve seen with your own two eyes, you’ve seen pain dissipate, you’ve seen weight loss. So I think we’ve all learned, solidified for us that hypnosis is not a magical trick, it is a real thing and it works, right?
CL: Right, absolutely it works.
SK: I’m going to mention your website. www.carmentrance.com
CL: Please do check out my website ‘cause there’s a lot of great information there, about what I do and about hypnotherapy in general.
SK: Carmen, are you a hypnotherapist?
CL: I’m a hypnotherapist, actually not a hypnotist. The difference between a hypnotherapist and a hypnotist, is a hypnotist is generally a stage hypnotist or does it for entertainment, that’s a little different to what I do.
SK: Is that real too then? I’ve never seen this but I heard some of these stage hypnotists can make people walk like chickens and do all these crazy things?
CL: It’s real, yeah, but it’s doing something for a different purpose and in a slightly different manner. And what they do, the stage hypnotist, they will be able to scan the audience and they’ll have ways to discover which members of the audience are going to be the most suggestible. You see there’s about 5% of the population who are what we call natural somnambulists, which means that they will go into trance almost instantly very easily. They’re just like ready, they’re just like, yeah, put me under.
SK: Have you personally had people like that?
CL: Oh sure. Yes and what I do, in my first session after I’ve talked to the client for a bit I will ask them some questions and I’ll do some little tests which will help me to discover what type and level of suggestible they are, and I have seen a few somnambulists. So that’s what the stage hypnotist will do, he will pick out the somnambulists, he will choose them, he will get them up on stage and he or she will therefore be able to create these fun things for them to do.
SK: Interesting, I learned a little bit about that too. So they can read the person that is the easier person that they don’t have to fight to get them into the “trance”. Is that a correct term, trance?
CL: Yeah, well I use the term trance and not everybody does, some people don’t think it’s the best term to use. I mean I obviously use it and I have it on my website. It’s just another way of saying it basically.
SK: You have mentioned that you deal with addictive problems, alcohol, drugs. So somebody that is addicted to pain killers as an example, might call you up, might hop on your website and say, can you help me? And do you offer, do you mention, suggest, a physician for them to see a medical doctor first or in conjunction with you?
CL: Well I like them to see a medical doctor in conjunction with me. Usually the vast majority of people I see for pain I see under the auspices of the medical doctor that I work with, so they’re already part of his program, I’m part of his program. So he will be treating them in his own way and he also has a nutritionist, acupuncturist and so I’m just a part of the gamut of things that he does. And I like to work that way because then obviously all these other experts with their own areas of expertise can bring that to it. If someone comes to me individually or privately, most of the time, nine times out of ten they’re already working with some kind of physician or a psychiatrist. If they’re not I may ask for a medical referral. Because hypnotherapy is described as vocational and avocational self improvement, so anything beyond that we really shouldn’t be getting involved in unless it’s with a medical, a referral from a licensed medical professional.
SK: Can you do this over the telephone?
CL: Yes I can actually. And in fact we just started using a video phone, which is fun.
SK: So someone could call you and say I heard you on the Kovacs perspective or word of mouth, but I’m in Montana. And you can offer your services to them?
CL: Absolutely, and in fact I know hypnotherapists who do 100% phone hypnotherapy, and I know that’s absolutely possible and a great way to go. Right now I only have a few phone clients but I would be very happy to have more. Because there are people out there who I know maybe they’re living somewhere where they don’t have access to a local hypnotherapist that they can go and see. So I would be able to give them the benefits of my service. And also, I can do it from home, I don’t have to rent an office space or anything like that, so it’s pretty convenient.
SK: Excellent, I wasn’t sure of that. Some people I’ve got to believe would maybe even feel more comfortable on the phone, or what do you think?
CL: Sure there might be some privacy issues that some people feel a little bit more comfortable being on the phone. And then of course there are people who can’t physically leave the house, maybe they have a physical problem where they’re bedridden, or perhaps they’re agoraphobic for example and they can’t leave the house. So it’s just, it makes it possible for me to spread the net a little wider, to be able to help some other types of people.
