30 VALLEY LIFE | April 2014

by Lynn WoikeEditor

Spring cleaning is not just about shaking out the rugs, washing windows, and put-ting away the scarves and

mittens. “It’s an opportunity to clean

your mind,” said Lisa Zaccheo, a board certified hypnotist and instructor with offices in Avon, Farmington and Guilford. Equating mental garbage to food rotting in a trashcan for weeks, months and years, she said spring is a good time “to get rid of behaviors that no lon-ger serve you.”

Hypnosis can make doing that easy. It might just be the one thing that sounds too good to be true, but is true.

“Many people are scared of hyp-nosis because they think it’s some kind of magic or that the hypnotist will take control of them and make them cluck like a chicken or worse. This honestly couldn’t be further from the truth,” Zaccheo said.

“In fact, hypnosis provides you with the opportunity to take con-trol over areas of your life that have previously felt out of control. So, keep in mind that stage hypnotists choose people who are very extro-verted, people who like attention and are performers by nature, so, they’re comfortable with the sug-gestions that are provided to enter-tain.”

Hypnosis is not mind control, Zaccheo said.

“It’s not voodoo. It’s a well-doc-umented science.”

It’s not a diagnostic tool, either. It is a safe, centuries-old therapeu-tic tool that uses the mind’s natural learning state to address the cause

of issues rather than the symptoms. She said, “Hypnosis requires

100 percent consent because all hypnosis is self hypnosis. No one is hypnotizing anyone. Your hypnotist or hypnotherapist is merely a guide leading you into the state, and you will not do anything in hypnosis that you’re not comfortable with or that goes against your moral or eth-ical code. Nor will you disclose any-thing you’re not comfortable shar-ing.”

Anything shared “is kept 100 percent confidential.”

There is no loss of control in hypnosis.

“You’re actually in more control in hypnosis than in your normal waking conscious state because in hypnosis, your mind is 200 to 300 times more alert and all your senses are heightened,” she said.

“The truth is that you, in fact everyone, has been hypnotized thousands of times, you just haven’t known it. Everyone passes through hypnosis on the way into and out of

sleep.”Zaccheo described times when,

driving home, people sometimes don’t remember a large chunk of the ride and said, “It’s because you were hypnotized. It’s called highway hyp-nosis. … When your conscious mind becomes too distracted or bored to be a good driver, your protective, subconscious mind takes over and drives for you.”

Video games are also hypnotic, as is the “zone” athletes get into. In fact, she said, most Olympians use it as part of their training, and are in a state of hypnosis when compet-ing.

Television puts viewers into a mild state of hypnosis – and that was her first introduction to access-ing the subconscious mind.

After graduating from Kingswood Oxford, Zaccheo majored in psychology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

“I knew I wanted to get to New York City,” she said, “and so I took a job as a secretary in an advertising

agency and worked in advertising and marketing for almost 20 years.

“I was introduced to hypnosis in the mid-’80s while working in advertising because TV is actually a hypnotic device. Ads are designed to bypass the conscious mind and get into the subconscious to modify perception and influence buying behavior.”

That left her aware of the com-mercial aspects of hypnosis, but not its therapeutic applications. Years later, when Zaccheo decided she needed to find her true calling, she again came across hypnosis.

“Once I made that decision in 2001, I had the very strange experi-ence of hypnosis crossing my path a dozen times in a two-week period which I took as a strong sign that it was something I needed to pursue even though it was not something I had considered previously because, like most other people, I was highly skeptical of those alternative types of treatment options.”

As she explored the topic and

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Mind cleaningTeam of hypnotists can help you tackle your toughest problems

Practicing with Mind Matters Hypnosis Center founder Lisa Zaccheo, center, are Dr. Deborah Gilmour and Tim Bartley.

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April 2014 | VALLEY LIFE 31

called hypnotists around the country, she took a highly recommended training “out of curiosity more than anything else.”

She said, “Coming from a very tradi-tional medical background – my father was a doctor – I was not an easy student and questioned everything, thinking that I’d be able to poke a hole in this whole hypnosis thing. It really seemed too good to be true, but the more questions I asked, the more the answers that I got made sense to me and, in fact, answered a lot of the questions that I’d been asking for years.”

Then, when she experienced it for her-self, she said she “was completely blown away.”

