what is clinical hypnosis?
Hi there, thanks for arriving here with your curiosity around clinical hypnosis/ subconscious reprogramming! (I often use clinical hypnosis and subconscious reprogramming interchangeably).
After over a year of studying, experiencing, and practicing, I have officially received my Clinical Hypnosis Certification with A Deep Space. Hypnosis has seriously leveled up my life and I am so happy to start offering opportunities for you to experience it as well.
The subconscious mind: Your subconscious mind stores your memories, beliefs, and past experiences, and it influences at least 95% of how you think, feel, and show up in the world. So, if your thoughts, behaviors, or emotions don’t align with the life you desire, it’s not because you’re doing something wrong… it might just be that your subconscious programming needs support.
This is where hypnosis comes in.
How hypnosis works: Hypnosis is the process of guiding you into an altered state of consciousness called trance, in order to access and reprogram your subconscious mind.
In trance, your brainwaves shift from the faster gamma and beta states into slower theta and alpha states (a deeply relaxed and highly receptive place). Being in trance isn’t rare or dramatic. In fact, you already experience these brain states daily, like when you're drifting off to sleep, brushing your teeth on autopilot, or realizing you’ve arrived home without remembering the drive.
In this state, your nervous system and conscious mind relax, and your brain becomes more neuroplastic… meaning more open to change.
In trance state, you can bypass the analytical, thinking mind and introduce new suggestions directly into the subconscious, where real transformation happens. (Don’t worry, your subconscious mind will never accept suggestions that do not align with your core value system, so there’s no space for sneaky or unwanted mind control here)!!!
Yes, you can reprogram your subconscious and shift your beliefs to align with your desires without hypnosis… it just takes a whole lot of consistency and repetition, which can feel like a lot of work! What’s so neat about this modality is that changes or shifts that may have taken weeks, months or years of effort to integrate, can happen a lot faster and without so much resistance along the way.
What the process looks like: During clinical hypnosis, the hypnotist gently guides you into trance using simple relaxation techniques, creates a safe and grounded space for expanded inner awareness and change, and offers empowering suggestions, visualizations, and affirmations to support your goals. Imagination is the language of the subconscious mind, so the process inherently build self trust as you learn to understand and receive information from your subconscious mind. Each session is collaborative, respectful, and customizable.
The potential benefits: Because we can so easily integrate new thought patterns and belief systems through this process, hypnosis becomes a powerful pathway to release fear, shame, guilt, anxiety, trauma responses, limiting beliefs, addictions, and other patterns that no longer support you. It opens the door to reconnecting with the truth of who you are, so you can feel more aligned, empowered, and free to live the life you truly desire.
Hypnosis can help reorient your nervous system towards safety and inner resourcing, so that you have more capacity as you process stress in your life. This type of regulation can be truly supportive on a multi-system level.
My story: I found hypnosis when I was living in San Diego and came across a discount package of group hypnosis gatherings at a hypnosis, breathwork + sound healing studio called A Deep Space. To be honest, I didn’t really know anything about hypnosis, but I am always curious and open to try new modalities. I decided to take a chance and check it out.
The first session I attended was called “Hypnotic Breathwork”, a combination of breathwork and guided hypnosis. The facilitator set the tone of safety and support and I was able to move stagnant energy in my body and explore my subconscious mind in a way that felt deeply relaxing and revelatory. Each person in the circle would have a different experience, but it felt really connective to know that we may be moving through different things, but we were doing it together. I walked away feeling more centered and connected, both to myself and the folks I had shared the experience with.
It felt empowering that, instead of feeling like I have to “do the WORK” of creating change with my conscious brain, my subconscious mind was intuitively making shifts and gently revealing wisdom that allowed me to show up differently in my life. Group hypnosis became a regular part of my routine, a space I knew I could go to slow down, become aware of the programs were running underneath the surface of my very full life, and align more closely with my dreams and desires.
Later that year, A Deep Space offered it’s first clinical hypnosis certification program and for me it was a full bodied “yes”! And for the last year and a half, not only have I been learning and practicing how to facilitate hypnosis in groups and in one on one sessions, I have continued to receive and experience subconscious reprogramming for myself.
Hypnosis has been incredibly helpful for me personally and professionally in rewriting internal stories around scarcity, imposter syndrome, procrastination, and my sense of worthiness. I feel more confident and capable, and more free to take up space and share my magic with the world. I have felt particularly supported by hypnosis in processing old grief through inner child exploration and parts work. Through accessing a more robust sense of inner resourcing and self trust I notice that my window of tolerance is much wider than it has been in the past. I find it easier to pause and check in with my center, and respond instead of react. I could go on and on…
I hope you’ll join me at a group hypnosis circle soon!
With gratitude + care,
Kat
Make sure to check out the Events section so see if there are any upcoming Group Hypnosis Experiences that you can attend to explore hypnosis for yourself!