Unless you see a lot of hypnosis clients, you may not come in contact with someone like this. I was in business for almost five years before this guy walked into my office to quit smoking with hypnosis.

Before I accept someone as a hypnosis client, they must go through a screening process. You see, not everyone qualifies to be my client. (The reason is that I may not want to work with a person if I see they may be a problem client.)

So, this guy quickly fills in the Intake Sheet and sits down and proceeds to demonstrate how brilliant and smart and knowledgeable and smart (did I say that again?) he is. In short, he told me, he is “a genius”.

Wow. A real genius. In my very own office. Pinch me.

Well, I accepted this guy as a client, set an appointment and when he came back for his first smoking cessation session, that’s when I knew I may have made a mistake in taking him as a client.

You see, many hypnotists think that if your IQ is over 70 that they can be hypnotized. However, if someone is a smarty-pants and is very “critical thinking” and likes to break things down and analyze them, they are also very difficult to hypnotize.

Surprised? Well, think about it. Hypnosis depends on trust and rapport. If someone is spending their time thinking, “Why did he just say that? Am I hypnotized, yet?” and other such thoughts, their critical thinking will keep them from going into a trance.

So, for the smoking program’s initial session, I do a Progressive Relaxation induction and the client is hypnotized. Then, he’s put on an audio program for a bit to listen to an automated program. Later, I come back and do personalized suggestions.

Well, throughout the PR induction, he’s opening his eyes, squirming, asking me questions… I should have just refunded his money and been done with him. Instead, I considered this a challenge. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

By the way, during the induction I do at least eight “convincers” (eye catalepsy, arm catalepsy, saliva flow, glove analgesia, etc.) so they know they are hypnotized. Mr. Analysis experienced all of them.

After doing the induction and putting him on the audio program, I left to attend to another client who was doing wonderfully with her weight loss hypnosis program.

After doing the suggestions, placing him back on the automated program, I returned later to wrap things up. I went over the convincers and we set up his second appointment, I gave him his “Stop Smoking” CD and he was off.

Three days later…

Mr. Know-It-All comes back, sits down in the chair and said it, “Well, I quit smoking, but it wasn’t the hypnosis.”

Amazing, huh? In 30 years, he couldn’t even stop smoking for a day, and one session with me, he quit smoking.

But, according to him, it wasn’t the hypnosis. (It won’t take a genius to figure out that it was.)

He needed to feel as if he was the one who mastered smoking.

What do I care? I did my job.

“Next…!”

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I have a very good security system in my office. It’s not just a burglar alarm; it also is a closed-circuit camera system (recording all the rooms in my office — except the bathroom, of course). I keep the tapes indefinitely.

All you need are good black and white cameras with no sound. You’ll need a recorder that does time-lapse. VCRs are more inexpensive than the DVD-R version. Be sure, however, if you get a DVD-R that you can burn a hard copy onto a DVD disk for your protection.

Don’t get cheap with this stuff. It is expensive and you do need it. Get a qualified security professional to install it and you’ll be happy.

I am very blatant about my security system. There’s a sign on the door and I mention it when they come into my office. I believe that the more blatant you are about the cameras, the less trouble you will get.

And, women love the fact that you are taking precautions. Some laugh. I only had one person refuse to be taped — it was a man. (Maybe he was in the Witness Protection Program — who knows?)

So, you signed up with Columbia Pacific University and now, after paying upward of $5,000 through their correspondence course, you now have a “diploma” with the title Doctor of Clinical Hypnotherapy on it. (Your mother will be so proud!!)

Like Dr. Kline, based on his having a PhD in 1984 from Columbia Pacific University in Novato, Calif. The unaccredited school closed its doors in 1999 after being sued by California’s Attorney General.

Poor, poor “Dr.” Kline.

From the website of the American Pacific University (they love that ocean!):

“American Pacific University is accredited by the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS, COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES, an international accreditation agency based in Antwerp, Belgium.

“AMERICAN PACIFIC UNIVERSITY IS NOT ACCREDITED BY (A RECOGNIZED) AN ACCREDITING AGENCY (OR ASSOCIATION) RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.

Belgium, eh? Well, when you get sued in Belgium, that PhD may come in handy.

Seriously, does anyone think that they can pay five grand to a correspondence school and become a PhD in Hypnotherapy? (Yep, and they keep paying it. Don’t be a fool and don’t go this route. It will only lead to trouble.)

From the web site TheNationalBoard.com:

American Pacific University in Hawaii — This once fine organization was started by the eminent Dr. Krasner along with AIH that produced a lot of fine students including directors of this organization. It was taken over years ago and has been on a steady decline since. AIH has been closed down.

ABH is a mail order program and it is not expectable education in several US states including Oregon and Michigan. In fact, it is not only not usable [sic], but according to official state records sent to us (see links below) it is a criminal offence to use the education from this organization in these states.

This so-called school is supposedly accredited by an organization in Belgium however when one checks that appears to be worthless and would not be acceptable in the U.S. even if it were valid. This organization was in Calif. but has moved out of the US to continue to operate.

www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx

www.michigan.gov/documents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf

Just stay away from all of this.

If you want a higher education, do it the right way.

On that note, there are some very good accredited non-traditional degrees that you could take online or through the mail. Just do your research.

Some wonderful resources are Bears’ Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning or Bear’s Guide To College Degrees By Mail & Internet, by John Bear, published by Ten Speed Press.

If the degree means that much to you, then get one. A real one.

Hello, and welcome to Hypnosis Product Reviews. My name is Bryan Toder and I’m a Certified Hypnotist in Philadelphia with my own hypnosis practice.

Why is this site even here?

Well, over the past several years, it’s come to my attention at there are a lot of people out the who want to learn how to hypnotize people.

Some may want to do it to help people lose weight, quit smoking or whatever. Some may want to learn how to hypnotize themselves (self-hypnosis) to create new and better habits. Some may want to “persuade” others to do what they want. (Note: This really isn’t possible, but I’ll write about that another time because it’s fascinating.) Some may want to just learn what hypnosis really is.

However, there’s a big problem:

Who do you learn from and where do you start?

That was my situation when I first started to try to learn how to hypnotize. I bought the books, the videos, took the online courses (what was available at that time) — only to be disappointed. (One video course cost about $250 and I learned nothing. Again, he basically said “just go out there and…” Well, you get the idea.)

Most were just re-hashing the old methods from books written in the 1950’s. Most just said to “just get out there and do it” which wasn’t reassuring at all.

Some books and videos were just ridiculous — filled with nonsense and fluff and a waste of my money.

Some were a bit too on the “woo-woo” side and, really… I just wanted to learn how to do hypnosis already!

Most of the programs and instruction was taught by people who basically “knew about hypnosis”, but didn’t do it for a living. And, don’t you want to know the “real world” applications of hypnotism and not just theory?

So, here is this site to get you through all of that… stuff.

On this site, I’ll present the best products and services relating to hypnosis and hypnotism available to you online today with hypnosis reviews, interviews and advice — from the persons actually doing hypnotism professionally.

When you read a review, you’ll know that I went through the product thoroughly and I’ll advise you if you should get it (or not) and how you can get it.

You’ll be surprised at the awful stuff out there on the Internet about hypnosis. (I know a few guys selling hypnosis certifications where you can actually get certified with an “open book test”. Can you believe it?!? No, it’s not a good idea.)

I’ve been a hypnotist for over six years and see about 20 clients a day in my office, so you’ll be getting this advice from someone who is really walking-the-walk in this business.

So, stay tuned and come back often to see what’s new!