Welcome: Business and Professions Code 2908

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Hypnosis for PTSD

All hypnotherapy sessions are conducted via phone or Zoom.

(This blog was originally posted on June 6, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Some people become very traumatized by their experiences in a war or while fighting a war, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., observed. “Any time a person goes into an extremely stressful situation, you start to anticipate the stress or danger,” he said. Even though soldiers receive specific combat skills, their survival depends on their ability to fight and kill as well as to deal with the horrors that they have experienced or witnessed on the battlefield: i.e., the fight/flight/freeze response.

Dr. Kappas warned that whenever a person represses the stress and emotions (e.g., fear, sadness, anger) experienced during combat, he or she is vulnerable to suffering “post-war depression” or, as post-traumatic stress disorder. The Diagnostics and Statistics Manual V defines PTSD as an extremely complex disorder that includes psychological as well as physical symptoms of distress. These include: insomnia, bad dreams or flashbacks of the war experience, explosive anger, survivor’s guilt and difficulties integrating with or back into society. Job performance at work may and personal relationships with the spouse/lover, friends and family may also be negatively affected. Even if the stress is repressed when the traumatic event occurs, eventually these symptoms surface and must be dealt with, he warned. “Some guys 20 years out of the Service are fine and then suddenly break,” the late hypnotherapist warned. “After you survive in the military/war, if it’s the only thing you know, it can be a shock to face the real world,” Dr. Kappas said. Treatment for PTSD entails desensitizing the client to the stress of war and reintegrating the person back into his or her “old” life, including relationships and work.

On January 1, 2013, I earned a certification to use hypnosis to help people who are experiencing PTSD to reduce stress and symptoms in order to improve their quality of life. I use hypnosis, relaxation/breathing and therapeutic guided imagery techniques to teach these clients how to manage stress. I also employ cognitive behavioral-therapy techniques and exposure therapy to help the person separate (un-pair) the association between triggers of fear about the previous traumatic event and what is going on in their current environment. Because PTSD is such a complex disorder, I require a referral from both a licensed medical doctor and a licensed psychotherapist for me to provide hypnotherapy as a complementary therapy to alleviate, manage and control these symptoms.

I would like to thank each of the men and women who have risked and continue to risk their lives—and those who have sacrificed their lives—to protect and defend our country. I will not forget you.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Special Offer:

Hypnotherapy to Release Weight

Hypnosis for weight loss series: $2,000 for the 10-week series. Each session lasts approximately one hour and includes a free, digital recording of the hypnosis portion of the session. If you pay for the 10-week series up front it is $1,600 to save $400!

*May not be combined with any other offer. Not redeemable for cash.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

Monday, June 12, 2023

The Practice Effect

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on November 30, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

In David Brin’s novel titled The Practice Effect, the most effective (and valued) tools and equipment are old and well-used. Here on Earth, a brand-new axe blade is sharp and gets the job done in one or two swings. Conversely, protagonist Dr. Dennis Nuel discovers that same new axe is useless on an anomaly planet he is exploring compared to a worn-out counterpart with a dull blade and grooves where the user’s hands would have held it.

I loved this book when I read it in 1984, and the concept of a “practice effect” continues to fascinate me in the context of how the mind works. As I explain to hypnotherapy clients who want to change a long-term habit, the more they do or “practice” this behavior the easier, more automatic and, yes, “effective” it becomes. For example, when you learned algebra the symbols and arithmetic required to solve an equation probably challenged every mathematical skill you had up to that point. However, with practice you may have advanced to geometry, trigonometry or even calculus; if nothing else, you can apply simple algebra to work out how much tip to leave at a restaurant. Just like the grooves in the worn axe handle in Brin’s novel, repeating familiar behaviors eventually creates a subconscious mental script that reinforces their importance and value to the subconscious mind. (This attachment to a behavior such as smoking or drug use/abuse will be even stronger with a physiological chemical addiction.*)

