My name is Bob Crow. I’m a behavioral therapist that is board certified in both clinical and medical hypnotherapy. I work with individuals for a wide variety of presenting issues including alcoholism.

My 9:00 appointment that Monday morning was a woman that immediately after sitting down said “I don’t want you to think that I’m a drunk or an alcoholic or anything like that but I might have a little drinking problem.” Next, I had a weight loss patient that had lost sixty one and a half pounds so far, but my 11:00 was like my 9:00. She started with “I’m not an alcoholic, but I feel that I might drink a little too much.” After my 1:00 marriage counseling patient, another individual sat down and she said “I’m not an alcoholic, but I can’t seem to stop drinking and I’m thinking that I might have a little drinking problem.”

Do you see a trend here? These people did not want to admit to being an alcoholic, probably because they thought that I might think less of them. I won’t. Part of the reason is, that almost all of the individuals that come in for a drinking issue, believe that an alcoholic is someone that is a falling down drunk or can’t hold down a job. Not true. Most alcoholics are functional alcoholics and perform reasonably well on their job every day! An alcoholic is an individual that pure and simple, can’t stop drinking! That in and of itself does not make them a bad person, but if they do have a bad problem, that problem needs to be dealt with.

Of the three women that presented that morning, all drank at least a bottle of wine every night, some more. Drinking to excess is a symptom that something is going on in their life that’s making them feel badly. They all insisted that they weren’t alcoholics. Many confided that they don’t play tennis with their friends, without a significant amount of alcohol in them.

Remember the first time that you had a drink? You didn’t even like the taste. You had to acquire it! You found that if you drank, maybe life felt a little better. You also found that when life wasn’t going the way you desired, alcohol might have made it seem bearable. You don’t need that… trust me!

I’m often asked “how do you know when you’re drinking too much?” My reply is “if you are drinking in order to change the way you feel, you’re drinking too much…”

My wife and I occasionally will have a five ounce glass of wine with a meal. We use it almost as a seasoning to bring out the flavor of the entrée. We take about 45 minutes to consume it. We will not finish the last quarter inch in the glass, and may not have another glass for a month or more.

If you suspect that you’re drinking too much, even though you have periods when you are able stop for a period of time, but then start up again, or you binge drink, why not give me a call and schedule a complimentary consultation. If it’s something that you would like to overcome, we can do that together. Call me!

Regardless of the stage hypnosis shows that you’ve attended or seen on TV, hypnosis is not something that someone does to someone. Hypnosis is a dissociative state that one freely enters. One can’t be hypnotized against one’s will, nor can one be hypnotized into doing something that one does not want to do. Period. No exceptions.

I work with teenagers that have an interest in excelling in sports including tennis. They are able to ratchet up their game through their hypnotherapy sessions with me. But several times I’ve had fathers or mothers ask me “can you hypnotize him or her into cleaning up their room?” I answer ‘no.” They ask “why not?” I reply, “It’s for the simple reason that if the child doesn’t want to clean up their room, they can’t be hypnotized into doing it”.

When an individual comes in to my practice and asks me if I can help them to lose weight or quit smoking, I always ask them “do you want to quit smoking, or do you want to lose weight,” whichever the case may be. If they indicate that their spouse wants them to lose weight or to stop smoking, I reply “whether they want you to lose or stop smoking is not relevant.” “Do you?” If they themselves don’t want to make behavioral change, it won’t work. One cannot be hypnotized to do something that is against their will.

What is the simplest explanation of hypnosis? Hypnosis is controlled daydreaming. If you are reading this article, you’re reading it in your conscious or critical mind. It is called the Beta state. It’s where we execute math and verbal skills and linear thinking. Your subconscious mind is made up in descending order of Alpha – the lightest level of the subconscious, Theta – a much deeper level of the subconscious and Delta which is deep sleepWater Obstacle.

We analyze in Beta, but solve problems in Alpha and Theta – the subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind is where we find our moods, our habits, our personality, our cognitive maps (kind of like an auto pilot) and our only two problems solvers – our imagination and out creativity.

Our subconscious mind is the only place where we can make permanent behavioral change – like stopping smoking and losing weight or lose our fear of public speaking or meeting people. Hypnosis is the only way that one can access their subconscious mind on deliberately. That is why hypnosis is called the bridge to the subconscious mind.

Is there an area in your life in which you would like have an improvement and you would like to make behavioral change? If so please contact me for a complimentary consultation.

Every year at this time people begin to ponder the parts of their life they wish to change.  Usually by January 1^st they have come up with a list of those changes.  They commit to change on New Year’s Eve after a few glasses of champagne.  For some that’s it.  They might not even remember them the next day, but most will bring them forward to the first week of the New Year.   They may even write them down.  These are their resolutions for the next year. Now here is the problem.  Goals, at least ones that will make a difference in your life, are hard.  People go back to work, credit card bills from the holidays and family issues and all their good intentions fly out the window.  If you have a life, then one worthwhile goal at a time is probably all you can handle.  However, most resolutions are not in the form of well written goals.  They are usually short, general and lacking any real detail.  In order to make a change and have that change become reality you must have a clear vision. Begin by choosing one goal.  Since you are going to focus on just one it should be important to you, the kind of goal that can change your life.  For example let’s say you want to lose 50 pounds. To write out this goal it is important to know more than just a number dong fang qi mo.  I like to use SMART goals as a template. Specific: I want to lose 50 pounds. Measurable: I want to lose 50 pounds in 1 year at a rate of approximately 4 lbs. per month. Achievable:  The goal is an achievable and accepted weight loss goal and should not be difficult.  I will keep track of current calories consumed and cut 500 calories per day from my current diet and that will equal one pound of weight loss per week.  At that rate I should lose approximately 50 pounds in 1 year. Realistic:  I will adjust calories if I plateau so that the weight loss continues at 1 pound per week rate. This goal becomes even more realistic by developing a daily exercise habit.  I will be realistic and start with 20 minutes of walking 6 days per week.   I will add to this as my fitness level increases.  I will also check into a gym or home equipment so that the weather and boredom does not become an obstacle. Timed: 1 year is the time allotted to this goal.  Because this goal is SMART, all I need to do is stick to the plan. When you read back over this goal now, you can see that it fits all the SMART criteria and makes sense in a way that the original resolution did not.  When you use a structure to write your goals they become a viable goal with a plan implicit and that will make all the difference.