Conversations with Professional Hypnotists

What Are Common Obstacles That Hypnotists Must Conquer?

Being a hypnotist can be extremely rewarding. Comedy stage hypnotists bring great joy and laughter to audiences worldwide. Clinical hypnotists and hypnotherapists have the ability to help someone drastically change their life for the better. But like all professions, there are some drawbacks and barriers that keep us hypnotists from helping more people.

While some hypnotists refuse to acknowledge that there are any obstacles in our industry, a negative public perception of hypnosis cannot be denied.

Hypnotist David Bryan Smith argues that legitimacy is a hypnotist’s greatest obstacle. “Hypnosis has the unique dual role as both a healing art and entertainment. Because it is looked at as both, it is also looked at as neither. How can something entertaining be healing and how can something healing be entertaining? Hypnosis is lumped in with new age BS.”

Certified Hypnotherapist Angie J. Hernandez agrees, “The biggest obstacle as hypnotists is public perception. If a person has heard of hypnosis, they largely know it as entertainment. The general public does not know it’s health benefits.”

Another obstacle that creeps into even the best hypnotist’s reputation is when they’re grouped in with a negligent or unqualified hypnotist. There are countless charlatan hacks in the hypnosis world that leave a stain of distrust in the public’s perception of hypnosis.

Certified Hypnotherapist and Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Michael Chatterton, discusses his personal experiences with people that felt duped or swindled by a traveling hypnotist.

“Our greatest obstacle is derived from what I like to call ‘snake oil salesmen.’ A snake oil salesman defines incompetent hypnotists who are interested in money but not results. I can’t even count the number of stories about hypnotists who advertise big ‘quit smoking seminars’ or ‘weight loss seminars.’ They come into town, do one 1-hour group for maybe 50 or more people charging more per person than you’d expect to pay for a private session; sell a bunch of tapes or CD’s; and then vanishes down the road. When the attendee tries to get the free reinforcement session that was promised, the telephone number has been disconnected. Goodbye credibility when you have to follow an act like that.

Gradually, as my reputation for getting results grew I started getting people who talked about the expensive failures they had experienced. It wasn’t that they lost faith in hypnosis but rather that they were skeptical of hypnotists.”

Hypnotist Richard Barker constantly warns the public of hypnotists that try to keep you on the hook. These kinds of hypnotists will bring you back over and over again; each time demanding more money. A true hypnotist will approach your issue by immediately getting to the root of the problem. Once they reach the root, they will fix the issue to affect positive change and to ensure that it never repeats and never comes back. For the majority of clients, this process takes one or two sessions with a professional hypnotist.

So if you’re considering hypnosis, heed the warnings of professional hypnotists:

1. Do your own research as to what hypnosis is and what it isn’t. Ignore what movies and television shows have taught you; as most of them approach hypnosis as a form of mind control. When undergoing hypnosis, remember, you ultimately have the power. Your subconscious will not accept any suggestions or commands that you’re uncomfortable with.
2. Beware of hypnotists that have long drawn out solutions to the issue you’re faced with. While a very small number of clinical hypnotists can perform large group sessions, consider having a one-on-one private session instead. These private sessions are tailored to your needs and allow the hypnotist to give you his or her undivided attention.

What is the Largest Unknown Benefit of Hypnosis?

Thankfully, education on hypnosis and hypnotherapy are becoming more and more accessible to the masses. However, there is so much about hypnosis that the public is still unaware of; namely, the benefits of hypnosis.

When we asked some practicing hypnotists about what benefits of hypnosis go largely unnoticed, we saw some reoccurring themes.

• Helping Manage Anxiety
• Treating Depression
• Relieving Chronic Pain

Hypnotist and Musician, David Bryan Smith, shared his very creative unknown benefit of hypnosis. “Music uses hypnosis. I’m not talking about trance music, I’m talking about all music. Music has the ability to focus our concentration and enter into a hypnotic state. Many of us have strong connections to music. It can trigger feelings of joy or sorrow via a suggestion when we first heard that song.” As such, David suggests that you choose your music wisely.

Angie J. Hernandez states that the benefits of hypnosis are truly limitless, “Try hypnosis on everything because none of us really know what the boundaries of possibility are.”

Owner of Innovative Hypnotherapy, Michael Chatterton, goes into fascinating detail, “The unknown benefit of hypnosis is that your unconscious mind is really your best friend and totally protective of the conscious mind, if you let it be. When a client is hypnotized for one problem, the unconscious mind realizes, either implicitly or explicitly, it has been given permission to find the best way to solve other problems that it knows the conscious mind needs to have solved to be happy and function efficiently.”

Helena Jehnichen, owner of Flourish Hypnosis, focuses on how beneficial hypnosis believers can be for the hypnosis industry, “People who experience hypnosis first hand and are convinced that they were hypnotized will share their positive and interesting experiences with their friends, family and even strangers and this encourages more people to experience the positive benefits of hypnosis for themselves.”

