In some respects, the psyche is like a garden. When it is well tended, beautiful thoughts and emotions fill our clients’ minds and hearts. At times when clients display stress and anxiety, we want to calm them down in order to give them a chance to focus more on their personal development. These conditions cause the flowers of thoughts and positive feelings to be choked, much in the same way flowers get starved by weeds. 
 
Mindfulness has risen as a very popular means by which therapists of all kinds help clients to alleviate stress. Meditation, yoga, tai chi, mind-body exercises and additional contact with nature are ways that the world has tried to lessen anxiety and become more focused on the importance and beauty of each moment. 
 
Mindfulness practices are wonderful. In the garden, they might be equated to a “weed whacker”, which does a rather good job of making the weeds appear to go away for a time. Eventually, though, the weeds return and need to be “whacked” again. Mindfulness practices are just that: habits that must be practiced on a regular basis in order to be effective. 

Very little else besides good things can come from a sound mindfulness practice. However, in many clients’ cases, there is a need to address stress and anxiety at deeper levels, with hypnosis or hypnotherapy. Ran D. Anbar writes Psychology Today about the differences between meditation and hypnosis. He contrasts them as follows: 
“Hypnosis can be defined as a state of focused attention in which people can be more responsive to suggestion. Meditation can be defined as the use of a technique to train attention and awareness with the purpose of achieving mental clarity, calm, and stability.”  
 
Dr. Anbar doesn’t discuss hypnotherapy, but it is useful to know that hypnotherapy goes beyond hypnosis by allowing the therapist to reframe faulty ideas, often through age regression. By using this technique, clients are able to revisit earlier times in life where stressful emotions may have been repressed.  
 
They are then given opportunities to release them, and ultimately, understand how the ideas they developed about themselves at that time no longer serve them. Then it becomes possible to heal the pain of the past and reframe old impressions so that healthy, positive affirmations can be developed and put into place. 
 
In this way, the “weed” that is the faulty behavior is pulled out by its roots, and removed from the client’s consciousness. That makes it easy for the “flowers” represented by contentment and growth to flourish. Both hypnosis and hypnotherapy achieve more lasting results than meditation or other mindfulness practices alone. 
 
That doesn’t mean meditation isn’t useful. It’s certainly true that mindfulness practices can be used in conjunction with hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help clients maintain a calm and clear sense of stability. Hypnosis and/or hypnotherapy serve them further by providing a better point from which they can start. 

Obviously, therapists who are equipped with these tools will find it easier to treat clients and help them get to the root of fears, phobias, stress, and anxiety. The Wellness Institute’s Introduction to Hypnosis Course trains you in the basic techniques of hypnosis, and enables you to use the power of suggestion to enhance your clients’ lives in just 2 days! 
 
The Six Day Hypnotherapy Training and Certification Program includes the material presented in the introductory course, but goes much deeper. In this course, you’ll learn how to take clients back to early experiences, and treat issues including codependency, addiction, sexual abuse, mind-body dynamics, eating disorders, and more. After you finish the course and complete your practice sessions, you will receive dual certification in hypnotherapy and age regression. In most cases, both programs will let you earn CE credits. 
 
The Wellness Institute has been on the cutting edge of hypnotherapy training for more than three decades. All classes are offered live and online, giving you the opportunity to interact with instructors from the ease and comfort of your home or office environment. The Institute offers advanced training programs that you can pursue once you finish your initial hypnotherapy training. These programs provide paths for you to continue to refine your skills and continue your own healing work. 
 
The mission of The Wellness Institute is to “Heal the healers,” and once you experience being a client in the practice sessions included in the Six Day training, you’ll see just how valuable this work is for your well being as well as your clients’.  
 
You can enroll online, and if you have questions or want more insight or information, you can email our Operations Support Manager, who will always  be happy to help you. 
 
Classes are filling up fast, so Enroll in the 

Introduction to Hypnosis Course 

or  

Six-Day Hypnotherapy Training and Certification Program 
 
now!