SEQUIM — When you enter the hypnotic state — contrary to popular belief — you are still the driver of your own car.
“All hypnosis is self-hypnosis,” said Victoria Jazwic, a certified hypnotherapist at Pathways, the holistic health center at 127 W. Bell St. in Sequim.
The lingering misconception, thanks in part to county fair hypnosis shows, is that you lose all control as you slip into a “trance” — which is unfortunate, said Jazwic, who has devoted herself to demystifying what she calls a powerful tool for positive change.
Eight years ago, she moved from Los Angeles to Sequim — a place then not so open to hypnotherapy — and set out to demonstrate how it can, as she says, “help you get unstuck.”
Today her practice is thriving, and like other hypnotherapists on the North Olympic Peninsula, Jazwic helps clients stop smoking, lose weight and adopt new, healthy habits.
But what Jazwic said she sees most often is the desire to make a life transition: clients who know they want to make a change, and are figuring out how to get there.
Through deep relaxation and guided imagery — visualizing what you want — Jazwic sets out to show her clients the way forward. Often, she said, a client can see where he or she wants to be, but hasn’t yet found the road map.
As a hypnotherapist, she sits beside the person at the wheel, offering suggestions about how to travel to that destination.
Vicki Riggle, a Sequim school bus driver who recently moved to Chimacum, was stuck in a relationship she knew wasn’t right. She sought help from Jazwic last year, starting with weekly sessions.
“She helped me figure out why I kept choosing [emotionally] unavailable men,” Riggle began.
“She got me to where I was OK with myself,” so when Riggle ended the relationship, she was one happy single woman.
Anger issues
But she also had a problem dealing with anger.
“I would shut down; I was afraid of confrontation,” she said.
Through visualizations, Jazwic helped her go through situations that riled her — while still in the office at Pathways — until she gained the confidence to handle the real-life versions.
Jazwic also helped Riggle envision what a healthy relationship looks like. Just as important, the hypnotherapist showed her client the sources of happiness she carried inside herself.
That kind of peace stays with you, Riggle said.
Last winter she met the right man; they married May 15.
Before they started dating, “I was so totally happy,” said Riggle. “When you’re like that, that’s the kind of person you attract.”
This isn’t to say that it’s easy or simple to end a relationship, rid yourself of a comfortable habit or change a deeply programmed belief.
Jazwic said it’s natural to resist change because the unknown, that most frightening thing, is on the other side.
To begin to change a “stuck” thought or habit, she has clients dream up a new, positive thought, keep repeating it, and over time develop behaviors to support a whole new pattern.
Because Jazwic wants hypnotherapy clients to trust their guts when choosing a practitioner, she offers a free 20-minute consultation before arranging regular hour-long sessions.
Later this summer, Jazwic plans to give guided imagery sessions to introduce people to the relaxation and visualization technique. Admission will be $10 per person, though the first five to sign up will participate free.
Also this season, Jazwic is offering what she calls “the ultimate vacation.”
It’s a break — long-lasting, she hopes – for people who want to unpack “limiting beliefs,” that have been weighing them down.
While Jazwic’s usual fee is $65 per hour-long session — or $90 per couple — the “vacation” rate is $55 per hour through the summer. For information, phone Pathways at 360-582-1211.
Too much to do
Claire Koenigsaecker of Sequim tried hypnotherapy four years ago, after realizing she had far too much on her plate.
“I was teaching full time, involved with several service organizations, parenting three children and had responsibilities at my husband’s work,” she recalled.
She was also suffering from back pain and migraine headaches.
A change had to come, but Koenigsaecker thought she “couldn’t do it; and really, didn’t know how to do it.”
“I didn’t know how to change who I had always been,” Koenigsaecker said.
“When I was finally at a breaking point, I asked a Christian friend how she had made changes in her life, and she told me about Victoria and hypnotherapy.”
Jazwic guided her through discussions of her future, and what she needed to change to grow into the person she wanted to be.
“She has an uncanny ability to listen to what you’re saying and get to the center of it,” Koenigsaecker said.
“Then she gives you very specific things to think about and concentrate on in order to begin your change.”
Some may believe hypnotherapy is some kind of New Age thing, Koenigsaecker said. But that’s not Jazwic’s style.
Koenigsaecker refers her Christian friends, and Jazwic emphasized that she works with people of varying spiritual orientations.
“I meet people where they are,” Jazwic added.
“I go back to see her periodically when I feel like I am getting off track,” said Koenigsaecker.
“I credit Victoria for walking me through the biggest changes in my life.”
Jazwic, for her part, said she encourages her clients to decide when they no longer need weekly or monthly sessions.
“I’m a very results-oriented person,” she said, “because I know that life is ticking on.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
