Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy in West Palm Beach, Florida
Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT is a licensed therapist in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Christiansen provides compassionate, personalized hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help individuals in West Palm Beach and throughout Palm Beach County and Southeast Florida.
Schedule An AppointmentDiligently working to help people discover alternative possibilities that empower them to move through a wide variety of life’s challenges.
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Can Access Your Subconscious, Unlock Change, and Help You to Embrace Healing in West Palm Beach, Florida
Sometimes, our most persistent challenges aren’t logical — they’re emotional, instinctive, and rooted deep within us. We may know what to do, but we struggle to follow through. We may want to feel calm, confident, or focused, but instead we experience anxiety, distraction, or discouragement. This is where hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help. If you’re feeling stuck in emotional patterns or behavioral habits that don’t serve you, then hypnosis can support your healing in a way that is calming, insightful, and empowering.
I’m Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT, and I provide clinical hypnosis and hypnotherapy services here in West Palm Beach, serving individuals throughout Palm Beach County, Florida. I have advanced training in hypnosis. With more than 20 years of experience as a licensed psychotherapist, I use hypnotherapy as a gentle, integrative tool to help clients unlock deeper awareness and make meaningful change in their lives.
Most problems clients bring to my office have to do with the dissociative way they are relating to their problem by controlling it or trying to make it go away. This approach inadvertently maintains the problem. I can guide you to make real progress, and hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to help you gain traction and move forward.
Call me, Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT, now at (561) 688-8787(561) 688-8787 or complete my online form to request a free introductory call.
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT offers in-person hypnotherapy sessions in West Palm Beach, FL, with virtual options available for Florida residents.
- Dr. Christiansen conducts clinical hypnotherapy to promote emotional insight, habit change, and deeper mind-body connection.
- Hypnotherapy may be ideal for adults seeking holistic support for anxiety, stress, self-esteem, focus, and healing from emotional challenges.
- The goal of hypnotherapy is to support guided change by working with — not against — the subconscious mind.
- Easily request a free introductory call with Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT by phone at (561) 688-8787(561) 688-8787 or through the online form.
What Is Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic process that uses guided relaxation, focused attention, and suggestions to access a deep state of awareness that is often called a trance state. In this condition, the subconscious mind becomes more open and responsive.
Hypnosis involves the separation of intrapersonal boundaries, which define ordinary consciousness. Instead of your conscious awareness claiming credit for thinking and feeling, hypnosis clears an opening for you to experience mindfulness of your body and its interconnection with mind, known as embodiment of mind.
When used in a clinical counseling setting, hypnotherapy becomes a powerful way to:
- Reduce emotional distress
- Interrupt harmful habits or thought loops
- Explore root causes of self-sabotaging patterns
- Reinforce positive intentions and behaviors
As a hypnotherapist, I combine traditional talk therapy with guided hypnotherapy to support deeper transformation and emotional alignment.
Common Misconceptions About Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
Contrary to popular myths, hypnosis is not about control or unconsciousness. You remain awake, aware, and in control at all times. In fact, many people describe hypnosis as a state of calm clarity, similar to meditation or deep reflection.
How Hypnotherapy Works
The subconscious mind stores memories, beliefs, and habits that shape how we feel, think, and behave — often without our conscious awareness. That’s why affirmations, logic, or willpower alone don’t always lead to change.
In a hypnotherapy session, I guide you into a calm, relaxed state — often through breathwork, visualization, and gentle verbal cues. From this focused state, we work to:
- Explore underlying beliefs that fuel anxiety, insecurity, or doubt
- Access emotional memories with compassion and clarity
- Replace limiting suggestions with positive, affirming suggestions
- Shift internal scripts to pursue and create new, empowered outcomes
Each session is tailored to your goals and comfort level. Hypnosis is a collaborative experience — you are never passive or unaware. Think of it as therapeutic mindfulness with purpose.
Hypnosis can be viewed as creation and maintenance of a special relationship with oneself or others — and this relationship may become more or less significant depending on the context (Flemons, 2015). It allows for exploring and experiencing ideas, images, and possibilities. In hypnotherapy, the experience of the changing relationship to the self happens in sync with the changing experience of the client’s problem.
Who Can Benefit from Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a versatile approach that supports a wide range of goals. You may benefit if you’re seeking:
Emotional Healing and Mental Wellness
Hypnotherapy can support:
- Relief from anxiety or panic attacks
- Reduction in depressive symptoms
- Better sleep and inner calm
- Emotional processing after trauma or loss
Many clients find hypnotherapy for depression to be a helpful supplement to talk therapy, especially when emotions feel stuck or hard to access through words alone.
Behavioral Change and Personal Growth
Hypnotherapy can aid your guided efforts in:
- Smoking cessation or breaking addictive patterns
- Managing overeating or emotional eating
- Improving focus, motivation, or productivity
- Reducing procrastination or perfectionism
Confidence and Self-Esteem
We can use hypnotherapy to strengthen your positive view of yourself and your abilities by:
- Releasing shame and self-criticism
- Building confidence in social or professional settings
- Supporting positive body image
- Calming performance anxiety or fear of failure
Medical and Physical Integration
If you are dealing with physical illness, injuries, or challenges, strategic hypnosis and positive suggestion in the form of hypnotherapy can provide an effective complement to medical treatments towards various goals:
- Managing chronic pain or tension
- Enhancing healing after illness or surgery
- Supporting fertility, childbirth, or recovery
- Creating a calm mindset during medical treatment
While hypnotherapy is not a substitute for medical treatment, it can be a valuable adjunct tool — especially when the mind and body are closely linked, such as in stress-related conditions.
