HYPNOTHERAPY
Hypnotherapy is a transformative experience
Over the last 5 years I have developed a special interest in the subconscious mind as the domain for accessing and changing what’s holding you back or not serving you anymore.
It’s empowering to realize that your subconscious mind’s intention for you is always positive. I know that sometimes we hear about limiting beliefs or subconscious conflict, and this can lead to the conclusion that the subconscious realm is one of self-sabotage and negative beliefs. But actually, every belief or rule that your subconscious mind adopts was accepted in order to keep you safe, get your needs met, or to make you happy.
The subconscious mind is like a garden. Any seed that is planted will be nurtured and grown with no discrimination. The subconscious doesn’t have the ability to say “that’s a bad seed, planting it will only lead to negative thoughts and outcomes” – it just nurtures the seed that you sow.
It really is incredible to see the transformation that takes place when you experience shifts deep within your being. The kind of change that your friends notice because you’re just so much calmer and you’re handling difficult situations differently than you used to. One of my favourite therapy moments is when my clients experience a breakthrough, and understand their own patterns and inner conflicts clearly for the first time.
That awareness leads to the choice: do I want to hold onto this, or am I ready to let it go?
What can be treated with hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy can treat a variety of issues, including:
Anxiety: anxiety is a state of being, a learned response, a pattern. It tends to cause certain thoughts and characteristic feelings in the body. Clients are often hypervigilent, analytical, and have high expectations of themselves and others. You might have noticed that your anxiety has served you in some ways, helping you become the person you are today and achieve what you’ve achieved. However, the experience of “being anxious” can be exhausting – the way it feels in the body, the tendency to expect the worst, the thought that you can’t really control your own mind. Through hypnotherapy, you can develop greater awareness to the ways that anxiety shows up for you and why. We go beyond talking about the experience and help you shift at the subconscious level. When change happens at the subconscious level, you’ll notice differences in your conscious mind, nervous system, and in the way you respond. You’ll have more control over the way your mind works, and more ability to interrupt your own patterns.
Break Habits: freedom from the habits that have a deep hold on you. My clients have found freedom from pervasive issues that they used to feel controlled their lives: skin picking, hair pulling, vaping and smoking.
Limiting Beliefs: we all have beliefs that were formed during our early years about how we need to be in the world to stay safe and have our needs met. While these beliefs were formed with positive intention – to protect you or explain the world around you – they must be updated as you grow and change. Eventually, outdated beliefs can actually hold you back by making you think you are less than you really are – less worthy, less capable, and not enough. We can create shifts in your life by updating these core beliefs.
Confidence & Social Anxiety: hypnosis is amazing for getting to the underlying reason behind a lack of confidence or social anxiety. and create profound shifts. You’ll love experiencing the day-to-day changes in how you feel.
Personal Development: self-acceptance, self-love, and self-worth. Hypnotherapy is incredible for deepening your own inner work, helping you navigate difficult parts of your journey, and strengthening intuition and alignment with your truest self. Clients have accessed hypnotherapy to help them address blocks related to business and entrepreneurship, relationships, and patterns of thought that they know are holding them back.
Mind-Body Connection & Healing: the research on this area of health and healing is expanding. Your subconscious mind is incredibly powerful. Hypnosis can be used to augment and support your health and healing plans. Some examples include stress, digestive disturbances, eating habits, and aiding in stroke recovery.
Grief and Loss: grief can be overwhelming and all-consuming. Sometimes, help is needed to work through feelings of regret, shame, guilt, anger, heightened anxiety, and the profound feeling of loss after a loved one passes. Grief and loss can also come up during major life changes and transitions – the loss of a dear pet, a limb following an amputation, or the way you thought your life would be after a major medical event or illness. Hypnotherapy can assist you to work through these feelings, releasing what cannot be changed, and acceptance of what is. It is also possible to use hypnotherapy to receive or give the healing and forgiveness that was not possible before the loss.
