We’ll begin by exploring your intentions for the session so we can choose the best approach—Reiki, hypnosis, somatic work, or a combination. We’ll ease in with gentle breathwork to help you settle into a calm, open, and receptive state. From there I’ll guide you into a deep, restorative relaxation while we gently facilitate the healing and shifts you’re seeking. Sessions are soothing and restorative; most people finish feeling refreshed, grounded, and renewed.

What is hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a focused, relaxed state of attention in which a person becomes more open to suggestions and guided mental processes. Contrary to common myths, it is not sleep or loss of control. During hypnosis, conscious attention narrows while awareness and concentration shift inward, allowing the mind to more readily access thoughts, memories, and behaviors that influence feelings and actions.

How it works

• Attention and relaxation: A trained practitioner guides the person into a calm, focused state using verbal cues, imagery, or breathing techniques.

• Increased suggestibility: In this state, the person is more likely to accept practical, therapeutic suggestions that align with their goals and values.

• Cognitive re-framing: Hypnosis can help shift automatic thoughts, break unhelpful patterns, and strengthen new responses by linking suggestions to existing motives and beliefs.

• Enhanced imagination and recall: Hypnosis often heightens the ability to imagine desired outcomes or revisit memories in a controlled way, which can support learning and emotional processing.

Common uses

• Stress reduction and relaxation

• Anxiety and panic management

• Insomnia and sleep improvement

• Pain management and chronic pain relief

• Habit change (smoking cessation, nail-biting)

• Performance enhancement (sports, public speaking, test-taking)

• Support during medical or dental procedures

• Complementary therapy for mood disorders and trauma-related symptoms

Safety and misconceptions

• People do not lose control under hypnosis; they remain aware and can decline suggestions that conflict with their values.

• Hypnosis does not implant false memories when used professionally; ethical practitioners avoid suggestion that could create inaccurate recall.

• Not everyone enters hypnosis in the same way; responsiveness varies, and effectiveness depends on motivation, expectations, and rapport with the practitioner.

• Hypnosis is best delivered by qualified professionals who integrate it with evidence-based therapeutic approaches when used for mental health or medical concerns.

What to expect in a session

• A brief intake to discuss goals and medical/psychological history

• A guided induction to achieve a focused, relaxed state

• Therapeutic suggestions tailored to the client’s objectives

• Post-session discussion of experiences and practical homework or strategies

If you’re considering hypnosis, choose a credentialed practitioner with training in clinical hypnosis or an appropriate health discipline, and discuss how it would fit into your overall care plan.

Somatic mind-body healing is an approach that recognizes the intimate connection between body and mind, using bodily awareness and movement to address emotional, psychological, and physical distress. It emphasizes sensing and tracking bodily sensations, breath, posture, and movement patterns to uncover how stress, trauma, and habitual reactions are held in the nervous system and tissues. Through practices such as guided somatic tracking, breathwork, gentle movement, grounding exercises, and nervous-system regulation techniques, clients learn to release tension, restore safety, and build resilience. The goal is not just symptom relief but retraining the body’s automatic responses so regulation, presence, and adaptive coping become accessible in daily life. Sessions are typically experiential and client-centered, integrating somatic awareness with talk-based reflection as needed.

Reiki, Hypnosis, and Somatic Therapy: Who They Help and What They Address

Reiki

• Who it’s good for: People seeking gentle, non-invasive support—those sensitive to touch, recovering from illness or surgery, or anyone who benefits from deep relaxation and stress reduction. Also helpful for people with chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, or sleep disturbances who want an adjunctive, holistic approach.

• What it addresses: Emotional and energetic imbalances, stress and tension, sleep issues, pain management, and overall wellbeing. Reiki complements medical and therapeutic care by promoting relaxation and restoring a sense of calm and balance.

Hypnosis

• Who it’s good for: Individuals motivated to change habits or patterns—smokers, people managing weight, those with specific phobias, performance anxiety, or chronic pain—and clients who respond well to guided imagery and focused attention. Suitable for adults and adolescents who can follow suggestions and engage in a goal-oriented process.

• What it addresses: Habit change (smoking cessation, overeating), anxiety and panic, sleep problems, pain perception, phobias, exam or performance nerves, and preparation for medical procedures. Often combined with cognitive and behavioral strategies for best results.

  Hypnosis is a focused, collaborative state that opens access to deeper patterns of thought, sensation, and habit. In this state, clients can safely reframe limiting beliefs, reduce automatic stress responses, and accelerate lasting behavior change. Through guided imagery, suggestion, and targeted techniques, hypnosis helps uncover root causes of unwanted symptoms, strengthen new neural pathways, and enhance self-awareness and motivation. The result is practical, measurable transformation: improved confidence, reduced anxiety, healthier habits, and greater emotional resilience. Hypnosis supports sustainable change by aligning conscious goals with the mind’s natural capacity for adaptation.

Somatic Therapy

• Who it’s good for: People with trauma histories, chronic stress, or body-based symptoms (tension, chronic pain, dissociation), and anyone whose emotional experiences are strongly expressed through the body. Beneficial for clients who have not found relief through talk therapy alone or who prefer embodied, experiential work.

• What it addresses: Trauma-related symptoms, nervous system dysregulation (hypervigilance, panic, shutdown), chronic muscular tension and pain, somatic presentations of anxiety and depression, and difficulties with grounding, presence, and bodily connection. Focuses on body awareness, regulation, and restoring healthy movement and physiological balance.

Choosing a modality

• Consider your goals: choose Reiki for relaxation and energetic support, hypnosis for targeted behavior change and symptom reframing, and somatic therapy for trauma, chronic body-based symptoms, and nervous system regulation.

• Complementary use: these approaches can be combined or integrated with talk therapy and medical care to address emotional, behavioral, and physical aspects of wellbeing.

I do not bill insurance directly, but many insurance plans offer partial reimbursement for holistic services. Please check with your provider to see whether they cover reiki and/or medical hypnosis. If they do, I’m happy to provide detailed receipts to assist you with reimbursement.