Welcome! I am so happy you have found me here.  

I believe healing happens through the healthy collaborative exchange of energy between practitioner and client.  As a certified hypnotherapist and life coach, is my intention to create a safe and sacred space for the client's own inner wisdom to emerge. By allowing this inner knowing and intuition to be our guide, we engage the internal landscape to co-create a powerful healing experience. 

 I feel so blessed to be doing this work and I look forward to discussing how I can best support your inner journey and your highest good.    

- Audrey

What can hypnotherapy do for me?

Hypnotherapy is for everyone. It’s a great way to treat small problems and big problems.

In hypnosis, we can:

• Break old patterns and reduce or eliminate negative habits, replacing with more positive behaviors

• Improve performance and productivity at work, school, or with personal goals.

• Enjoy better health and immunity

• Improve memory and concentration

• Relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma.

• Overcome phobias and fears.

• Build confidence and self-esteem

• Feel more empowered, creative, accepting, and energized.

Here’s just a sample of some of the presenting issues I’ve treated successfully in the past:

• depression - mild, moderate and severe, with and without pharmaceutical antidepressant intervention

• traumas - specific traumatic events as well as complex and chronic trauma

• feelings of worthlessness

• overspending, shopping addictions

• lack of motivation

• pre and post-natal support

• dissociative disorders

• body dysmorphic disorder

• attachment disorders

• procrastination

• compulsive eating

• trichotillomania

• phobias - flying, bridges, snakes, dogs, water, swimming, needles

• addictions - marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, opioids, internet and social media

• grief - dealing with loss of loved one

• overcoming narcissistic abuse

• performance anxiety

• insomnia

• social anxiety

• panic attacks

• nail-biting

• breakups - moving on when a relationship has ended

• relationship conflict

• chronic pain - spine and back pain, arthritis

• migraines

• IBS

• tinnitus

• lyme disease

• time management problems

• exercise aversion

• emotional eating

• mood imbalances

• hormonal imbalances

Feel free to inquire if you’d like to hear more about my integrative approach to these conditions and the results of treatment

Don’t see your particular issues on this list? Let’s talk more - there’s no limit to what we can do together! And if I can’t help you, I’ll be happy to point you in the direction of someone who can.

What is hypnosis?

Meditation is on everyone's to do list these days. We've all heard how good it is for our health. New statistics come out regularly showing its benefits.  Most of us want to meditate but can't seem to find the time or can't seem to quiet our minds for more than a few seconds. For people in this category - and I used to be one! - meditation is just one more opportunity to fail at something we "should" be doing.  Most people are also surprised to hear that entering a hypnotic state (or a hypnogogic state as it is called)  is very much like entering a meditative state, only easier. And no, you don't lose consciousness or stark clucking like a chicken (unless you want to, of course, since you're still entirely in control of your own mind). In fact, for many people, it is often much easier to enter and sustain an hypnotic state with a trained hypnosis practitioner than it is to sit and attempt to meditate on ones' own. And what's interesting about this is that engaging in hypnosis with an experienced practitioner actually makes you a better meditator on your own. Because getting hypnotized increases your ability to practice meditation. To put it simply, each time you get hypnotized, you find it easier and easier to quickly enter and sustain a meditative mind set on your own. I know this because I've experienced it myself. And I've heard it from clients who report a greater and greater ease with their home practice after a few sessions. 

Now read this: if you read that paragraph above word for word, I just hypnotized you a little bit. No, really, it's true. Okay, sure, it's not exactly the same thing, but writing a persuasive paragraph is a lot like doing an 'induction' (that what we call it when a hypnotist uses their words to shift your consciousness). Both processes involve engaging the senses and narrowing the mind's focus to shift awareness. And then of course there is the matter of subtly but strategically convincing you to play along. If a writer is good enough, she can grab your attention with a good hook and pull you into her story before your logical mind starts to get antsy and finds something more important to do. Before you know it, you've lost fifteen minutes in someone else's thoughts. Perhaps even allowed the writers thoughts to become your own. I know for me, when I'm in the middle of a good novel I literally start to think in sentence structure and linguistic style as the characters I'm reading. I've been hypnotized by the syntax of my favorite writers! Has this happened to you? If you feel taken advantage of, remember that every advertisement you've ever seen or heard is using similar tactics, and we are supposedly exposed to thousands of them a day. 