SK: Can hypnosis be harmful?
CL: I don’t see how it could really. Because as I’ve said before, I’m not making the client do something that they wouldn’t otherwise want to do. I’m not going to make them do something that they would have a moral inhibition about doing, or something that would be bad for them. Because as I’ve said before, it’s not me that’s in control it’s actually the client that’s in control. I like to say that I’m giving you access to the power of your own subconscious mind.
SK: Excellent, that makes total sense, that really crystallizes it for me. Do you have any stories of people that this stuff has worked on?
CL: Yes I have. A great story: a lady came to me a few months ago now, she came to me for weight, she wanted to lose about 50 pounds and she was an older lady. And very religious, and that’s actually unusual because a lot of times people who are Christian and stuff they think hypnosis is a little to weird. She came for weight and she had a great attitude about it. And first session I said what’s going on and she said, well I’m on a lot of medications for various things and she brought out this sheet of paper and the whole sheet of paper was full of all the medications she was taking, like a complete pharmacy all herself, all these different drugs she was taking. So I’m like okay fine. So she told me that she had all this pain and she’d had it for about 20 years and the reason that she found it difficult to lose weight was because she had such pain she didn’t like to exercise. So I showed her some tips and techniques, I took her on a guided imagery journey that I often do for pain. I think that was in our second session. The third session she comes back to me and she says, I have the most amazing thing to tell you. I said, what? She said, guess what, this whole last week all I have taken is one Tylenol – all week. And she said, my pain which I’ve had for 20 years, has now gone down from level 8 or so down to level 1, and I do not need to take pain killers any more.
SK: And how many sessions was this?
CL: That was our third session she’s telling me that. So even though I think she, for whatever reason, she was just ready to let go of that pain. Like you were ready to let go of smoking. You know, she was ready, she had made that inner commitment to herself, and she worked very well.
SK: So if you make that inner commitment a good hypnotherapist can help you, can help the other part of you that’s not so easily accessible to most of us, you bring that together, those two things correct?
CL: Exactly, yes, that’s a good way of putting it.
SK: So did she continue with her sessions with you?
CL: Yes we were on a program of six and she finished the program. Every time she came in, she was like, I’ve lost two pounds last week or three pounds or whatever, she kept losing the weight, and she maintained this pain free existence. Now she exercises. And this is a lady in her 60’s, you know. So she exercises every day and she just doesn’t have that pain issue any more. It’s wonderful, it’s a transformation. Now she’s just keeping on a maintenance program with me now where she comes in every few months.
SK: I was going to ask you that. For me, I quit smoking, I feel that I’ll never smoke again, it’s just something I know. But do you have clients that sometimes you feel comfortable with that they’re, they beat, let’s say someone comes to you for smoking, do you have clients that come to you to quit smoking?
CL: Yes.
SK: Do you keep them on a maintenance kind of thing? Let’s say you have as an example you mentioned six sessions earlier. You do six sessions the person has quit, what do you do at that point with that client?
CL: Yes, usually with smoking I’ll do two to six sessions depending how many they smoke how long they’ve smoked for. And then at the end of the program I’ll give them a CD for reinforcement, daily reinforcement for as long as they need. And then I’ll say to them just keep me updated on your progress and if you want to come back any time, I’m here kind of thing. I haven’t had anyone who has relapsed and come back to me in the smoking. For the weight it’s a little bit different because it’s a much more of a long-term process, because usually they’re losing one to two pounds a week and so it’s going to maybe take a year for them to get to their goal weight. And that’s why a maintenance program is a little bit more something that we want to do because if it’s going to take them a year to get to their goal weight I want to be keeping in touch with them through that year to see how they’re doing and see if they need a bit of a top up. Sometimes people say “I want a top up” [LAUGHS] it’s worn off.
SK: Can things wear off? As an example, for me, what do you think Carmen? It’s been six years, is that ingrained in my unconscious? Would you guess that it’s ingrained now that I don’t want to smoke?
