I tend to think of many practitioners who have intensive psychological training and a degree as more valid than those who simply make CDs and videos and books for the lay public, and charge enormous fees. It is a very personal experience, and one should find a practitioner who understands not only how to tailor each experience to the individual patient, but how the actual psychological process works.

People who perform hypnosis and make dubious claims for weight loss, cigarette cessation, and even worse, past-life regression and repressed memories should NOT be taken seriously. Hypnosis can help with cigarettes and weight loss, but it takes a lot of time, effort, and skill from both parties. These mass-marketed CDs give false hope and expectations to those who want to be successfully treated, and the hypnotists claim dubious and immediate results, riding on the coattails of rigorous scientific and psychological theory which they neglect to practice.

For me, it took a lot of hard work from MY part, and several different methods before I really started to notice a change in the way I reacted to situations and my pain. The therapist I worked with was very patient, understanding, and very quick to tailor the session to what I needed the most. That's far more than any $20 CD could ever offer. Don't go to the people who dig into your wallet and charge upwards of $350 PER SESSION, find a psychologist who knows the ins and outs of hypnosis, who can help you much more than any guy with a certificate from a weekend course at the local Hilton can.

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