The perceived value of a familiar or “known” behavior comes from the comfort you derive from repeating and practicing this action. However, it is also why changing or stopping the behavior completely is so difficult. Remember, anything new or different (unfamiliar) is considered “pain” in the subconscious mind. It is almost as if you are starting all over again, having to learn a new or even re-learn a previous more effective “old” behavior. In many cases, you have to keep practicing that other, less comfortable but more desirable way of doing things over and over until it, too, has developed a “practice effect” that is ultimately more valuable than that old strategy.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as alternative or complimentary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Special Offer:

Hypnotherapy to Release Weight

Hypnosis for weight loss series: $1,250 for 10-week series. (This is a $250 savings!) The $200 fee for the first session will be included in this rate only when the package is purchased up front. Book this package before June 30, 2023, to lock in this price as my rates will be going up on July 1, 2023.

*May not be combined with any other offer. Not redeemable for cash.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Stages of Therapy

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on December 14, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

As a certified hypnotherapist, I work with clients to help them achieve their personal vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (Business and Professions Code 2908). In today’s blog I outline the (general) stages of the therapeutic process.* Please note that this description does not outline the specific number of hypnotherapy sessions each client receives or must receive to achieve the stated goal. Rather, it outlines certain behavior patterns that may be observed over time during the duration of hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is part of every hypnotherapy session.

Defensiveness. The client may be defensive or subconsciously resist changing the previous behavior(s).

Increased openness. Over time, the person becomes slightly less rigid or reluctant to address the stated goals. He or she also starts to talk more about other people and events.

Avoidance. The individual may talk about or refer to the self by using more objective or even detached terms and avoid discussing present events.

Opening up. The client begins to share or talk about deep feelings and may develop a close relationship with the therapist. As I explained in my blog titled Secondary Relationships, the hypnotherapist’s role in a client’s life is to use tools such as hypnosis and guided imagery to help the individual achieve vocational or avocational self-improvement goals. Therefore, to prevent transference and counter-transference in my hypnotherapy practice, I establish strong professional boundaries around the therapeutic relationship that I have with each client.

The beginning of personal growth. As the person starts to express his or her emotions, he or she starts to make decisions (behaviors) and accept responsibility for personal actions.

Moving toward congruence. With increasing personal growth, the client rapidly moves toward congruence: i.e., feelings “match” behavior. The individual’s Emotional/Physical Sexuality and Emotional/Physical Suggestibility may shift slightly at this time to reflect this congruence.

Self-Actualization. This is characterized by greater empathy and the client’s ability to deal with situations in the “here and now.” A caveat: When a person grows this way, the romantic partner will also grow and catch up with these new values or the relationship may end. For more information about Family Systems, I invite you to read my blog titled The Systems Approach in Hypnotherapy.

Special Offer:

Hypnotherapy to Release Weight

*May not be combined with any other offer. Not redeemable for cash.

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

What You Can (and Cannot) Expect from Hypnotherapy

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on October 20, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

I would like to clarify a couple of things about hypnosis and my role as a certified hypnotherapist. First, as I explain on my website, hypnosis is a natural, drug-free and highly effective therapeutic modality that has been used for centuries to help people change mental scripts for unwanted beliefs or behaviors that no longer work for them. Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, increase your self-confidence, overcome a fear or phobia, or achieve just about any vocational and avocational self-improvement goals, hypnosis can help you get it done.

My goal is to help each and every one of my hypnotherapy clients to achieve his or her vocational and avocational self-improvement goals. I participate in continuing-education courses throughout the year to fine-tune my therapeutic skills and learn new techniques that I can apply in my practice. Between sessions with my clients, I make myself available to answer any questions or discuss an issue that may have come up during the week via a follow-up phone call, e-mail correspondence or both. I provide a recording of the hypnosis component of their therapy for them to listen to during the week and even give them “homework” assignments to help reinforce the new behavior until their next hypnotherapy session. These assignments may include breathing/relaxation exercises to practice, maintaining their Mental Bank program by writing in their Mental Bank ledger each night before bed, reading specific articles or watching online videos about related hypnotherapeutic techniques that are available via the Hypnosis Motivation Institute online video library.