If you're not convinced by now that hypnosis is happening to you on a daily basis, think about the amount of TV you watch. If you are like most people, television is a significant part of your life. Many of us use it to relax at the end of a long day. Some of us need it to get a blessed break from our regular mental program of STRESS. In fact, sitting down to  in front of the TV might be the only time in your day when you are able to let go of anxiety and mentally relax. Why do you think it's so addictive? Who doesn't want a break from the treadmill of our minds? Losing yourself into a TV show is pretty much hypnosis in action, without the therapeutic benefits (unless, of course, you are watching something uplifting and beautiful, with the intention of healing). So you can see, to answer the question "what is hypnosis?" can be tricky.

 Before you start worrying about subliminal messages and brainwashing, know this: you get to choose to allow yourself to be hypnotized or not. The truth is that for hypnotherapy to be effective, you have to be willing to let it happen. Some part of your mind must want to agree to let go and follow instructions, or suggestions as we call them in hypnotherapy.  This suggestibility is the secret ingredient that makes the street hypnotist or stage performer's rapid inductions so compelling. It's the mentalist's slight of hand that engages the willing part of your mind so quickly that your critical mind doesn't have time to put the brakes on. It's impressive to watch, but also makes people wary of hypnotists in general. No one wants to be made to look a fool. I'm going to go ahead and spoil the magic of the stage hypnotist's show by letting you in on a little secret only very suggestible subjects are picked to be hypnotized on stage. A good hypnotist will quickly and subtly assess the audience members and will only call up those who indicate high suggestibility. This goes to show that not only do we experience trance state differently, but even the induction experience (the way we enter trance state) is immensely variable from person to person.  Some of us enter a state of flow easily and willingly. Others have vigilant 'gatekeepers' who block us from participating.

Like everything else that makes up our identity, our mental processes are unique to our biology, our upbringing, our habits and beliefs. It follows of course, that our experiences of entering a hypnotic state are also unique. Therefore, hypnosis means something different for each of us. 

To try and pin down a scientific definition of a trance state is difficult to say the least. No one can really claim to know exactly WHAT hypnosis IS, any more than we can define sleep as an entity. Its a fluid process of consciousness that is similar to, but also very different from our "ordinary" consciousness. What we can do is describe what happens while we are in this trance state, and we can measure its effects on our patterns of thought and behavior

  When people ask me what it is I do with clients, I usually offer this working description:  hypnosis is the art of facilitating a subject's entering into an altered state of consciousness where we can access the inner mind for positive chance. This is just the beginning, but I'll save the exploration of the deeper aspects  for another time. For now, while we can't say with any definite certainty what exactly hypnosis is, we can measure it against regular states of consciousness. We can see and feel that it is a state of trance where a subject is more relaxed, more focused, and more receptive to suggestion than they typically are in their normal waking state of consciousness.  And perhaps most importantly, we can see its effects. When a client leaves a session feeling more uplifted, happier, healthier and more relaxed than they were when they came in, I know something happened. You can call it magic, or placebo, or healing, or hypnosis - call it what you like, it's beautiful. When they have greater ease in achieving and maintaining their goals, I call that success.  

Common Hypnosis Myths Debunked

Of all the alternative and holistic forms of therapy out there today, hypnotherapy has been given perhaps the most attention from the media. Most people have heard of it, or have a friend who has tried it. Unfortunately that media attention has also contributed to many outrageous misconceptions and false beliefs. Let's take a look at what is and what isn't true about the art of hypnosis from the practitioner's point of view. 

Myth: Hypnosis is like being put to sleep.The term hypnosis comes from the Greek to put to sleep. But this is rather misleading. In a true a hypnotic state you are far from asleep. Many patients do report a feeling of heaviness or drowsiness upon emerging from hypnosis, but neuroscience tells us that as far a brainwave activity goes, a hypnotic state is actually more akin to a meditative state than a sleeping one. In hypnosis, our minds are in a heightened state of focused attention - more focused than our ordinary waking consciousness.  Rather than zoning out, its more like being more keenly aware of your own inner state. 

Most hypnotists use deep relaxation techniques to induce hypnosis, but others argue its possible to hypnotize anyone no matter how relaxed they are.  I think this is in line with what happens when we read a really good book - no matter how activated or jazzed up or anxious you are when you sit down, as soon as you start reading the outer world falls away and you are drawn in, losing track of time and perhaps even experiencing reduced sensory awareness.  This shift in consciousness occurs naturally to each of us on a daily basis. It can happen when listening to a particularly beautiful piece of music, or a doing a repetative, enjoyable activity

Myth: You have no control when you are hypnotized and therefore are very vulnerable. 