CL: I don’t want to say that everyone behaves the same way because they don’t. And, like my boyfriend quit cold turkey ten years ago. So it might be that one of these days something would happen where you’d have some major stress that was very unusual and you might have the desire to smoke. Because that’s what usually happens, if someone’s going to relapse it’s because of some major stress that isn’t normal that comes into their life all of a sudden. So, there’s a possibility, there’s always a possibility of relapse. But that’s depending on you. And if your subconscious mind is so strongly of the conviction that you don’t want to smoke, that you want to maintain this thing of being an ex smoker for whatever reason, then maybe even an extreme stress wouldn’t make you want to go back to smoking.
SK: Very well explained.
CL: What I tend to do and which might not have happened with you in your group session, I don’t know. But what I tend to do to try to alleviate that potential problem is to find ways in which a person can have a replacement behavior. So that if a stressor comes into their life they have a different tool to cope with it. So like, they used to use cigarettes to cope with the stress, but now they have this other tool, whatever it may be. Deep breathing, meditation, doing something creative, whatever it is.
SK: Now if your boyfriend ever goes off the wagon so to speak, then you better get him in a trance, right?
CL: Absolutely, well I always say to him, I’ve got you hypnotized all the time. [LAUGHS]
SK: Now I bet every now and then he goes, I wonder if she’s right. That’s pretty good. What are the main things people come, main areas that people need help in that come to hypnotists, or come to you?
CL: So the main three that I deal with would be addictions including smoking, pain and weight. And then I also very often see people for kind of generalized stress. You know, there’s lots of different ways that stress can manifest; fear and anxiety, you know people have certain fears and phobias about things like special, specific fears and phobias, fear or flying or fear of spiders or whatever it may be. Or like people sometimes come to me for like building up their confidence whether it’s in a sports enhancement type of thing or performance. Of course, as an ex actress I think that I can certainly help with that. And then I do deal a lot with relationships and that’s something I love to work with people on, although I’m not licensed to work as a couples therapist I love to help people to just to enhance their ability to communicate with their partner and stuff like that.
SK: But that’s something you don’t do presently, couples therapy?
CL: No because I’m not licensed to do couples therapy. But I love to work with both of them, well not necessarily both of them, but somebody who either is experiencing difficulties communicating with their partner or they’re trying to bring somebody into their life.
SK: Have you seen successes with dealing with phobias also?
CL: Let me think. I don’t think I personally have dealt with phobias. Just trying to scour my memory banks here.
SK: But obviously hypnosis works for that too.
CL: But it does, yeah, it absolutely works for it, yes.
SK: How about self hypnosis? Is that a real thing?
CL: Yeah sure that’s real too. The only difference really with self hypnosis is that you’re doing it to yourself and therefore it might not be quite as powerful, because people tend to subconsciously believe an authority figure. You know like I was saying before it’s hard to work with your friends, because they don’t really see you as an authority. Well by the same token it’s kind of hard to believe what you say to yourself, you know. Like if you tell yourself, I’m going to do this and that, it might be harder for you to believe it than if some authority figure with whom you invest a certain kind of power you know, oh this person must know because they’re an expert, then it’s easier for you subconsciously to believe in them. If that makes sense.
SK: Yeah it does. When I heard the term self hypnosis to me that just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. From the little I knew of hypnosis it just didn’t make sense. If I was going to go the route of hypnosis I think I’d want to go to a professional. And what got me about what you said, and I did a little research on you before I called you, is that the school that you went to sounds like one heck of an educational institution for hypnosis. It’s a one year program?