I work with my clients to achieve their stated goals; when they have accomplished what they set out to do, we typically part ways until they want to work on something new. I generally do not need to explore unrelated issues or discuss experiences that occurred long ago in my clients’ lives unless they state or believe that event pertains to their presenting issue or affects how they currently lead their lives. Having said that, hypnotherapy is not an overnight miracle “cure” for anything and everything that ails or distresses you. By the time most people come in for hypnotherapy, many months or even years have passed since the unwanted belief or behavior was created. Meanwhile, their subconscious mental script has had plenty of time to nurture and reinforce that unwanted habit. Although hypnotherapy is also generally a shorter-term therapy than many traditional psychotherapeutic modalities, it will likely take more than one hypnosis session to change and/or permanently remove that behavior.

Finally, California law allows me to provide hypnotherapy as a complementary or alternative treatment to help my clients to achieve vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (Business and Professions Code 2908). For example, I am certified to help people manage pain and individuals who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder to deal with a myriad of physical and emotional symptoms. However, I may only do so with a referral from a licensed medical doctor or mental-health professional; I must receive a referral from both of these health-care providers to work with a client who has PTSD. I ethically and legally cannot and will not address some issues (e.g., age regression therapy to identify possible past abuse) or diagnose medical or mental-health symptoms. If I feel that your issues are or become beyond my scope of expertise as a hypnotherapist, I will refer you to a licensed medical doctor or psychologist for further evaluation and/or treatment.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Hypnotherapy for Children and Teenagers

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on February 27, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Over the years, many of my clients have wanted to work on similar self-improvement issues: increase self-confidence/self-esteem, improve sport performance, increase focus/memory, manage fears and phobias, or to overcome social anxiety. Most of my clients are adults. However, I can and do work with children and teenagers. For the most part, a child’s hypnotherapy session is very similar to the grown-up’s: I discuss what behavior(s) the person would like to change, and I use the context of John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind to explain how the current, unwanted behavior was established—and how it will be replaced by a more effective, desired strategy. I create a customized hypnotic script that includes general suggestions for relaxation and guided imagery to motivate the person to achieve the desired behavior changes. Following are some of the major differences between my hypnotherapy work with children (under 18 years old) and adults:

I must have a signed consent document from the child’s parents in order to work with anyone under 18 years old. If the parents are divorced and share custody of the child, both parents must still sign a consent-release form which I provide. If only one parent or has custody of the child, the legal guardian must sign the document.
The parents and legal guardians have a legal right to know some details about the hypnotherapy that their child or teenager is receiving. They also have a right to know whether the minor is using drugs or engaging in underage sex or dangerous behavior, or is threatening to harm him- or herself or others.
I respect the youngster’s right to privacy and confidentiality whenever possible. I also encourage the individual to confide in his or her parents, if/when it is appropriate.
When I work with very young children, I always invite my client’s parents or guardian to be present during the hypnosis.
The amount of time a young child will spend in hypnosis during the hypnotherapy session will be much shorter than what an adult or even a teenager will spend. While I typically use breathing/relaxation exercises to induce hypnosis in my clients, I also employ some kind of eye-fascination technique to hypnotize a child under age 14. (I usually do not use eye-fascination techniques to induce hypnosis in an adult).

As a certified hypnotherapist, California law allows me to provide hypnotherapy as a complementary or alternative treatment to help my clients to achieve vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (Business and Professions Code 2908). If your child or teenager’s issues are, or become, beyond my scope of expertise as a hypnotherapist, I will refer you to a licensed medical doctor or mental-health professional for further evaluation and/or treatment.

Monday, January 30, 2023

80/20 Ratio

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on April 5, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

There is an unwritten guideline in hypnotherapy that the client should do most talking (about 80 percent) compared to listening to the therapist, while the hypnotherapist will do the most listening compared to talking (20 percent). Furthermore, during hypnotherapy, it is the client’s “responsibility” to describe the motivations for seeking this therapy, desires about changing an unwanted behavior and to express emotions about and during this therapeutic process. Similarly, it is the hypnotherapist’s “responsibility” to listen to what the client is saying and use this information to create an effective hypnotic script that will facilitate the achievement of the person’s therapeutic goals. This policy is very important for several reasons.

