Deane Benninghoven, CH, CI.
1. What's your practice focus and what kind of clients knock on your door ?
Most of the clients that I see are referrals from doctors, therapists, and other medical professionals. Working with clients who need help managing anxiety is a particular focus, and PTSD and early childhood trauma are two specialties of mine.
I am fortunate that I can take on a wide variety of every day problems for ordinary people, including sports performance, addictions, fears and phobias, and motivation.
I have seen clients ranging in age from 6 to 101 years old.
2. Tell us about yourself.
My own hypnotic journey began 20 years ago. A serious car wreck left me with chronic pain & little hope for the future. I read an article on neck surgeries performed using hypnosis & no other anesthesia. So I borrowed books on hypnosis at the library. After 4 months of daily practice, I controlled my pain enough to begin a yoga regimen, which helped greatly. My ongoing pain is managed using the subconscious mind. I particularly enjoy helping clients with chronic pain find a path to a new normal.
3. Tell us the story of a patient who you are most proud of helping.
A client with psychosomatic eating disorder couldn't get food from mouth to stomach.The subconscious mind guides autonomic nervous system & using self-hypnosis over months she 1st ate baby food,worked up to solid food & had feeding tube removed. Results were so meaningful she joined my practice & only left to have a baby. Quite a remarkable recovery. A powerful thing about using hypnosis is it's not me creating healing, I guide & gently lead people to see through insight, how to heal themselves.
4. What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a practitioner in private practice?
One of the most difficult things about being a professional hypnotist is the misinformation about hypnosis.
Movies & pop culture tend to depict this perfectly natural every day occurrence that we call hypnosis as a scary thing, like mind control, or even as evil!
I've personally guided 1,000s of people through hypnotherapy sessions with positive, wholesome changes created within themselves. I'm sad to see negative portrayals of hypnosis,or the dabbling of inexperienced amateurs get attention.
5. What are the top 3 tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a private practice today?\
The top 3 things I would suggest to someone would be:
- Be Professional ~ Become certified, and licensed. Don’t be a dabbler.
- Do Excellent Work~ Never stop learning and continuing to grow as a hypnotist. Find your niche and thrive in it.
- Be Committed to Your Client~ Many, many hypnotists are, unfortunately, script-notists… reading a script another person wrote. Listen to your client, pay attention to what they say & use skills and creativity to meet them where they are. Allow yourself to really care about their problems and their outcome.