FAQ

What is hypnotherapy and what does a hypnotherapist do?

Hypnotherapy is the practice of bringing a person (or self) into a less-common, deeper state of consciousness (there are 7) through guided relaxation techniques, then beginning therapy work.

Hypnotherapy is nothing like a hypnosis show. At True North Mind Management, we practice Clinical Hypnotherapy under the Positive Mind Management system. During a hypnotherapy session, a Clinical Hypnotherapist assists individuals to process information in a deeper state of consciousness.

The therapist helps to find maladaptive thought sequences and patterns affecting neural pathways and chemical balances. These often come in the form of traumas or experiences that changed brain development at different stages of life.

Then, the therapist guides the client to facilitate the healing of those maladaptive sequences and patterns, shifting the neural pathways into healthier, more desirable firing patterns and emissions.

What does hypnotherapy feel like?

During a hypnotherapy session, imagery is vivid and emotions can be much more easily felt, identified, compared and understood than in a typical conscious waking state. Clients often describe hypnotherapy as a pleasantly dreamlike, spiritual and cathartic experience.

Many who have also tried alternate psychoactive drug therapies such as psilocybin, ayahuasca and DMT describe it to be a similar type of awakening experience, with no side effects or lethargic feelings later in the day and no need to alter your system.

With hypnotherapy, your body stays free from outside chemicals and learns to create the correct neural pathways needed to balance the chemicals in your brain and body.

How much of it will I remember?

Most people remember all of their sessions very vividly. If you take the time to journal your hypnotherapy feelings, understandings and memories, you will likely carry your experience with you for a long time and continue to benefit from it.

What if I can’t be hypnotized?

If you’re worried about being able to go into a state of hypnosis, don’t be. There are seven states of consciousness that every person passes through as they fall asleep each night and as they wake up each morning, so the body is already prepared to know what to do when we begin the relaxation techniques. You’ll find entering hypnosis to be a natural, peaceful process.

A common misnomer is that a hypnotist is responsible for hypnotizing a person, but in actual reality, each person hypnotizes themselves, or allows themselves to be guided through the hypnotization process while following queues from the hypnotherapist.

If you are unable to go into a therapy state of consciousness during your session, other emotional factors, subconscious or conscious concerns about hypnosis may be present and may need to be worked through before taking another run at it. If this is the case, we will not charge you for the session.

How much does it cost?

Behavioral Shift Session

Standard 1 Hour, 15 Minute Hypnotherapy – $95

Best for anxiety, depression, mindset and habit change needs. These sessions typically include addressing the root cause and doing healing work, then building positive neural pathways for future success.

Deep Healing Session

Deep 1 Hour 45 Minute Hypnotherapy – $125

Best for more advanced trauma, major anxiety, depression, heavy habit and mindset change needs. These sessions typically include addressing the root of complex issues with healing work, then building positive neural pathways for future success.

Initial Session

2 Hour Intake & Hypnotherapy Session – $125

During the Initial Session, we work with first-time clients to detail their history, establish goals, and introduce our process before delving into the first hypnotherapy session. These sessions include addressing the root of more complex issues with healing work, then building positive neural pathways around the affected areas for future success.

Renew Session

30 Min Coaching & Hypnotherapy Reinforcement Session – $45

Best for mindset changes for established clients reinforcing neural pathways after the root issue has been addressed. These sessions typically focus on building positive neural pathways for future success.

The Renew Session is also perfect for athlete acceleration, sales success, and changing bad habits.

How does clinical hypnotherapy work?

Clinical Hypnotherapy works to rewire the brain to change habits, feelings, fears and thoughts, but how does it work? Let’s look at one example and let’s say that a person who has had little experience with dogs reaches out to pet a dog and then is bitten. The cells of the brain, called neurons, store information about the new experience and learn firing patterns which connect them together into neural pathways.

You can think of neural pathways like trails in the woods made deeper by people traveling over the same spot , but in the brain, the neural pathways are formed out of experiences, thoughts, and feelings and they become stronger and more dominant the more they are recreated, thought about or felt. Neural pathways also direct the brain and body to release and memorize a blend of chemicals specifically formulated to match the feelings felt during the experience.

