Cristina and I first met through a mums group in Dubai when our children were very young and we ended up discussing parenting and motherhood during playdates. We realised that we shared the same values and beliefs when it came to child rearing and life in general and had common interests in health and wellness. Over the years I have followed Cristina as she embarked on a journey to educate herself in various holistic therapies. She recently moved to Canada with her husband and two lovely daughters where she now offers her expertise under the umbrella of “Integrated Holistic Therapies “ https://www.integratedholistictherapies.com
With her empathy and ability to see and understand people, she works as an Emotional Intelligence Coach and uses tools from Hypnotherapy, NLP, Emotional Freedom Technique and SleepTalk for kids. She also does Yoga and Reiki in order to help people achieve their goals and to strive to be better versions of themselves. Cristina truly believes that you have the power within you to create the life that you desire and just need guidance to reconnect back to that power. She is passionate about helping people to use resources they have hidden within so they feel more calm, more confident and more in control. As Cristina has so much to offer I wanted to narrow it down and start off by digging deeper into one of her favourite subjects : Hypnotherapy. I myself have experienced the power of hypnotherapy whilst preparing for my second birth after a slightly traumatic first birth experience and it worked wonders. ( A whole different topic that deserves it’s own blog post further down the line. )
The effect of hypnosis has been documented for hundreds of years but it’s only really in the last two centuries the terms hypnosis and hypnotism were coined and used more widespread. In fact the Druids, Celts, Hindus, ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks all used some forms of hypnosis and trance in their healing ceremonies. It has become more accepted and considered a credible therapy once the discipline of psychiatry included hypnotherapy in its practise and once Sigmund Freud, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s , used it to treat anxiety and “hysteria” in his patients. Today, Hypnotherapy is an accepted science by American Medical Association (1958) and British Medical Association (1957).
There are many myths about hypnosis, mostly coming from fictional films and books where a psychotherapist tells their client to ‘look into their eyes’ whilst swinging a pendant in front of their faces after which the person blindly follows any given instructions. But real hypnosis is nothing like in the movies - it is simply a trance-like state of heightened concentration. Hypnosis can in some ways be compared to guided meditation. The idea is to set aside normal judgments and enter a relaxed and focused state of mind in order to access the subconscious and then work in partnership with the client to make the changes they want to see. There is evidence that it can significantly help clients to reduce pain, weight-loss, smoking as well as reduce anxiety and PTSD. Research has also shown that children seem more susceptible to hypnotherapy than adults which is why it can be an effective tool to help children with various problems.
Can you explain how Hypnotherapy works ?
Cristina: Well to better understand how hypnosis and hypnotherapy work is important to understand how our mind works. We basically have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind. And these two parts of us function very differently. The conscious mind thinks and the subconscious mind feels.
What’s above the surface is the conscious, thinking mind. But it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Some say it only makes up about 10% of our mental potential. The other 90% is below the surface at the subconscious level of mind. And that’s where we work as hypnotherapists. The conscious mind uses thinking and reason and analysis to make sense of things. And come up with solutions to problems. All very useful when it comes to making out a grocery list or balancing the check book. But when it comes to dealing with feelings - not so much. That’s because the conscious mind doesn’t do feelings. It just thinks.
Feeling is the territory of the subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind is the part of us that holds all our memories of past experiences and how they made us feel. What we learned from those experiences makes us smarter and better able to take care of our own needs so that we can be more successful in life, and that’s where the real power is. It’s in what we learned from our history and our experiences from the past.
The ability to do things automatically or habitually frees up the conscious mind to focus on other things. Which is good because the conscious mind doesn’t have enough power to run things. Once you’ve learned how to do something like walking, or tying your shoelaces, or riding a bicycle, or driving a car, the subconscious mind can make it automatic. So you won’t have to think about it anymore. That’s a habit. You can multi-task. Get more done. This makes you awesomely efficient. And being efficient serves survival - which just happens to be your subconscious mind’s first priority. The subconscious mind must protect you. So that you can be driving the car while your mind wanders off. And you can be thinking about where you’ve been or where you’re going. And while you’re lost in thought who do you think is driving the car?
