In March of 2007 my son Tommy was invited to a prom in Palm Beach, Florida. We live in Ohio so it meant he would stay with his date’s family. He asked if I could go with him as his date’s parents were long time family friends. My wife suggested I find a continuing education class in hypnosis available during the time I would be there. I got busy and looked online and found The Six-Day Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy certification training in Fort Lauderdale. I had been a therapist for 20+ years and had some basic hypnotherapy skills and thought that taking the course might be of use in my private practice.

Opening the Door to Abundance

Little did I know I was opening the door to an abundance of my own personal healing as well as creating a community of therapists in Ohio that continues to grow. I discovered during my Six Day that it was possible to heal the deep wounds rather than ignore them. In my case, it was the sudden death of my daughter in 2004. Even though I had managed to continue working as a therapist, I had closed off my own heart in order to not feel grief. In doing this I had become frozen emotionally. Thanks to my Six Day classmates and the wonderful Wellness therapists – Caren, Matt and Aida – I was able to heal the deep wounds of my life including the amazing healing of my grief. I had found in Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy (HCH) a therapy that was amazing in its depth to bring wholeness in two short sessions I had during the six day.

During the Six Day I had an opportunity to discuss with Caren doing more work on myself as well as further refining my skills. Caren told me that there was an advanced two year program that met quarterly. I knew I was going to attend it. I thought I should consult with my wife since there was a financial investment involved. I called her back in Ohio and told her my experience and how I wanted to continue to grow and develop my skills and continue what I had started internally. She immediately told me that she had received a retroactive raise that covered the costs and was very willing to support the investment. I have since learned that once I am clear about my intention the universe provides what I need: one of the many lessons I have learned at The Wellness Institute.  

Heart-Centered Therapists

When I began the training in 2007 there were two other therapists in all of Northeast Ohio that I knew had taken the Heart-Centered training. Over the course of the past seven years there is now a thriving community of over 100 therapists in Northeast Ohio! I have had the pleasure of teaching many of them in the Six Day programs and in the advanced two year program. Additionally, I am currently the director of holistic psychotherapy at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative Medicine where I have the pleasure of working with seven other Heart-Centered therapists. In future posts I will share with you some of the many programs that are being developed at the Center for Integrative Medicine, and the exciting research documenting the efficacy of Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy.  

I often tell my son that without his going to the prom in Florida, my life may have turned out very differently. I am glad I found The Wellness Institute, and I hope you do too.

Tom Gigliotti LISW-S ACHT