Hypnotherapists are very different from hypnotists we see on stage or in the media. There are no swinging pendulums or pranks played in this “mysterious” job. Career Central throws some light on this serious but misunderstood profession.

By Melody Tan

The job of a hypnotherapist is not to entertain, but to use hypnosis to help people overcome their fears, addictions and other trauma that are affecting their lives.

“Even if the client comes in expecting to bark like a dog, I wouldn’t want it to happen!” Chantal Brosens laughs. The 45-year-old certified hypnotherapist has been running her own business, Reconnect Within, for over two years.

In fact, a hypnotherapist has no power to make you do something against your will. William Sim, 43, a certified hypnotherapist who set up Total Recall Hypnosis three years ago, says, “Your mind is protecting you all the time, if you sense something is not right, your mind will shut down (and snap out of the hypnosis).”

What does a hypnotherapist actually do?

Hypnosis taps straight into the subconscious mind, which stores a bank of past memories and knowledge since birth. It bypasses the “critical factor”, which acts as information sieve between the conscious and subconscious levels in our mind. A hypnotherapist makes use of hypnosis to allow the client to relax and go deep into his or her subconscious to find the solution or reason to the problem.

“Think of it as unpeeling the layers of an onion. Hypnotherapy is just like that, just that it peels off the layers of problems and years of conditioning, and helps a person get to the core of his or her problem,” William says.

“We help and guide our clients to look for the solutions in their own subconscious mind, because they always have the answers, we just have to help locate them.”

How is it done?

To do this, the hypnotherapist invites the client to sit down and make him or herself comfortable. The client then talks about the issue at hand, and when he or she is entirely comfortable and ready, the hypnotherapist then conducts the hypnosis based on a systematic approach.

The hypnotherapist is able to guide the client into a state of deep relaxation, and suggest scenarios to him or her, so long as the client is willing to follow instructions. All throughout the process, the client is fully conscious and aware of what is happening, and can emerge out of it at any time.Chantal says, “It is a matter of trust as the client and the hypnotherapist has to work together. Talking is a powerful tool, and through conversation while the client is in a deeply relaxed state, they may subconsciously give you the answers to their own problems, which they may not have realised on a conscious level.”

“But it also depends on how much the client is willing to let himself go.”

William agrees. “If you ask me about what my success rates are, it really depends on the client. If they are not receptive or not ready, I can’t help them.”

A day in the life of a hypnotherapist

The issues that people come to both William and Chantal for help with include stress management, weight loss, low self-esteem, quitting smoking, overcoming phobias and other emotional trauma.

Chantal sees many business people who are climbing the corporate ladder and feeling too stressed out.

“There’s a lot of babble in their minds and hypnosis helps make it go away. These clients will often end the session saying ‘I never thought I could relax that much’. I actually think hypnotherapy makes them very much more productive in their work,” says Chantal.

William sees people of all ages, from kids with their parents in tow to elderly clients. However, he also adds that although they do get referrals from doctors, they are not equipped to treat mental or clinical cases as they are not doctors and do not prescribe any medicine.

As each client is different, there is no fixed number of hours for each session, nor any fixed number of sessions. As William says, “There’s no quick fix for this.” He charges $180 per session and can see about three clients a day. Sometimes he has to work on weekends and even past 9 pm, depending on the appointment. Chantal, however, has strict working hours from 8 am to 3 pm on weekdays. But sometimes she can make a few exceptions for special or urgent cases. She charges $150 per session and sees a maximum of two clients a day.'

Challenges and perks

Often, clients do come to them with serious deep-seated problems, and have gone through immense pain and torment.

These cases are particularly special to Chantal. “Because I work closely with them, I will definitely empathise with their problems. But I have to be professional and not get affected by them. Once they are out the door, I don’t keep their problems in here,” she says.

William has also met some clients who say they want to make changes or get solutions for their problems, but in truth, are apprehensive about getting treatment. “If you are half-hearted, as with anything else, you won’t be able to accomplish good results,” he says.

However, job satisfaction is high, especially when clients are able to recover from their problems.

Chantal, whose slogan is “dare to live the life you deserve”, says, “I’m very happy in my job and I feel blessed that I’m given a chance to help people. After a successful session I will tell them to buy a cake and celebrate their ‘birthday’, because on that day they’ve finally got to know themselves.”

Taking up the profession

According to William, a hypno-therapist must have “compassion, a sincere desire to help and be non-judgmental.”

Initially, he felt he was not suitable nor adequate enough for this job, but he gained confidence with practice. “I used to practise with my pillow, as if it was my client. Also, I would try to practise on my friends and their kids, although some of them, upon learning that I’m practising hypnotherapy, would make fun of me and say ‘Oh, we cannot look into your eyes’,” he laughs.

He was previously in a sales and marketing job, but was searching for a new direction in life when he was introduced to hypnotherapy by his friend. Chantal too was introduced to hypnotherapy by a friend, and as she was an active counsellor, she felt that hypnotherapy could help her counsel people in a more effective way. She says, “I’ve also been attracted to unconventional things all along, and I think I made the best choice in my life to go into this profession because the job satisfaction is incredible.”

As both William and Chantal says, hypnotherapy training is an ongoing process, and on top of their certification course, they’ve also taken counselling lessons as well as other courses to upgrade themselves.

“Healing work is like having a box of different tools. Hypnosis is just one of those tools among many others. We need many other tools to do our work well,” William says.

Chantal adds, “People’s minds are like pieces of a puzzle, if you can find all the missing pieces and put them together, they can be complete again. As a hypnotherapist I really want to educate people on how to help themselves. So if they feel better and don’t come back, it would actually be brilliant!”




Reconnect Within
Chantal Brosens
9780-4952
reconnectwithin@yahoo.com.sg

Total Recall Hypnosis
William Sim
6226-2178
totalrecall7@yahoo.com

All sessions are by appointment only.