Meet Sean Wheeler, Certified Atlanta Hypnotherapist

Sean Wheeler is the most popular Atlanta hypnotherapist, appearing on CNN (see video below), Nancy Grace (forensic hypnosis), and Q100's The Bert Show (helping host stop smoking, and guests' relationship troubles). He is recognized as one of the leading experts in hypnosis, performing over 10,000 sessions for more than 2,500 clients.

1. How did you first become involved with hypnotherapy?

I actually graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and my first job out of college was working with CNN. Within a couple years, I had my first opportunity to actually be on TV and anchor a sports segment. I decided to try a session of hypnosis to help with the anxiety I always felt in front of the camera, and needless to say, it went well!

Not only did it help me feel more relaxed and confident in front of the camera; it also helped my overall sense of confidence and well-being. I changed dramatically as a person during the next couple of years, so when I fell victim to CNN's layoffs shortly following the ill-fated AOL/Time Warner merger, I used it as an opportunity to study hypnotherapy full-time, and I became certified.

After getting hired by another department within Turner later that year, I built my hypnotherapy practice on the side until finally taking it full-time in 2007. It's funny, because since leaving my TV career, I've appeared on TV (and radio) numerous times as a hypnotist, and that initial experience with hypnosis is still helpful to me to this day.

2. What is the strangest fear you've helped someone overcome?

While I've worked on a wide range of odd and interesting fears and phobias (including the fear of vegetables!), my favorite story will always be the client who had a fear of cats. This was a 52 year-old woman who'd been afraid of cats since she was 19--so for more than 30 years. Her fear had been so intense that she wouldn't even enter a home if she knew a cat lived there. It dramatically affected her ability to go places and do things. 

The best part of this story is that I met this woman in my hypnotherapy class. So when I worked with her, it wasn't for money; it was for class credit! I asked if she'd let me hypnotize her because at that time, I was the proud owner of two cats. My thinking was "If this works, we'll find out right away!"

When she arrived at my home for the session, she checked to make sure that I'd locked the cats in their cages, in a separate, locked room, before she would enter. Two hours later, she was holding my cats in her arms, sobbing. Happy tears! She couldn't believe what she was doing, or that such a dramatic change could happen so quickly.

After she left, I did an enthusiastic "fist-pump" because it was at that moment I knew that not only did hypnosis work, but I also knew that I could be successful with it as a therapist.

3. Why does hypnosis work so fast?

Hypnosis tends to work more quickly than other forms of therapy because it's used to communicate directly to the subconscious mind. Most other forms of therapy utilize solely the conscious mind (or "will power"), where participants find change to be a slow and painful process.

When communicating only with the conscious mind, you're avoiding the real problem, which is the internal conflict that exists within the mind. Most of my clients know what they should be doing (i.e. stop smoking, eat healthier, etc), but there's an internal conflict between the logical and emotional minds that causes distress and frustration.

Hypnotherapy actually slows things down during the session itself in a way that allows the subject to really hear, receive, and process information without external distractions, and thus much more efficiently. Hypnosis also produces a deep state of mental and physical relaxation which helps individuals to think more clearly and subsequently make better decisions. 

But perhaps most importantly, by communicating with the subconscious (emotional) mind, hypnotherapy can end the internal conflict and produce an internal agreement that leads to immediate changes that feel natural and comfortable right away.

4. What's been your greatest success story in helping others with hypnosis?

Wow. It's very difficult to pick one specific story out of two thousand clients, but one story that comes to mind is a client (now friend) named Ann Russell. When she first contacted me, she did so by email because at that time, her anxiety made her incapable of making a phone call. She was also painfully shy and struggled to even make eye contact with people.

We met for an initial session, and while we discussed many topics (including performance anxiety), nothing particularly spectacular happened that day. But a week or so later when she came back for a second session, something spectacular did happen. It happened to be that rare week when Atlanta was hit with an ice storm, so when she arrived outside my then home office, her car got stuck on a steep incline and was slowly sliding backwards toward several parked cars.

