I had heard about hypnotherapy, but my very conservative upbringing labeled it as “mind-control,” “dangerous,” or, worse, “a tool of the devil.” I knew it had been used successfully by early European psychologists and psychiatrists for years, but I wanted no part of it.

Until my senior year in college.

Around the time I was wrapping up my bachelor’s degree in psychology, I met a student who belonged to a group researching telekinesis–:the ability to change objects with mental power. He showed me a handful of forks and spoons that curled onto themselves like snails. He claimed that he had witnessed these objects being bent by thought alone. He begged me to join the research, insisting that he sensed the same power within me. I refused. That was too far out there, too scary, for me to even consider it.

A month later I was offered the opportunity to take a graduate level class in hypnotherapy from a therapist trained in Europe. Normally, I would have headed in the other direction, but the “mind-bending” student had triggered my curiosity about the power of the mind. I signed up for the 6-hour-per-day, weekly summer class.

It was an immersion class of 24 students in which we participated in group meditation, or took turns being the hypnotherapist and the subject. From the very first class, I began to embrace the tools and feel the benefits of hypnotherapy. Regulated breathing, meditation, and guided visualization quickly led to easy control of anxiety and worry. It enhanced my sense of connection to others. Through symbolic images and retrieved experiences, it clarified my decisions, released old hurts, and guided my next steps.

But when the class ended, I put that knowledge aside. I continued my doctoral training, learning conventional therapy techniques and popular psychological theories. Then, several years ago, I was moved to return to my study of hypnotherapy, meditation, and spirituality. I took courses and attended seminars that taught the skills and described the rapid results of hypnotherapy for anxiety management, smoking cessation, physical healing, and trauma resolution. I knew I had to share these benefits with my clients.

Almost half of my practice now is hypnotherapy to address a broad spectrum of problems. My studies continued and expanded. I now offer meditation and visualization to allow spirit connection. I have completed classes in past life regression, and my clients who have accessed past lives have found closure, experienced peace, and achieved greater understanding of their life choices. My studies continue in this amazing field.

I am continually grateful to that spoon-bending fellow who challenged me to think with an open mind. I still don’t know if telekinesis is real. But hypnotherapy has proven itself to me and my clients over and over again.