 The American Institute of Hypnosis states that the altered state of mind that characterizes hypnotic state produces three things: "1) an increased concentration of the mind, and 2) an increased relaxation of the body, and 3) an increased susceptibility to suggestion."  In this state of relaxed focus, we are more suggestible - meaning we are more receptive to messages and information. This is the key difference between a trance state and hypnosis for therapeutic purposes: the intention to use the mind's natural receptivity when it is in a relaxed and focused hypnotic state for healing and positive change. 

"All hypnosis is self hypnosis"

 Many people are afraid that entering hypnosis leaves them at the mercy of the hypnotist. They worry they will lose control or be humiliated in the process. These fears often derive from the legacy of stage hypnotism that uses performance techniques to entertain audiences. Hypnosis for therapeutic purposes is an entirely different practice. In hypnotherapy, a client is completely in control and usually conscious throughout. Unless all the parts of you want to go extremely "deep" into an altered state, you wont. And you won't be turned into a chicken every time you hear a bell or forget your name. Unless you want to of course, we can work on that. But in fact, more often than not, the opposite is true: many people have strong resistance to the relaxation process needed to enter a hypnotic state. Through gentle relaxation, self-acceptance and trust building, it is possible to overcome, or make peace with this resistance in order to open up the deep mind for healing. 

Myth: Hypnotherapy is like magic! It can cure you of a lifelong addiction in one session. To be truthful, this is uncommon. Miracles do occur and hypnosis can and does help so many people overcome serious challenges like nicotine addiction and obesity etc. But this kind of change takes serious commitment and a willingness to participate in the work. A hypnotherapist is not doing anything to you that you are not also doing for yourself. They cannot magically wave their hand and release you from the bonds of negative habits just like that. But the inner mind is powerful, and hypnosis gives you access to it in a way that often shortcuts a lot of other kinds of techniques. This is important: it usually takes repetition over time for hypnosis to be effective in long term positive change.

Hypnotherapy as a healing art is done with the utmost respect for the client's comfort and wellbeing. But it is also a co-creative process; the practitioner facilitates by holding the space as a safe and sacred container for the client's own inner wisdom to guide an inward journey. This practice is ancient as the  human mind  and is what the shamans and ancient seers meant by "lifting the veil" that separates the known world from the inner realms. It is entering the dreamtime described by indigenous peoples. It harnessing the power of the unconscious as Jung described it.  In so many ways, it IS magical. But no more magical than dreaming or creating beautiful art, or any other act of mental power. We all have this ability to tap into that deep well of creative life force from which all our mental power is derived. The deep mind is where this power resides. Hypnosis is one doorway into that realm. It is our birthright, and I am honored to witness and experience the wonder of the process with each induction as a practitioner of hypnosis as a healing art. 

Rates and Services

Individual Hypnosis 

The list of benefits of hypnosis is impressive. Stress relief, improved immunity, greater self-confidence, increased sense of well being, lower blood pressure, anxiety relief, chronic pain management...there is so much potential in this healing art. 

If you are new to hypnosis and curious how it will work for you, or if you're ready to treat yourself to a deeply relaxing experience, or perhaps you want to work on attaining a specific goal in your life - an individual session is an affordable and flexible way to experience the benefits of this healing practice. 

Give the ultimate gift of inner peace. A wonderful way to treat those you love. 

Testimonials

Here's what my clients are saying about their experiences

ANSWERS TO FAQ's

Can everything be treated by hypnotherapy? 

Serious psychiatric or mental health problems are referred to a qualified psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Medical problems with the physical body must always be treated by a physician, who can, at his or her discretion, prescribe hypnotherapy for pain control, hypnoanesthesia or relaxation. Serious drug addiction, family dynamics disorders, clinical depression and other more complex problems need to be treated by doctors and psychiatrists, who can, at their discretion, prescribe hypnotherapy as a supplementary treatment

Do always keep in mind that hypnosis is not a cure for serious mental illness, and people suffering from psychosis, suicidal depression, or that are on medications for psychological stability should only be hypnotized by their doctors or psychiatrists or by an experienced hypnotherapist with the client's doctor or psychiatrist present.

How much does it cost?

Rates vary depending on the type of work we are doing. I work with each client to come up with a treatment plan that suits your individual needs.

• I offer sliding scale payments $85-120 per 90 minute session.

• I offer free phone consultations for new clients. Get in touch if you would like to discuss if hypnotherapy might benefit you.

• Smoking cessation and weight loss programs and other intensive treatments require a long term commitment for success. For most long-term results, a series of 6 sessions is recommended .

I believe very strongly that alternative and natural healing arts should be accessible to ALL people regardless of income level.  No one is turned away for lack of funds. Please contact me to discuss your situation. 