When your conscious mind wanders off into Lah-Lah Land, your subconscious mind takes over. It makes sure that you get home in one piece because it’s there to protect you. Here’s where things get interesting … The same is true of reaching for a cigarette. Or grabbing a candy bar when we feel stressed or tired. If doing that satisfied a need it the past – it works. If reaching for a cigarette or grabbing a candy bar helped you to feel better or helped you cope somehow – subconsciously that helped you to survive. So the subconscious mind is going to make sure you continue to do that because it’s meeting a need. When that happens ,the conscious mind is going to struggle to change the behavior. The conscious mind just doesn’t have the power to override a subconscious survival strategy. And because the subconscious mind doesn’t think , it doesn’t discriminate between a “good” behavior and a “bad” behavior. All the subconscious mind knows is - if it helped in the past it works. So it holds onto that memory. It stores that pattern in memory for future reference. And that’s what’s there at the subconscious level of mind - feelings and memories from the past.
The subconscious mind uses images and emotions. The subconscious mind also speaks through sensations in the body. The subconscious mind is the feeling mind. And we feel our feelings in the body. Feelings in the body can be sensations of tightness or pressure. Or they can be emotions like fear, anger or sadness. And when you’re in hypnosis you’re more aware of things like feelings and emotions. We want to give attention those things because that’s the subconscious mind speaking. And the subconscious mind knows how the problem got started. It also has the power to change things. It just needs a little help. And this is where hypnosis can be very powerful as it gives us access to the subconscious mind. Hypnosis is basically a state of focused attention where you set aside thinking and analyzing. So the thinking part of the mind takes a back seat. And this allows the feeling part of mind to step forward so you can interact with it. The purpose of the hypnosis is to get to the root cause of the problem and resolve it for good. Hypnosis gives us access to the subconscious level. And this allows us to locate the cause of the problem and resolve it.
How did you get interested in Hypnotherapy ?
Cristina : To be very honest it started long time back during university when I saw on TV a documentary which was mentioning that hypnotherapy is an amazing tool to improve your memory and faster learn for your exams.
How do you become a Hypnotherapist?
Cristina: In my case I have attended the Certified Hypnotherapist training with Beryl Comar in Dubai which offers certifications from US and UK and then continued with specialized training courses like Hypno Kids and Teens, Simpson Protocol , SleepTalk Goulding Process, Drain That Pain and many others. All these certifications together with the NLP stack trainings allowed me to become a recognized member of NGH ( National Guild of Hypnotists ) and I.A.C.T ( International Association of Counsellors and Therapists) which are renowned organizations that guarantees that a very strict code of ethics is followed. And then of course experience is key. You need to practice, practice, practice. The more you practice the more skilled you become.
What shall you look for when deciding on a therapist ?
Cristina: When choosing a hypnotherapist is important to check their credentials, approach and references:
- check that she/he is a member of a well known internationally recognized association in the field (e.g. GHR, NGH, IACT).
- that he/she has good experience in the field and continues his/hers professional development.
- has a tailor made approach and NOT a script based ( one size fits all) approach.
- has a broad skill set and can creatively employ a variety of techniques that help release the blocks and sort out the customer case.
- she/he values building a great rapport with the client and offers realistic claims about hypnotherapy.
It is also very important that the client is 100 % committed in achieving his/her goal as this is a team work.
What fascinates you the most about this therapy ?
Cristina: Hypnotherapy is fascinating because it helps the client to connect/reconnect to his/hers internal power/wisdom/ knowledge. What also fascinates me is the fact that trough hypnotherapy we connect the conscious and subconscious mind in order to bring it in alignment for a way better life. For me it is a very empowering and holistic tool. As I said before though it really is team work and it is important to underline that we as hypnotherapists are just guides/facilitators in this whole process. To reach results we need to work together with the client.
Do you use only hypnotherapy or in combination with other therapies?
Cristina: Depending on the case I use a combination from my toolbox EFT and Hypnotherapy, EFT, NLP and Hypnotherapy, Reiki and Access Bars. I adapt and custom make my therapy depending on my client needs.
What problems do you ‘treat”?
Cristina: Interesting that you asked that question. I don't really ‘ treat ‘ anything. Instead the way to look at it is that I guide a person in achieving his/hers goals. I am helping people to stop smoking, release their fears and phobias, manage their weight through a program that combines Hypnotherapy, EFT, NLP, Reiki and Yoga. I help clients to let go of their unwanted habits, addictions and limiting beliefs.
How efficient is it in your opinion and experience?
Cristina: In my experience , when there is 100% commitment from the client combined with a tailored made approach to his/hers needs the success rate is very high.
What common misconceptions are there when it comes to hypnotherapy ?
