Every New Year’s, for the last 26 years, my phone starts to ring very frequently. It’s become as predictable as the new year itself. As Director of The Hypnosis Counseling Center, folks are calling me wanting to set up appointments to utilize hypnotherapy to help them overcome some of the obstacles and challenges in their lives. Usually it’s for smoking cessation or weight loss. Often, however, it’s for other forms of behavior modification or wanting to create more positive and healthy changes in their lives.

I usually also get the following questions: 1. How effective is hypnosis? 2. What is the cost? 3. How many sessions do I need? 4. Will I cackle like a chicken?

You know the drill. Each year, many folks choose the New Year to make a new start. Most of us make New Year’s Resolutions to do it.  Almost none of us keep them. It’s not that we don’t want to make the changes, we are usually very sincere. The problem is we try to tough it out alone using sheer willpower. However, many of the resolutions involve long term habits and are difficult to change without help. That’s where hypnosis comes in. Hypnosis is a very effective tool to help this year’s resolution come true.

Why don’t resolutions always work?

Although January1st connotes a new beginning, just picking an arbitrary date to make a change doesn’t always make it happen immediately. It’s like riding a bicycle. Very few of us have probably mastered that task immediately. It took practice and then some more practice. We would fall several times over the course of time before finally mastering it. Why would that not be the same for stoping smoking and losing weight, for example? Cigarette smoking is a very difficult addiction. Most folks have tried to stop many times. They know the health risks. However, whether it is nicotine patches or gum, all state to use in conjunction with behavior modification, which is what hypnosis is.

Many folks ask me why hypnosis will work while other methodologies don’t. Hypnosis is an”alpha” state of mind, which is a dreamlike state similar to yoga and meditation. I use my voice to put client into a very relaxed state where I can then plant positive suggestions for change. At the same time, I make my clients individual customized audio CDs for them to listen to on a daily basis. These CDs reinforces what’s done in my office and helps clients practice daily and enhance chances for permanent success. Does everyone I see succeed? I wish they did. I would love that. Unfortunately not, but a great many do. However, as I mentioned earlier, often clients need to try more than on New Year’s Day to change. Cigarette and nicotine addiction and poor lifelong eating patterns weren’t created in a day and sometimes need multiple attempts. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again” It’s your life and your health we’re talking about. One client, I’ll call Jack, needed several sessions before becoming smoke-free and now it’s been over 15 years without a cigarette.

Clients also see me in group classes for smoking cessation and weight loss in a variety of different adult schools, YMCAs and fitness clubs and corporations throughout NJ and PA. These classes are less expensive but not quite as effective as individual counseling.

The same would be true for singing or skiing lessons. However, often this is good way to get a taste of what hypnosis is about. Even though hypnosis has been approved by the American Medical Association since 1958, some folks still have misperceptions of old black and white movies.

The Hypnosis Counseling Center has offices in Bloomfield, Flemington, and Princeton. For more information, call 908- 996-3311, visit HypnosisNJ.com, or e-mail Director Barry Wolfson at [email protected].