I found this out when my phone rang. The woman who wasn't previously able to make a phone call was calling me for help! So I put on my best ice-walking shoes (!) and ran out to see if I could help her avoid disaster. 

When I got to her car, I took some cardboard boxes out of her trunk and placed them underneath her rear tires; she got a bit of traction and was able to find some dry pavement.

When we sat down to do the session, Ann was most amazed with how she'd just been able to communicate with me, think on her feet, and follow instructions. She told me that previously, her performance anxiety would have "shut her down" and essentially paralyzed her in such situations. 

We did a number of sessions that year over the course of 6-7 months, and the happy ending to this story took place nearly a year following our initial session, when she agreed to share her story in front of an audience of roughly 100 people at my annual World Hypnotism Day seminar. The same woman who had hidden in the back row and avoided eye contact with everyone the previous year was now standing in front of the room, holding a microphone, and talking about her experience with hypnosis.

It was the best endorsement I could possibly receive, and it still makes me smile just thinking about how much Ann has changed.

5. I see you are married with a beautiful little girl. How does your personal life impact your professional one?

Since my daughter Sienna is my undisputed #1 priority in life, I've actually structured my work schedule around spending as much time with her as possible. I see fewer clients than I could because there's no amount of money that can buy back the time I spend with her during these early years of her life.

But I'd have to say that the reverse of this question is something worth discussing even more. My professional life and experience as a hypnotherapist has had a tremendous impact on my personal life, especially as it relates to my daughter.

I've discovered through years of therapy that many of my clients' problems had roots in their childhood--specifically related to their experiences with their parents. Those who develop serious self-confidence or self-esteem issues often were ignored, abandoned, or abused by one or both of their parents.

It's become so clear to me that by the time Sienna was born, I already knew that I'd be sacrificing some financial success in order to be more present in her life. I'm comfortable with that, and grateful every day that I've made the choice to do so. I know from experience that with the right kind of attention and guidance, she's going to grow and develop into a confident, happy, and capable adult.

Thanks, Sean!

Meet Gayle Nielsen, Hypnotherapist and Artist

Gayle Nielsen is a Master Hypnotherapist based in Wisconsin who works with clients using cutting edge consciousness technology to shift their reality. Her life is her art--helping everyday people live their lives in new and more joyful ways. Her photography and digital art inspires both herself and others with new perspectives and possibilities. Visit Gayle online at perfectspirit.com, as well as on Facebook. The photos in this post were taken by Gayle.

1. How did you first become interested in doing hypnotherapy work?

I've been interested in the power of our subconscious mind and in helping others ever since I was a child. When I had the opportunity to make a career change, after years of working in a technical field for a large corporation, I pursued the training in hypnosis and other holistic modalities that allow me to really help my clients now.

2. What are some issues that you help clients address through hypnotherapy?

In addition to the usual things like smoking cessation, weight release, and stress relief, I love to do regression sessions with clients to help them resolve long-standing issues that prevent them from being truly happy with the life they are creating. I feel great when a client is totally amazed with the results we achieve together.

3. What is Matrix Energetics®, and how does it help people?

While it's not really possible for me to define what Matrix Energetics® is, I can say that I've learned a set of tools that make it easier for me to access my natural abilities, the same abilities that each of us has, to shift reality in what seems to be a miraculous way. It has been my experience that clients have had positive changes in relationships, careers, and health after an ME session. I've seen this in my life as well! And it happens in what seems to be a natural way, as if that wonderful thing that just happened has always been there, but just now is the client noticing it!

4. Reading your blog, it seems to me that your interest in taking photos also approaches photography as a metaphor. Would you tell us a little more about this?

Maybe, yes, a metaphor for life. When I notice something interesting and decide to photograph it, I’ve just taken a representative moment of that thing, from my perspective, with that specific lighting, through the lens of my awareness, to create a unique experience that I may be able to share with others. I share the symbol of that thing...not the thing itself. Isn't that what we do with our lives? We choose a series of unique moments of awareness, influenced by our seeming past, moving into the future, keeping the ones we want and discarding the ones we don't to experience, in the end, a complete work of art called our life. Sharing with others--optional.