Cristina: To many, the word hypnosis is a bit misunderstood. They think they will be unconscious and under the control of the hypnotist. Nothing could be further from the truth! When we are in hypnosis, we are in a natural state: deeply relaxed physically, while mentally so much more alert than in our normal state of critical conscious awareness. We hear and respond to everything and are active participants in the therapy. We have great control over what we will or will not do, and will instantly reject suggestions uncomfortable to us. If we truly want change and agree to suggestions given to us under the hypnosis, we allow ourselves to enter the subconscious mind. This part of us is like a computer. We have become what the programming in the subconscious mind perceives us to be. If this part of the mind views us as fat, we become fat. If it believes we cant stop smoking - we smoke. Using hypnosis, we can access the subconscious computer and reprogram ourselves to be whatever we wish to be. Everyone can be hypnotised.
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind. You enter some form of hypnosis several times every day e.g at the traffic lights when you don’t “see” them change until the car behind beeps. Anyone can enter hypnosis very easily, providing you have the following two things:
- You must want to be hypnotized (no one can be hypnotized against his or her will).
- You must be free of any fears or misconceptions about hypnosis and how it works.
If at any time you want to emerge from the state of hypnosis, for any reason, you will instantly, naturally open your eyes and become fully alert. No one can keep you in hypnosis against your will. It can't hurt you in any way.
Is hypnotherapy becoming more accepted nowadays as a therapy?
Cristina: Yes, hypnotherapy together with other modalities that are working with human mind becomes more and more accepted as a complementary therapy / tool.
What does a session look like?
Cristina: Your session will be a pleasant experience existing of 4 distinct parts: the first is an evaluation/informational interview. During this time, most of your questions will be answered. I will discuss your goals or problems with you and recommend the course of action that will most rapidly achieve the desired results: I will also answer any questions you may have. Provided that you are completely comfortable with the idea of hypnosis and you feel comfortable with me, your hypnotist, the actual hypnosis session begins by being guided into a state of physical and mental relaxation. You will feel very relaxed, yet extremely alert mentally. You will be aware of everything around you, and you’ll remember everything. The only thing that could prevent someone from entering hypnosis is fear. This is why I spend significant time during a client's first session clearly explaining the true nature of hypnosis, the correct mental attitude needed for real change, and to address any questions or concerns. Suggestions for the change you desire will be given to your powerful subconscious mind. These suggestions will enter your subconscious and become part of you. The old programming, which was keeping you from achieving your goal or was causing a problem, will be removed allowing you to accomplish goals and eliminate problems. You will emerge from hypnosis with a strong sense of good health and a positive attitude. You will feel better than you have for a long time. The fourth and final part of your session consists of a brief discussion of the session, making sure your desired change is felt within you and, if necessary, setting up your next appointment. Now you see why the first session can take up to two hours. Once back to a “better you”, many clients choose to return each 6 – 12 months for a mental clear-out just like going to the dentist or physician for a physical check up… For me it makes perfect sense to have mental maintenance just as you do physically.
We have tried hypnotherapy in our family with one of our sons who has been a very selective eater since he was 2 years old. I know that there are many therapists now using hypnotherapy for selective eating and ARFID with great success and that sometimes just one session is enough to change years of struggling. Do you work a lot with children and what are the issues parents seek help for ?
Cristina: Among the issues that parents are coming for with their children are, but not limited to: low self-esteem, low self-confidence, bedwetting, nail baiting, thumb sucking, fears, anxieties, eating disorders. I personally use hypnosis with great success with kids above 14 years old, for kids below that age I train parents to use SleepTalk Goulding Process (https://www.integratedholistictherapies.com/the-goulding-process-sleeptalk/) which is a proven tool to help with all these issues. It’s about teaching parents to work with their own children while they sleep, so that in the morning when they awaken they have a more positive mind set. SleepTalk® is not a therapy, it is a process to be incorporated into the bedtime routine. It is a nightly commitment which will be so worthwhile. So if you are a Parent, Grandparent, Auntie or Uncle, Loving Friend or Guardian of a Child, you wouldn't want to miss this opportunity. The most precious gift of all for you and your child which lasts for life.
Cristina also offers therapy online via zoom, Skype and Teams Sessions. If you are interested in Cristina and want to know more about her therapies you can contact her here :
Cristina Balhui
Phone +1 289-795-6918,
Skype cristina.balhui.
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