When Jackie Spencer's husband lost his battle with cancer in 2008 at the age of 44, she felt the need to turn his death into a positive experience.
"When he was in pain, he would often go in his mind to white, sandy beaches. Later, I learned that therapeutic imagery is one of the most effective hypnotic pain control techniques," said Spencer, 48, of Moorpark. "My course was immediately clear. I would take what Scott had done intuitively and help others who are suffering as we did."
Hypnotherapy has not only helped Spencer through the grief process, "it made me stronger and more confident, gave me a direction and a vision for a future I would never before have dreamed."
A graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana, Spencer offers her services at the Free Clinic of Simi Valley from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
"We have a consultation to determine if hypnosis is right for them," she said. "After that, we set up appointments for the following week to create a strategy and begin the process of change."
A master of therapeutic imagery, she has medical hypnosis certifications for addiction recovery as well as autoimmune disorders such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and multiple sclerosis.
Hypnosis is a natural learning state, she said.
"It is the bypass of critical thinking, which allows us to be receptive to ideas," she said. "There are also spontaneous trances such as the athlete's zone, absorption in a book or movie to the point we respond emotionally as if it were real, or missing our freeway exit because we were thinking of something else and didn't realize where we were."
Hypnotherapy makes use of this natural function of the subconscious mind to break free of associations that drive unwanted behaviors and create positive ones, Spencer said.
The biggest myth is that hypnosis is mind control.
"It so isn't. The client is always conscious and aware of what is being said or done," Spencer said. "And he or she must reinforce the work done in hypnosis after they leave the office. Often, this is very easy to do; sometimes, it requires a conscious decision. The process is as unique as every individual and every situation."
For 40 years, the Free Clinic of Simi Valley has provided health care and other services to individuals and families regardless of their ability to pay, said Simi Valley resident Keith Jajko, a member of the board of directors since 2006.
"In recent years, the clinic started adding additional services for local residents, including dental, and in the past year, chiropractic, acupuncture, and now hypnotherapy," Jajko said. "What's important about what Jackie Spencer brings to the clinic is twofold: first, it's another tool in the clinic's toolbox to direct a resident to should a specific need arise, whether it's smoking cessation or maybe even anxiety relief."
Second, "we all know the ill effects of tobacco use. Jackie's expertise in helping people to quit using tobacco is a wonderful asset for the clinic and hopefully will help local residents lead healthier and happier lives."
Some of the clinic's clients are repeat customers "and without asking a doctor, I would surmise at least some repeat visits are caused by smoking," Jajko added. "Jackie's services are valuable mainly by getting local residents healthier. But for the clinic overall, she is volunteering time that ultimately could lighten our workload and let our other volunteers focus on other clients with perhaps more pressing health needs."
Visit www.hypnoticinspiration.com or call 796-5780 for more information.
About Us
Contact Us
Subscribe To RSS
You need to be a member of HypnoThoughts.com to add comments!
Join HypnoThoughts.com