5. What do you see as the relationship between art and healing?

I don't really like the word "healing." It assumes that there is a state of being "not well" from which we need to be healed. I don't believe that. What I believe is that we subconsciously, unconsciously, are choosing to experience everything in our life. Pain may be useful as a signal to change something. Creating art is an intentional process, as creating our life may be. It's a sharing of perspective and observations. The deepest pain has created some of the most meaningful transformations. Life IS art. Art IS life.

Thanks, Gayle!

Meet Patricia McBride, Author and Hypnotherapist

A practicing hypnotherapist and the author of How to Be Assertive, The Assertive Social Worker, and other self-help books, Patricia McBride has been teaching assertiveness skills for over 20 years. She describes herself as an "ex-wimp" who found the first assertiveness course she attended was a real life-changer, and she's been enthusiastically sharing these skills with a wide range of people ever since.

Learn more about assertiveness and confidence building at Patricia's blog, assertiveyou.com. And find Patricia's latest book on Amazon Kindle.

1. How did you first become interested in the topic of assertiveness?

Many years ago, as a newly qualified social worker, I found myself nervous of dealing with both my clients and my colleagues. I sometimes had to give difficult messages to my clients and, as I liked almost all of them, that was difficult. My colleagues were harder, though. I come from a working class family, where no one ever challenged professional people (or "toffs" as they called them). Suddenly, I was in meetings with doctors and other professionals, and I didn't always agree with what they said. Coupled to that, I was very shy about speaking out in meetings. Sometimes, I left meetings really kicking myself that I hadn't spoken out.

Luckily, my boss agreed to pay for me to attend a three-day assertiveness course. It was a fantastic experience that helped me so much. I have loved sharing the skills with others ever since.

2. What do you draw from to shape the stories about real-life situations related to assertiveness on your blog--from your personal experience, professional experience, or a combination?

When writing my books and my blog, I draw from a variety of sources. My own life, of course, but also stories told me my friends and stories I hear on courses. Naturally, I change the details and the names so that confidentially is respected.

I am constantly surprised how much difficulty in relationships is caused by lack of assertiveness. This can be anything from expressing your own wishes about how to spend Christmas or other holidays to saying "yes" or "no" between the sheets. And, of course, if everyone in soap operas were assertive, there would be no drama!

3. In your hypnotherapy practice, what are some difficulties you see people facing which relate to issues with having trouble asserting oneself?

I am a Cognitive Hypnotherapist as well as an author. I find that hypnotherapy clients sometimes come to me with problems that relate to assertiveness. For example, they may lack the confidence to do well at job interviews, presenting themselves too modestly. Sometimes they have to speak in public, and this leaves them fearful, especially if the message they have to give may not be well received. In these cases, as well as hypnotherapy, I teach them assertiveness and sometimes influencing skills, too. It is amazing how much improvement can be made in just one or two sessions.

4. What inspired you to write your book, How to Be Assertive?

Although I have a blog on assertiveness and run courses on the topic, I wanted to reach a wider audience. The skills are so important: they can improve confidence, enhance job prospects, even turn your life around. I hope that my book How to be Assertive will inspire many people to make the changes in their lives to help them lead the life they want. It is full of really practical ideas, and each chapter has at least one "Try this!" section. By trying out these suggestions, readers will get so much more from the book

5. Why do you see conversations as a key to gaining more confidence?

Conversations are key to assertiveness. We need to consider not just what we say, but how we say it, and how we look as we say it. It is estimated that 65% of the message that we give others non verbal. That is not just our clothes and hairstyle, but our body language. It is hugely important. Another 25% of our impact relates to our voice. Just try saying "I'm not happy about that" in an aggressive, passive, and then assertive voice, and you'll soon see how relevant this is. Yet the remaining 10% is also key. We need to be consistent, to give a coherent impression to the other person to be convincing. Body language and voice are both covered in my book.

Thanks, Patricia!