Fears and Phobias: perhaps the area that hypnosis is best-known for, it is incredibly effective for addressing fears and phobias. Sometimes people have a sense of an experience that marked the beginning of their fear, other times there doesn’t seem to be a rational connection. We’ll get to the true root to release the hold the fear has on you, and allow you to transform your experience going forward. Examples of issues that can be dealt with using this method include (but are not limited to): fear of flying, fear of flights, fears of snakes/spiders/animals/the dark.
What techniques and methods are used?
Techniques and Methods
Goal Setting and Setting Intentions: focusing on what it is that you want, I’ll walk you through this process at the beginning of our work together. It serves as the foundation and the guide for what comes next.
Parts Therapy & Ego States: we all have various parts of ourselves – hidden and unhidden – that come to the forefront throughout our days to help us fulfill our roles, manage life, and even deal with uncomfortable situations. At times, a conflict can exist where a part of you might want to move forward in a certain way, but another part is resisting. This can show up in self-sabotaging behaviours, procrastination, or what seems like a lack of willpower. It can also show up when you’re triggered. Working with parts/ego states allows us to get to the underlying intention of your parts, understand what the problem is, negotiate a way forward, and integrate these shifts. It is profound and meaningful.
Mental Rehearsal: pre-experiencing as a form of practicing while in hypnosis, guided by the therapist. This provides the subconscious mind with a vivid reference memory, which means that it is no longer “unknown.” Mental rehearsal also creates new neural pathways in the brain. With repetition, these neural pathways become stronger and stronger so that you can easily access the way of being you rehearsed in your day-to-day life.
Resource States: using powerful positive memories and emotions.
Desensitization: a safe and effective method of eliminating the emotional charge without re-experiencing a traumatic or fearful event or stimulus.
Age Regression: safely returning to earlier ages to address the root cause of beliefs, patterns or habits that you are ready to change. This is done gently and with guidance.
Anchoring: creating connections between positive states and external triggers.
Suggestion: providing positive suggestions for change to the subconscious mind to support the shifts you desire to make. This is foundational to subconscious therapy.
Customized hypnosis recordings: part of my process is to support my clients to reinforce the changes made between sessions using recordings, when it is appropriate and indicated to do so. My recordings are layered with isochronic tones, which are special frequencies that promote brainwave entrainment. The brain naturally works in certain frequency ranges, and we use Alpha (7-13 hz) and Theta (4-7 hz) tones to deepen your state of relaxation and support the subconscious mind to become more receptive. I find this helpful for my clients to deepen their experience when I am not present to guide them.
There are a variety of other techniques used in hypnotherapy sessions as needed. Hypnotherapy programs are customized to each client’s unique needs and circumstances.
What can I expect?
Confidentiality, sessions, scheduling and how to prepare
What is the confidentiality policy? all aspects of client involvement will be held in utmost confidence in accordance with the ethical guidelines and standards of practice set out by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Personally identifiable information regarding clients is not discussed or disclosed, directly or indirectly, without the prior consent of the client.
There are a few situations in which I am legally obliged to break confidentiality in order to protect the safety of a client or another individual. These include: Risk of harm to self or another person; Suspected child abuse or neglect for a minor under the age of 16 (I am legally obligated to report to Children’s Aid Society under the Child and Family Service Act); or, A court of law subpoenas clinical records regarding an incident (if possible, I will contact you before releasing any information).
Are all sessions held virtually? no, I do offer an in-person session option on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in St Catharines, Ontario. Otherwise, all sessions are held using a secure online platform. You will receive a link to use prior to your appointment.
How long are sessions? your first appointment is for assessment and gathering the necessary information to develop a customized plan for you. We’ll schedule 90 minutes for the first appointment, and then subsequent appointments will be between 60-75 minutes.
How often will we meet? clients are seen either weekly or biweekly. Together, we’ll determine what frequency makes sense and arrange a time to meet that works for us both.
How many sessions do I need? this depends on your unique situation. In our first session, when I can assess and get to understand what is going on for you, I will do my best to estimate the number of sessions we’ll need to address the issue.
