This was actually my first blog, written in November 2012. Blogging was a big step for me — I actually thought a blog was some sort of self flagellation, and was pretty much opposed to it. Fortunatley for me (and perhaps for you?) my colleagues assured me that it was a positive thing to do…

I am a mental health therapist and a hypnotherapist — as in I strive to help others face their demons, purge their pain and be more like the person they want to be. I love this work. I find people so brave to share their deepest thoughts and I am fascinated with every person I sit with. Seriously, every single person. I have yet to find someone shallow but perhaps I just don’t get out much.

My background is Adlerian Therapy and I have worked with a broad spectrum of people from the severely and persistently mentally ill to the addicted, in clinic’s, sub-acute crisis residentials and psych hospitals. I took time off to raise my young children and unbeknownst to me, deal with the most thought provoking, maddening and exhilarating little people I had ever been exposed to….like a virus that you grow fond of. Although many days have left me confused as to who to taser I realize what profound gifts I have received from my children—gifts that have have shaped me into a better, more balanced and compassionate therapist. I have learned so much about patience, intuitiveness, forgiveness, pride, consistency, reflection, encouragement vs praise, sacrifice, fierce protectiveness and love, letting go and devotion. I am excited about the more developed individual I have become and how I can use these new found skills to care for and help my clients.

I see hypnosis as a therapeutic tool that relies on skill, creativity, intuition and self confidence. In a way, it is harder than traditional “talk” therapy. As a hypnotherapist, you must work hard mentally to intuit what your client needs to hear, and to speak the right words that will resonate with them, with the right amount of overtness or subtly for them to accept. I am excited and challenged by this form of therapy, but see that I can access the subconscious mind in a way that I couldn’t before so that both the subconscious and conscious mind are working together. This is exciting and an almost magical experience for me.

I look forward to helping more people by using hypnotherapy—and to chronicling my experiences with it as I do so.

www.focushypnosisvancouver.com