Hypnotherapy in a Psychotherapy Context
What makes my approach different from many other hypnosis programs or practitioners is the psychotherapy integration.
As a licensed LMFT with a Ph.D. in Humanities and Social Science, I view hypnosis as part of a holistic therapeutic journey. You won’t be offered a script or a one-size-fits-all protocol. Instead, each session is built upon your personal history, emotional landscape, and evolving goals.
We may combine hypnotherapy with:
- Talk therapy and emotional processing
- Cognitive restructuring and insight work
- Mindfulness and somatic awareness techniques
- Relationship or identity exploration
This fusion allows us to work both consciously and subconsciously, giving you greater depth and lasting change.
Frequently Addressed Topics in Hypnosis
Clients often seek hypnosis for issues they’ve been working on for months or years when they have had little success through conventional methods. Hypnotherapy may unlock the path to improvement by properly engaging the mind at a subconscious and conscious level.
Hypnotherapy may be the missing piece in your efforts if you would describe your situation in any of the following ways:
- “I know what I should do… but I can’t make myself do it.”
- “I feel like something deeper is blocking me.”
- “I’ve been in talk therapy before, but I still feel stuck.”
- “I’ve read the books and listened to the podcasts — but I don’t feel better.”
Hypnotherapy techniques work well when insight alone isn’t enough and you are ready to connect to the deeper layers of your mind. This can create emotional congruence and effect behavior change with improved clarity and greater emotional well being.
Whether or not you are seeking to address mental health conditions or you are exploring the most effective ways to pursue your goals in coordination with other treatments, guided treatment by a hypnotherapist can be a healthy and effective means to gain traction in pursuit of your goals.
What to Expect in a Hypnosis Session
I maintain a comfortable environment throughout the process for hypnotherapy sessions, and we remain focused on pursuing your goals:
Step 1: Consultation and Goal Setting
We begin by discussing your goals, history, and reasons for seeking hypnotherapy. I answer your questions and explain how the process works, so you feel safe and informed.
We’ll also identify:
- What you want to release or change
- What internal beliefs may be holding you back
- What outcomes would feel meaningful for you
Step 2: Guided Hypnosis
Once you’re comfortable, I lead you through a gentle induction process — usually involving guided imagery, breathwork, and focused relaxation.
During the session, we work with:
- Positive suggestions
- Visualizations
- Emotional processing
- Reframing limiting narratives
You remain aware and engaged the entire time.
Step 3: Integration and Reflection
After the hypnosis, we take time to reflect. You may notice shifts immediately — or more subtly over time. I may suggest journaling prompts, affirmations, or follow-up exercises to continue the momentum.
Many clients find the effects of hypnotherapy build over several sessions, especially when paired with regular therapy or coaching.
Why Choose Me for Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy in West Palm Beach?
Clinical Training and Emotional Depth
Unlike stage hypnotists or generic hypnosis programs, I offer clinical hypnotherapy within the scope of licensed psychotherapy. This means your safety, mental health, and emotional integrity are my top priorities.
You’re not just “trying a technique” — you’re engaging in a structured process of meaningful change, supported by professional expertise.
Compassionate, Personalized Care
Each hypnotherapy session is designed specifically for you. Whether you are focused on anxiety, confidence, habits, or healing, I tailor the language, imagery, and pace to fit your emotional needs.
Clients often tell me they feel seen, supported, and soothed — even when talking about difficult topics.
Proven Success Over Time
For more than two decades, I have helped clients integrate hypnotherapy into long-term wellness. From entrepreneurs and parents to students and workers in various industries, I have seen how hypnosis can restore calm, clarity, and empowerment — often when nothing else seems to work.
Ask Questions About Hypnotherapy or Schedule an Appointment with Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT
If you’re ready to go deeper than talk — to gently shift from the inside out — hypnosis and hypnotherapy can open new doors for healing and self-trust.
Call me, Dr. Susan Christiansen, Ph.D., LMFT, now at (561) 688-8787(561) 688-8787 or complete my online form to request a free introductory call.
Let’s work together to help your subconscious support your goals — not sabotage them.
Helping Palm Beach County clients achieve peace and harmony since 2000
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Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy in West Palm Beach, Florida
Will I be unconscious during hypnosis?
No. You will remain awake, aware, and in control. Hypnosis is simply a state of deep relaxation and focused attention — similar to guided meditation or being immersed in a good book.
Can anyone be hypnotized ?
Most people can experience some level of hypnosis if they’re open and willing. You don’t need to be “deeply hypnotized” for it to be effective. I tailor each session to your natural responsiveness and comfort level.
Is hypnotherapy safe?
Yes, hypnotherapy is safe when conducted by a trained professional in a therapeutic setting. It is a well-established approach for effecting intentional changes by coordinating the conscious and the subconscious in relation to goals. I always screen for conditions where hypnosis may not be appropriate, and I maintain ethical standards in every session.
How many hypnotherapy sessions will I need in West Palm Beach?
This varies by goal. Some clients experience significant change in just a few sessions. Others benefit from longer-term integration as part of broader therapy work. We will assess your progress together and adjust your plan as needed.
Do you offer virtual hypnosis sessions?
Yes. I offer secure, private telehealth sessions for clients across Florida. Virtual hypnotherapy is effective, convenient, and allows you to experience the process from your own comfortable environment.