Will it help me quit smoking? Can it make me lose weight?  

Despite the advertising and marketing claims, there is more to changing serious habits and additions like smoking than just a single hypnotic suggestions.  No one can make you change if you don't want to.  Hypnosis can and does change lives, but the fine print is this: you have to really want to change, you have to believe it is possible to change, and you have to be willing to do some work outside of the session. Often, you have to be willing to commit to several sessions of hypnosis as well as some homework in-between sessions to see results.  

I heard you can listen to CD's to do hypnosis at home. Does that work? What about group hypnosis? 

While sitting in a room with 50 other people in a seminar, or listening to a CD can work, it is usually much more effective to have a personalized session with a hypnotherapist, who can customize the approach, language and replacement suggestions to match your lifestyle and circumstances.  I do advocate and teach self-hypnosis to clients with long term goals. This is a wonderful way to reinforce what we do together in a session and see more lasting results. 

Do you offer other kinds of services?

Yes! I absolutely believe in the term "holistic" when we describe alternative healing arts as working with the whole person. Healing happens on many levels, and most often a physical ailment has its roots in a spiritual or emotional conflict, or vice versa. Healing is therefore complex, and all levels of a person's existence should be taken into account. 

Western Folk Herbalism, Herbal Medicine and Nutritional Coaching

 I have been a practicing herbalist for the last 5 years. I am currently working toward a certificate as an advanced herbalist through the Herbal Academy of New England and also taken many trainings and workshops with some of our most beloved herbalists such as Rosemary Gladstar, Rocio Alarcon, Pam Montgomery, and others. I completed my basic training as a community herbalist at the Elder Moon School of Herbal Medicine in Woodstock with community herbalist Jen Costa. I offer consultations for those seeking herbal support for improved health and wellness. I also offer classes on basic herbal formulas for those who would like to learn to make their own herbal remedies for common ailments. 

I can help address dietary concerns and questions you might have. Clients in my weight loss and smoking programs receive herbal formulas I've made to bring support to their efforts. 

Contact me to discuss how plant medicines can change your life, or to book a hypnosis session that includes herbal therapeutics.  

Tarot Readings and Spiritual Counseling 

I've been a student of the tarot for two decades. I  am excited to share my tarot reading skills for clients who are keen on this ancient archetypal language of divination. I love working with tarot as a tool for guidance on personal, spiritual, or any life matter. I read tarot often form the perspective of Jungian depth psychology.  As Jung tells us, the unconscious mind speaks in symbol and image. What better way to work with the deep mind's own language than to use the universal symbols we find in the traditional tarot's narrative of the fool's journey?

For those open minded clients, I often like to begin a hypnosis session with a reading as a doorway into the subconscious mind. It's also a great way to end a session, when a card spread can help us collect the major lessons and themes of the inner journey, and help guide the next steps. 

Contact me to schedule a private reading or schedule a hypnosis session that incorporates tarot wisdom.

Dreamwork, Dream therapy

Dreams, in my opinion, are truly the most magnificent and powerful aspect of being human. Dreams are so much more than just fleeting images that our brains conjure while we sleep. They are the windows into our souls, they are the language of the unconscious, they are… so much more. I’ve always been keen on exploring and my dreams and finding meaning in them, and I’ve had a strong personal dream practice for over a decade. I’ve also trained in dream healing and dreamwork practices with Robert Moss, Toko Pa Turner, and Kelly Sullivan Walden. Some of these practices include dream incubation, improved dream recall and analysis, lucid dreaming and more. I can help you establish your own dream practices to supercharge your life with meaning and fast track your personal development.

EFT, or Tapping, and Sound Healing

These are two very different practices - one using taps on body meridians while repeating affirmations. The other involves using sound and resonance to stimulate the body’s own healing vibrations. I like to incorporate both into hypnosis sessions for enhanced effect. Be sure to ask if you’re interested in incorporating either of these into your sessions.

Reiki and Energy Work 

Finally, I am a certified Reiki practitioner. Contact me if you would like to schedule a session or if you would like to discuss how to combine these alternative healing practices for a powerful holistic healing experience that can bring subtle or drastic changes for a more positive, healthy, spiritually engaged life. 

What should I expect for my first appointment? 

Fill out the intake forms and bring them to your first session.

Wear comfortable clothing.

Avoid caffeine and other stimulants in the hours leading up to your appointment. 

Have an open mind! Everyone experiences hypnosis differently. Even those who believe they cannot be hypnotized will will enjoy the benefits of relaxation and stress relief.