How should I prepare for online sessions? please ensure that you are in a private and quiet space for your appointments, free of interruptions. This is important so that you feel free to speak openly without concern for others overhearing you. Because sessions are held virtually, you will need access to a computer or tablet as well as a good internet connection.
How are appointments scheduled? we use a system called Jane that allows you to book, reschedule and cancel your appointments. You’ll be invited to create an account which will give you access to the schedule and other features including appointment reminders and forms.
What is the cancellation policy? Your appointment time is saved especially for you. A late cancellation or missed visit leaves a hole in the therapists’ day that could have been filled by another client. As such, if you are unable to attend the session, we require at least 24 hours notice to cancel or reschedule the appointment. Missed appointments with less than 24 hours of notice will be charged at the full fee. This includes appointments that are made same-day. The cancellation fee will only be waived in the event of a medical emergency requiring hospitalization, a death in the family, or a natural disaster.
Fees & Insurance Coverage
Fee Information and Insurance Coverage Information
Fee: the first session of a hypnotherapy series will 90 minutes and this appointment fee is $225; subsequent hypnotherapy sessions are 60-75 minutes and the fee is $200.
Is hypnotherapy covered by extended health benefits? many insurance policies and benefits plans do cover services provided by registered social workers and psychotherapists, regardless of the actual form of therapy provided. Please check with your provider to confirm coverage of counselling/therapy by a registered social worker. After your appointment, you will be provided with a receipt that can be submitted to your insurance for reimbursement.
What payment is accepted? payment can be made using e-transfer or credit card. Payment is due the same day as the session.
Do you charge HST? no, services provided by registered social workers are exempt from HST.
Working with Christine for six hypnotherapy sessions was a deep dive into many subconscious blocks that have been holding me back for years. Her calm and soothing voice was perfect for allowing me to get into a relaxed state, and I am so grateful for the recordings of our sessions to be able to access her magic as needed. She truly has a gift of making me feel seen and heard, and her compassion is unparalleled with other therapists I’ve worked with. Not only is Christine highly educated, but she is also skilled in natural healing modalities which is the best of both worlds. I loved her custom-blended flower remedy that complemented exactly what I was going through. Since our calls together, I’ve felt much more self-love, confidence and clarity in my purpose. It was a very profound experience and I can’t recommend her enough!
Christine is absolutely wonderful, and I’m blown away by how gentle and supportive these sessions have been. Christine is incredibly kind, open, and caring, and her gentle demeanour provided a warm container where I felt safe and seen. She has an amazing ability to hold space for people, and I never felt rushed with what I had to say – she is so great at just listening, while also providing really thoughtful and relevant feedback. After 6 sessions together, I have now noticeably seen a shift with how I am in my being – so much more calm, trusting, relaxed, and regulated. I have had friends comment on my transformation, noticing the change that has felt so natural and almost imperceptible to me. I feel so great, and I’m so grateful for Christine’s guidance, expertise, and caring nature! I highly recommend her!
Christine is great at what she does. Her demeanor, professionalism, and expertise in the fields of hypnosis, neuroscience, and human psychology are valuable. Through interactive conversations, she was able to draw out my own inner conflicts in terms of words, imagery, and thought patterns. She provided tools and methods that allowed me to see and hear my other side. The best part was her facilitation in making me realize that the conflicting parts of myself (inner voices, thought process, limiting beliefs, etc.) is not truly against me. That part of my mind was trying to help me by protecting me from potential failures, disappointments, and emotional torture. As I was ignoring it (as a negative voice) it was trying to show up, again and again, to caution me and to protect me from myself. Christine helped me first by making me aware and then helping me acknowledge both sides (positive and negative) and provided tools and guidance for me to gain alignment with myself and fully leverage these two sides in a very powerful way: survive to thrive! – where my negative mindset was trying to help me protect and survive so that I could thrive with my positive and growth mindset.
I believe that the practice of recognizing, acknowledging, and leveraging the intention and power of both sides will allow me to succeed faster, and better, and live life harmoniously and in a balanced way. I can’t thank Christine enough for who she is and what she does at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and hypnosis.