“I’m the walking poster child for hyp-nosis,” Zaccheo said.

She hypnotized herself and quit smok-ing 12 years ago.

“I released and kept off about 35 pounds. I struggled with anxiety, and really have pretty much cured that with hypno-sis. I had a phobia of public speaking and now I speak in front of hundreds of people and totally enjoy the experience. I’ve changed personally more things in my life than I can count,” she said, adding, “I want everyone to have access to it.”

In 2002, she opened Mind Matters Hypnosis Center in Collinsville, moving it to Canton in 2004, then to Avon in 2013.

“I’ve been very busy since the day I opened my doors. I think I’ve been really blessed. It’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

In 2012, she merged with Dr. Deborah Gilmour, a neuropsychologist at Connecticut Hypnotherapy in Farmington.

“Our practices were both growing so fast, we decide to combine our talents and resources under one umbrella,” Zaccheo said.

Late last year, she opened an office in Guilford.

With her colleagues Gilmour and Tim Bartley, a broad range of tools, techniques and programming can be drawn upon to address “everything that you can imagine.”

Among Gilmour’s specialties is post-war counseling and interventions for veter-ans. She offers these services to American servicemen in the field whenever they need her, and provides confidential therapy via email.

Bartley is known for the most cut-ting-edge techniques and incorporates neuro-linguistic programming. He special-izes in weight release, a subject he’s pas-sionate about after his father died from being overweight.

Hypnosis works because in a normal waking conscious state, the mind uses only about 10 percent of the brain’s capacity. Hypnosis allows access to the other 90 per-cent, “so we can do amazing things,”

Zaccheo said. “It’s really empowering. People create these incredible changes in their lives.”

Equating the subconscious mind to a computer, she said, “Your subconscious mind must operate based on the program-ming that’s been placed within it. Human programming is essentially everything that we’ve experienced since birth.”

Based on that programming, your sub-conscious makes you into the type of per-son it perceives you to be. Hypnosis makes it possible to replace old, negative percep-tions with positive, life-enhancing pro-gramming, something very difficult – at times, impossible – to do when in a state of regular consciousness.

“When you change your mind or your programming, you can change your whole life,” Zaccheo said.

“Because our mind controls every-thing, hypnosis has the ability to aid with a wide range of issues. In fact, I can’t think of an issue where the other 90 percent of our mind’s power can’t be of assistance,” she said.

She said people who struggle with a lot of anxieties and kids who struggle with social and academic pressure can be helped by hypnosis. Many medical condi-tions can be alleviated as well.

“We work with a lot of medical condi-tions: migraines, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, pre-surgery work, post surgery recovery. We help people struggling with cancer.”

Grief, addictions, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, low self esteem and low self confidence, depressed mood, anger management, phobias, weight control, addictions, pain, sleeplessness, impotence, panic attacks, substance abuse and fears of all kinds can all be addressed using hypno-sis.

“You can be a nonsmoker in two ses-sions,” Zaccheo said. “It is also the most effective treatment for heroin addiction,” studies show.

“It’s actually been endorsed by the Pope for painless childbirth.”

State law requires a referral by a licensed practitioner for all medical and psychological issues.

“We prefer to work in collaboration with our clients’ health providers, as a team approach is always best,” she said.

Thousands of research studies prove the high effectiveness of hypnosis, she said, noting it is all natural and has no side effects.

“It can work on pretty much every-thing.”

Not only does it work – it works quick-ly.

“Change will begin to happen immedi-ately. … It’s an extremely fast process.”

My first sessionby Lynn WoikeEditor

In the process of writing this story, I accepted an offer of a 90-minute session to better understand what it was all about. New clients are asked to watch videos and com-plete forms, which I did. I was also told every person has a different experience, and the same person will have dif-ferent experiences in different sessions.

After Lisa Zaccheo reviewed my information, I reclined a chair and got comfortable with pillows and a blanket. She led me through a relaxation exercise that did not involve a pocket watch or the words, “You are getting very sleepy.” I felt a sense of calm and no desire to move a muscle, yet I was hyper alert.

She told my conscious mind to step back, invited my subconscious mind forward and began a conversation with it. When it was clear she was waiting for a response from this subconscious mind, I waited for “it” to answer. When “it” didn’t, I figured I should speak, to signal her I had completed visualizing a direction she’d given.