First, when someone comes in for hypnotherapy, that individual is not only looking for a possible solution to help change an unwanted belief or behavior. The person is also subconsciously looking for and needs a space in which to vent his or her emotions—a sounding board, if you will—to explain how and why the habit started in the first place. The last thing the client needs is to wonder if the expert from whom he or she is seeking help is somehow subtly dismissing those concerns by comparing them to the hypnotherapist’s own issues. At that point, the client would be justified in wondering whether the therapist’s problems might be more significant than his or her own. This is also the point at which rapport and trust are destroyed.

Second, especially during the cognitive (alert and aware) portion of the hypnotherapy session, the hypnotherapist needs to focus on what the client is saying to create the hypnotic script. This script is based on the key words, metaphors and even emotions that the client expresses to describe his or her self-improvement goals and motivations. During the cognitive portion of the first session, I reassure my hypnotherapy clients that they will essentially hypnotize themselves based on the words and motivations to change an unwanted behavior, which I incorporate into the hypnotic script. As I explain in my previous blog titled Creating Your Hypnotic Script, we are all most suggestible to ourselves. Conversely, if the hypnotherapist does most of the talking, the hypnotic script is less likely to be effective because the client’s subconscious mind does not recognize these motivational words, phrases, and images as his or her own.

Third, unlike traditional forms of psychotherapy such as licensed marriage and family therapy, psychology and licensed social work or even psychiatry hypnotherapy is not “talk therapy.” According to the Business and Professions Code 2908, hypnotherapists must provide hypnosis during the therapeutic session. In addition, they must also seek a referral from these professionals if a client wants to address an issue outside of the scope of hypnotherapy. Our role as hypnotherapists is to help our clients find solutions to problems and achieve vocational and avocational goals by working with the subconscious mind in hypnosis, not discussing these issues in a cognitive, alert and aware state.

Special Offer: Free 30-Minute Phone or Zoom Consultation

This is a great opportunity to find out why hypnosis is so effective and how hypnotherapy can help you achieve your self-improvement goals. Call or text me at (661) 433-9430 or send me an e-mail at calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com to set up your free, 30-minute phone or Zoom consultation* today!

*This is not a full hypnotherapy session. Hypnosis will not be provided during this consultation. This offer is not redeemable for cash and may not be combined with any other promotion.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

The Recipe for a Successful, Long-Term Relationship

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on September 29, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Hypnotherapists are not allowed to give relationship “counselling.”* However, it is okay to provide relationship “strategies” for clients who are experiencing conflicts in their romantic partnership. For example, I typically describe characteristics of the Emotional and Physical Sexuality/personalities and how they behave in the context of a relationship to all of my clients. I also outline the seven key factors of a successful romantic partnership. Last but certainly not least, I might offer the following suggestions:

Speak real words of appreciation to your partner every day. For example, “Watching you with the children, I can go to work knowing they are taken care of.”

Gossip. Talk to your partner/spouse about what went on during your day. Share information, anecdotes etc. When your partnership is based in love, it is actually very sexy to hear that someone else find’s your significant other attractive, too!

Ask questions for information, not to criticize the other person. Never talk to your spouse/lover in a way that you would address your kids.

Request for change. The way you deal with anger during a conflict is very important. Don’t speak to your partner the way you would never speak to your best friend. No name-calling, no belittling. The relationship has to be built on respect.

Share fantasies and dreams and visions of the future.

*Business and Professions Code 2908: California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as alternative or complimentary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Some Things to Remember About Habits

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on August 8, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Most people seek hypnotherapy to change or get rid of (quit) an unwanted habit. Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, stop procrastinating, improve sleeping habits or any myriad of behaviors, hypnosis and therapeutic guided imagery are powerful, effective tools to help you achieve your self-improvement goal. While I do not typically need to delve into your entire back-story to understand why you started, and want to change the unwanted habit, I will need certain, specific details about it to create an effective hypnotic script. Following is some important information about habits and habit-change to keep in mind.