CL: Exactly I mean I investigated lots of different schools when I was thinking of becoming a hypnotherapist and I really believe that HMI offers the best training out there. I don’t think there’s another school that offers a whole year; they’ve been going since the 70’s so 50 years or so. And what I also love about them is of course it was started by a hypnotherapist, Dr. John Kappas in the 70’s and now his son runs it, and every single teacher there (and there’s about 10-20 teachers that you get the benefit of) every one of them is a working professional. And what’s cool about that is they all have a very different style and so you can see, you can experience the fact that every hypnotherapist has their own unique style. And so you know that you can kind of make it your own, in a way. The way I approach hypnotherapy is going to be very different from the way another person approaches it. I tend to have a very empathetic nurturing type of style if you like, fits my personality. Another hypnotherapist might be more confrontational and that’s the way they work. And it doesn’t matter. And that’s why I like to offer people to come and see me for one session to see if we’re a good fit, to see if we’re a good match before working together.
SK: Sure. And so how does someone become a hypnotist or hypnotherapist? Obviously you went to what it seems to me is the best educational institution for this. But didn’t you say that there’s some people, there’s easy ways to quote unquote become a hypnotherapist, which are questionable?
CL: Yes and I think that’s a bit scary myself because I think even with a year of education, I feel like it’s an awesome responsibility to be helping people by talking to their subconscious mind and that therefore you need to be as trained as you possibly can. However, because – I don’t know what it’s like in Ohio and other states – but here in California, there’s no such thing as a licensed hypnotherapist, it’s not licensed in the State of California. And so all you can get is certified and in order to get certified you have to be trained by an approved institution but you can theoretically get certified after a weekend. And so I would suggest that anyone who is looking to hire a hypnotherapist, that they really check the credentials very thoroughly and they make sure that the person went to a really good school and they didn’t just do a weekend.
SK: Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re going to go to a hypnotherapist, first of all let me recommend Carmen because she’s my new friend here and obviously knows what she’s talking about. But if you’re from Arizona or New Guinea or wherever and you want to use a therapist near you and you want to be one on one, you want to look into that person’s credentials. This weekend thing is scary to me too. Did you say a weekend?
CL: Yes, you can get certified. And so anyone looking for a hypnotherapist in your area, I would suggest the first thing you do is go to www.hypnosis.edu, that’s the HMI website, because they will have a list of all their grad who are now all over the country. And they graduate about 100 people a year.
SK: Excellent, that’s a great bit of advice. That’s important. You don’t want to go to somebody and you’ve got an addiction problem and you want to be helped and here you find out that a person took, you can probably get certified online, am I right?
CL: Yes, you probably could.
SK: So go to carmentrance.com and if you’re considering using a hypnotherapist. So what I found is, it’s real, it’s not mumbo jumbo, it’s not a magician, it’s not hiding things up your sleeve so it really works. It can help with a gamut of problems, from anxiety, phobias, pain – never would have guessed it would help pain. You’ve seen that with your own experience. Pain dissipate or even go away?
CL: Yes, completely. I think it was my second ever client. She actually came to me for test anxiety initially. And then we discovered that partly the reason she had test anxiety was because she was just a young girl in her early 30’s, had a very rare condition in her uterus and was in extreme pain most of the time. I said what level from one to ten with ten being the worst are you at most of the time? Most of the time I’m about eight, she says. This is this young girl, right? And it just was very sad to me that she was having to go through that. So after her third session I believe it was, she said you know what, now my pain is no more than level one or two, I’m completely able to function and it’s like you’ve given me my life back. Hearing stories that like just makes you feel so good.
SK: It’s got to make you feel so good, you’ve picked the right vocation. I hope I never have pain, but guess who I’m going to call if I feel some pain, after I see my doctor, you might be hearing my voice one more time.
So ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to give you Carmen’s information one more time. What I want everybody to know is that, it’s real, it can help. We’ve heard it, we’ve seen it. Carmen’s enlightened us. So if you have some issues feel free to call Carmen. You’d accept anybody’s call and you’d be more than happy to talk to anyone, wouldn’t you?
CL: Absolutely I would, yes. I feel I’m a bit on a mission to educate people about what a great thing this is, to be able to help people.
SK: I’m glad your path and my path met. Who knows why. You did a great job, you’re an excellent guest, you’re enlightening to me and I’m sure the people listening. I want to thank you, I hope I see you one day not professionally because of pain but hopefully if I’m in California I’ll look you up.
|
|
|
|