Pathways can become dominant very quickly when fearful or painful feelings are present, like in the case of the person bit by the dog. When a neural pathway becomes dominant, it’s likely that it will be triggered to fire any time the person thinks about anything surrounding dogs, even if it’s not about the bite. Months or years after being bitten, the person may consciously want to engage with dogs again comfortably, but the maladaptive neural pathway, operated by the subconscious mind, may be too dominant for the person to avoid, despite the conscious desire to enjoy dogs.

It’s also important to know that when the conscious mind and the subconscious mind are not in alignment with the goals they are programmed to achieve, in addition to the fear chemicals being emitted by the maladaptive neural pathway, the disconnect between the the conscious and unconscious mind can also create uncomfortable feelings such as anxiety, fear, restlessness, inability to focus, sadness and depression.

That’s where clinical hypnotherapy comes in. In deeper states of consciousness, the brain is able to slow down and allow subconscious feelings and thought connections attached to the maladaptive neural pathway to come to the surface. The hypnotherapist helps a person to change the pathway by aiding them to process and release the emotions connected to the original experience. The pathway is stimulated in order to locate it; then as feelings and habits are consciously processed, the old, trapped emotions are able to be easily accessed and released. The neural pathway is broken up and the chemicals stop being emitted from it.

What is your therapy process like?

Clinical hypnotherapy generally takes between 4 and 8 sessions to work through one issue, but that can vary depending on the individual and the circumstances. Prior to beginning actual hypnotherapy, we do an introductory session where we discuss your overall goals and challenges and teach you some processes of the subconscious and breathing and speaking techniques to practice before your first clinical hypnotherapy session.

When you come in for a session, you’ll discuss your challenges and goals again with your hypnotherapist. During the session, the hypnotherapist will help you to locate the maladaptive neural pathways and see how the conscious and subconscious minds are misaligned. They’ll then help to heal the maladaptive neural pathways and align the conscious and subconscious minds, as well as reinforce healing and growth of new or atrophied neural pathways for a strong hold.

Between sessions, your therapist will give you exercises so you can maximize your progress and minimize the number of sessions needed. You’ll get affirmations and you’ll work to visualize your learnings from your session and apply them to your daily life so your new neural pathway stays active and strong. Make sure you do your exercises in the morning and evening each day, for 1-3 weeks, or until your next session. Your progress will be enhanced additionally when you use this time period to really focus on what you learned in your session.

To get the most out of your sessions:

Journal.
Have a coaching session with your hypnotherapist.
Have a session with a regular talk therapist.
Have a conversation with someone you trust about your session.
Regularly meditate, ponder and/or pray over your session.

After 1-3 weeks, come back in for another session where we will discuss your progress and continue your healing process.

What are the 7 States of Consciousness?

Conscious
Waking Hypnosis
Hypnoidal
Catalepsy
Somnabulism
Esdaile
Sleep

Can I work with a hypnotherapist and a regular therapist during the same time period?

Working with traditional cognitive/talk therapist and a hypnotherapist helps to maximize the benefits of both, especially if you do not plan to use your Clincial Hypnotherapist as a coach. A hypnotherapist helps you quickly locate the source of a problem and its solution, and the traditional therapist can help you further process your hypnotherapy experiences and make a plan to gain from them.

With your permission, we are happy to review records and share our approach and findings with your traditional talk therapist so we can ensure we are working for the same goals.

I will be working with my bishop or clergy member too – what do they need to know?

We work with clients of all belief systems but if religious affiliation is important to you in a therapist, we value that and want to honor your beliefs. We specialize in working with clients who are familiar with a Christian or Judaic background. Please feel free to have your bishop or clergy member give Erin a call at 435-429-2560 and she will be happy to explain the hypnotherapy process and spiritual benefits to your clergy member and answer any of their questions.

The Positive Mind Management program is founded on Christian and LDS beliefs and has been instrumental in stopping pornography use and inappropriate sexual behaviors. It’s also been successful at readying hundreds of LDS missionaries for the field.

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