I kept wondering why my subconscious was not responding and why nothing felt different, and only later understood that “it” was “me.” I was expecting to feel “taken over” by this powerful portion of my mind, but it felt no different than being in a meditative or hyper intui-tive state.

In what was similar to other guided meditations and shamanic journeys, I ran with Lisa’s suggestions. When she introduced me to my subconscious mind, using the term higher self, I felt as if I was in the presence of an angel. Knowing this was what she was working with put me totally at ease because I was sure I had nothing to fear from my own higher self.

The primary focus of the session was to break my addiction to carbohydrates. She had me clip wires that represented my connections to baked goods; those not easily discarded were examined. I found myself as a child in my grandmother’s kitchen while she baked bread, pizza and cookies, and again for a family celebration – scenes that were vibrant and detailed and real.

As Lisa asked questions, I saw the connection I formed between baked goods and love, and between being a good girl and getting dessert. She had me turn all these foods into their ingredients, but the little girl wanted her cookie, not the flour, shortening and sugar, so we explored that more.

The suggestion that I was numb to the attraction of carbohydrates was given, and I was prompted to visualize and experience what life feels like when walking a healthy path.

She also reviewed the Emotional Freedom Technique with me, which I had previously used without remarkable results, giving examples of how to make it more effective.

That night was the first in more than three years that a desire to consume high-carb foods did not threaten to consume me. To date, the cravings have not returned, weight has begun releasing, and friends are commenting that I seem more joyful.

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32 VALLEY LIFE | April 2014

Clients average three visits, Zaccheo said.

“Our success rates are extreme-ly high. My goal is to help 100 per-cent of the people 100 percent of the time, which probably isn’t realistic, but it’s what we strive for.”

Unlike the most common appli-cation of hypnosis – where a client is put in a hypnotic state and the practitioner offers suggestions, Zaccheo said, “We do things differ-ently. What was out there just wasn’t good enough. We are dedi-cated to finding better ways.

“I believe suggestions should come from the individual. The sub-conscious is incredibly intelligent. The subconscious mind knows what’s needed for help.”

She said hypnosis is a state of mind, not a state of body, so rarely are there any physical sensations. The client is physically relaxed but mentally alert.

Dr. Carole Black Cohen, a psy-chiatrist in Farmington, began sending her “most traumatized patients” to Zaccheo after meeting her two years ago and realizing her techniques were “a bit different” from most hypnotists.

“Sometimes our defenses are so good at protecting us from things that are so bad, we can’t get at these things by talking,” Cohen said.

When a client is motivated and willing to work at getting better, but therapy is not progressing, she’ll refer them to Zaccheo.

“Going to Lisa for three sessions is like having 10 years of psycho-therapy. Things get cleaned up real-ly fast. … She just finds this magical, intuitive way to connect with these people and the healing is immedi-ate.”

In one remarkable but not unusual case, a woman who had been horribly abused was suffering awful pain, to the point of being non-functioning and in a wheel-chair.

“All this trauma gets stuck in your body,” Cohen said.

After seeing Zaccheo, the client is out of the wheelchair.

When talking doesn’t help, hyp-nosis can.

Cohen said Zaccheo easily gets at what’s repressed or blocked from consciousness but is still having its affects because “you’re anxious, you’re fearful, you allow people to mistreat you … your life isn’t going well and you don’t know why. Once someone understands these things at a deeper level, it’s transforma-tive.”

Cohen said, “She provides a warm and safe environment. She gets right behind the defenses. She’s just amazing. My clients make prog-ress with her immediately. She’s incredibly gifted.” VL

For more information, visit www.mindmattershypnosis.com or call 860-693-6448.

Take this simple test to see if you can be hypnotized:

1. Are you of average or higher intelligence?2. Can you count from one to 10?3. Have you ever felt emotion while reading a book or watching a movie?4. Have you ever bought a product that you didn’t really need from watching a TV commercial?5. Have you ever daydreamed while driving?6. Are you not under the influence of drugs (not counting prescribed pharmaceuticals) or alcohol?7. Do you want to change your life?

If you answered “yes,” to any of the above questions, you can be hypnotized along with 97 percent of the population.