Hypnotist Richard Barker has spoken on countless television shows and news programs about the benefits of hypnosis and how it can help you achieve nearly anything you want to achieve. Barker shares the true power of hypnosis:

“Here’s the thing, everyone has a motivator that is the same. Everybody has the same self-talk. Everyone has two voices inside their head sometimes. Nobody is different. Hypnosis is always all-access. It’s not gender specific, color specific, height specific; there’s no restrictions. Hypnosis is genuinely open to everyone. All the magic associated with the power of hypnosis is really in your own mind. You have to experience it for yourself to understand what you’re truly capable of.”

Jaw-Dropping Hypnosis Case Studies.

There is a reason that various forms of hypnosis have been used for thousands of years. Not only does hypnosis work, the ways in which professional hypnotists have creatively used hypnosis will baffle you. Here are some jaw-dropping and truly inspiring hypnosis case studies from practicing hypnotists.

Scott McFall | Unmasking the Culprits of an Attempt at Murder

“My favorite case study is how fascinating it was to watch a client discover the people who attempted his murder. He could not face that it was people he knew, as the session unfolded, he eventually could face the situation in which he lived. He was able to escape the threat.”

Becky Willoughby | Helping a Young Mum Cope with Suicidal Thoughts

“My personal story of how powerful hypnosis really is, is a case study of a single young mum who was having bad panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. Her son was 2 at the time and she came to me for hypnosis. We cleared out the negative emotions connected to memories and she is now living a happy life with her son.”

David Bryan Smith |Embedding Positive Suggestions in Music

“As a hypnotist, I write songs to make a connection and change peoples’ states of mind just like I do as a hypnotist. The biggest difference between being a singer songwriter and a hypnotist is that even though we work in the same field of the mind, no one ever questions if music is real. Almost everyone questions if hypnosis is real. I can change so many more people’s lives by using the power of positive suggestion music than I ever could as a regular hypnotist because people will listen and believe in a song. I can make a connection in a 3:30 song over the radio or streaming media source that no other hypnotist can do. I can give someone hope. It’s a simple song but when someone sings it to themselves, they can change their life with a few magic words.”

Angie J. Hernandez CHt | Daily Facebook Videos Documenting the Relief of Pain

“On my daily Facebook videos, I have been recording sessions with a client with MS and one with CRPS. They have come to the end of what medical intervention can do for them beyond physical therapy and medication. But with hypnosis, we see the intense pain the client with CRPS has seen go to a zero level. The MS client is regaining strength, reducing pain and increasing coordination with hypnosis. The general public doesn’t know this is possible.”

Helena Jehnichen | Hypnotherapist aka Stop Smoking Lady

“There is a clear expectation that people will quit smoking in one hypnosis session when they come to see me. Imagine someone smoking for 45 years and they have tried unsuccessfully time and time again to quit on their own. But with hypnosis they quit, just like that, one session and they are done. No withdrawals, no cravings, no crankiness, no weight gain and best of all no nicotine replacements or side effects from taking stop smoking drugs. That is powerful! Hypnotists and hypnosis can not only improve lives but save them as well. That is the power of hypnosis.”

Michael Chatterton | Discussing Residual Pain and Unintentionally Helping Someone

“During the Q & A portion of a seminar, I explained how I dealt with residual pain, by having the unconscious mind decide if a sensation was ‘true pain’ or noise. True pain serves survival so the conscious needs to get the message and deal with the problem. If there is no survival information in the sensation, it’s noise that distracts the conscious mind from dealing with the immediate present. Suddenly one lady in the group got a really weird expression, started rubbing her legs and said very loudly, ‘IT’S GONE!’. She had been in a car accident that did a lot of damage and although the injury had healed completely, she had a lot of residual pain and numbness in her legs. While she was listening to me describing how I dealt with residual pain, she realized that her legs suddenly felt completely normal again. I hadn’t given specific suggestions to make changes, but her unconscious mind had considered the relaxation and power nap to be implicit permission to make other beneficial changes. It’s things like this that have led to my lifetime love affair with hypnosis!”

Richard Barker | How Hypnosis Helped This Detective Solve Crimes

We have an entire article dedicated to the fascinating and intricate ways Richard has seen hypnosis work in miraculous ways. Head on over to the video blog, Miracles of the Mind, and uncover the most amazing and bizarre hypnotic experiences Richard has had over the last twenty years.

Have Any Questions?

Richard Barker has made it a personal mission to further the industry by spreading mass awareness and education on the misinterpreted art of hypnosis. We humbly thank all of the professional hypnotists that voiced their opinions, studies and experiences with hypnosis. If you found one of their stories or beliefs interesting, go ahead and swing by their website or Facebook profile and show them a little love.

If you have any additional questions about what it’s like to be a hypnotist, fill out the form below and we’ll get it answered asap. If we get a lot of questions, we will dedicate a section in our blog for: Conversations with Professional Hypnotists.