Some common questions about Hypnotherapy

Yes. The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have approved hypnotherapy for use by professionally responsible individuals since 1950.

Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness during which our subconscious mind is more open and receptive to suggestions that are given. We drift in and out of different levels of awareness many times a day, absorbing information on a subliminal level as well as consciously. Carissa Brown Holscher, CCHt. will work with your imagination to help you achieve your goals. Hypnotherapy is gentle, safe, and very effective.

The conscious mind stores your logic and reason, will and determination, as well as a few recent memories. The subconscious mind is much more powerful. The subconscious mind stores habits and patterns, fears, emotions, creativity, visualizations,  the body system, and the memory bank. Therefore, when you can change on a subconscious level, it is very effective.

Everyone is different. Some people say that their body feels like a lead weight, others say they feel as though they are floating away. Most people will agree that it is a lovely feeling because they are more relaxed than they have ever been before.

Hypnotic suggestions bypass the conscious mind and zero in on the subconscious. When given a new suggestion that is in bounds of the person's moral belief system, the subconscious mind accepts the suggestion literally as a new reality.

Not necessarily.  Events of the past created feelings at the time, those feelings created your subconscious beliefs. In hypnosis you can delete negative or limiting beliefs and replace them with more positive encouraging beliefs even without knowing exactly where they came from.

During the hypnosis experience, you will be aware of everything that is happening and being said the whole time; however, you may find yourself drifting into different levels of awareness. A deeper state of trance feels similar to sleep; however, you are not actually asleep. Rest assured, you get the same success rate whether you go into a light, medium, or deep state of trance.

That depends how deep in hypnosis you are, but generally most people do remember either most of it or certain parts. You will find that suggestions which have been given to you in hypnosis will resurface in your conscious awareness after your hypnosis session. These thoughts produce changes in your behavior, your way of thinking, and feeling.

No, you won't say or do anything at all that you don't want to do. If you are given suggestions that you don't morally agree with, you will instantly come out of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a cooperation between two people, and the person being hypnotized needs to want the desired outcome.

You do not need to believe in hypnosis to achieve the result. All you have to be is a willing participant. 

The most common reason for failure to be hypnotized is lack of rapport. To overcome this, schedule a free 20-minute consultation appointment to meet with Carissa Brown Holscher, CCHt. to see if she is a good fit for you.

If you can dream, you can be hypnotized. Unless there is some sort of brain damage, people of average intelligence can be hypnotized in most cases. The depth of hypnotic trance varies by person. People get as good of results with a light trance as they do with a deep trance. That said, Carissa Brown Holscher, CCHt. works with individuals age 12 and up (ages 12 through 17 require parent/guardian permission). 

Suggestions stay with some individuals indefinitely, others need reinforcement. The effects of hypnosis are cumulative.

The recommended number of hypnotherapy sessions depends on the issue, and it depends on the client. In general, smoking cessation is typically 1-2 sessions, peak performance, overcoming phobias are typically 3-6 sessions, weight management and other issues vary from 3-12 sessions. To get a better idea, schedule a free consultation.

Insurance does NOT typically cover the cost of hypnotherapy, nor do we bill insurance at this time.

Yes, typically H.S.A. accounts do cover hypnotherapy.  Check with your human resource department prior to your session to be sure. Special invoices are provided upon request.

The four major credit cards (MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Visa) are all accepted, as well as cash or check. Please makes checks payable to Carissa Brown Holscher, CCHt.