You must be coming in for hypnotherapy because you want to change the behavior for this therapy to be effective.
While you (your conscious mind) want to change an unwanted habit, the subconscious mind is unlikely to share that goal. Changing habits entails getting out of your comfort zone (rejecting a subconscious known) which the subconscious mind considers “pain.”
Hypnotherapy can help create and establish healthier/more productive and desirable behaviors in the subconscious mind to replace the unwanted one(s). However, habits do not begin overnight and habits do not change overnight. Furthermore, the longer you have been practicing that behavior, the more time it may take to change it. Remember, each time you have engaged in the habit strengthened its positive association in your subconscious mind.
Increasing awareness of when you engage in the undesired habit helps you gain greater control over that behavior.
Some behaviors may be a defense mechanism to avoid change and thereby protect the subconscious mind from the pain induced by change. In this instance, it may be necessary to address the cause of the behavior (habit) to help you achieve your vocational/avocational self-improvement goal.*

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Systems Theory and Weight Loss

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!

(This blog was originally posted on February 16, 2016)

Image courtesy of Microsoft

According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., the most important component of a successful weight-loss program is the hypnotherapy client’s active participation in the process. For example, the person must consistently, regularly write down in a ledger what he or she eats during the day—including the quantity of food ingested. To control eating behaviors, the client should be instructed to always leave 25 percent of the food on the plate.

As long as the person recording these details it is working—even if the weight is not coming off during a plateau stage. “This process is something you’re conscious that you’re going to do,” Dr. Kappas said. “You choose [to do or] not do the ledger.” If the person does not record this information in the ledger and/or does not control eating behaviors, he or she is not ready to do the process and lose weight, he explained.

Another indication that the individual may not be ready to lose the weight is by not showing up for appointments. In this case, it is worthwhile to do a Systems Approach evaluation to find out if relationship or family pressures are inhibiting the weight loss. This may reveal that the client may be gaining weight to preserve the status quo of the marriage or relationship that he or she is already in. When one partner or family member loses weight, the status quo in that relationship naturally undergoes a shift in relation to the client’s perceptions about him- or herself. For example, the client’s spouse may feel subconsciously threatened by the partner’s physical change and concomitant increase in self-confidence, and fear that the client will leave the relationship. The partner’s subconscious goal would be to keep the current “system” in place. To do this the person may try to (again, subconsciously) sabotage the client’s diet by eating forbidden foods (e.g., sweets, pizza, etc.) in front of the person or even offering some to him or her. The spouse’s perception of the client and the “new” relationship is also likely to shift, and the client may even worry that the partner will leave. In an attempt to keep the relationship intact, the client may abandon the weight-loss program, Dr. Kappas explained.

Alternatively, the client may abandon the weight-loss program and gain, or regain, weight as a way to end the relationship with the spouse without feeling guilt. In this case, the client may use weight to “get back at” a partner who says he or she will only return to the relationship once the client loses the weight.

Another possibility is that the client may be trying to make him- or herself unattractive to the partner because there is no sexual activity between them. This is a form of emotional blackmail; in this case, the hypnotherapist must deal with the client in terms of just the weight and not the person’s relationship with the spouse.

Food may also fulfill (gratify) a need that the client has, which the partner is not meeting in the relationship. Finally, weight-gain is also often related to problems or hang-ups with sexuality, which also leads to low self-esteem, Dr. Kappas said.

Emotional issues cause 20-percent of weight problems, said the HMI founder. “Weight is a glue that holds together a style of emotions, and by removing that glue the emotions are likely to fall apart.” Therefore, in these cases, the client must be emotionally ready and motivated to resolve the problem in order to lose the weight.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Special Discount for Military Personnel & 1^st Responders

Special Offer: 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, ER physicians and nurses, COVID-19 Ward staff).

*Not to be combined with any other promotions or discounts. Offer not redeemable for cash.