Questions
Hypnosis FAQ
Straight answers, including the ones that are bad for business. If your question is not here, ask me — I answer my own email.
Part 1
What it is
Ordinary. Deep physical relaxation with unusually sharp attention — the same state you drop into on a long drive or three chapters into a good book. You hear the traffic outside. You know exactly where you are. You could open your eyes and stand up at any moment. The most common reaction to a first session is "I do not think I was under," followed a week later by "something is different."
Both things are real and they are not the same thing. Stage hypnosis works by selecting the handful of people in a theatre who are highly suggestible and want to be on stage. What I do is closer to guided, focused attention aimed at one specific goal, and it looks like a person sitting quietly in a chair with their eyes shut. It is extremely boring to watch.
Almost anyone can reach a useful state. Depth varies between people far more than most assume, and matters far less — plenty of the best results I have seen came from people who barely felt anything happen. The one genuine requirement is wanting the change yourself.
No. You keep your values, your judgment and your ability to refuse the whole time. If a suggestion conflicts with who you are, your mind simply declines it — this is well documented and it is the reason stage hypnotists work with volunteers. You are also free to stop at any moment.
Not a thing that happens. Hypnosis is not unconsciousness. If I left the room mid-session you would either drift into an ordinary nap and wake up normally, or get bored and open your eyes.
Most of it, usually. Some people lose stretches the way you lose the middle of a familiar drive. Neither is a problem, and it is not an indicator of whether it worked.
Part 2
Whether it will work for you
Habit and performance work: usually three to five. Sleep: three or four. Quitting smoking runs as a structured two-session program. Past life regression is one three-hour session. I will give you an honest estimate at the free screening call, and I will tell you when I think you are finished.
You do not, in advance, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. What I would suggest is the cheapest possible test: download the free twenty-minute track and see whether the state is accessible to you and whether my voice works for your brain. That answers most of the question for nothing.
It works for a lot of people and not for everyone. You will see practitioners advertising ninety-percent success rates — ask them for the substantiation, because under FTC rules they are supposed to have some. What I can say honestly: hypnosis tends to work well for people who genuinely want to stop and are looking for help making it stick, and does very little for people who were sent by a spouse.
Meditation trains attention generally, over time, with no destination. Hypnosis uses a focused state to aim at something specific — a habit, a fear, a night of sleep. Overlapping machinery, different jobs. Doing one makes the other easier, which is part of why I teach both.
No, and the distinction matters legally as well as practically. A licensed therapist is trained and licensed to assess and treat mental health conditions. I am a Certified Consulting Hypnotist — I work on habits, focus, relaxation, motivation and personal growth with people who are functioning and want something to change. I do not diagnose or treat anything, and I refer out when someone needs licensed care.
In Illinois, legally, neither title is protected, so either is lawful. I deliberately use "hypnotist" because "-therapist" implies therapy, therapy implies treating a disorder, and treating a disorder is licensed clinical work I do not do. The National Guild of Hypnotists made the same shift in 2006 for the same reason.
Part 3
Practical
Across the city, first sessions generally run $200 to $300 and follow-ups $175 to $215, with three-session packages between $550 and $650. Mine are $225, $185 and $575, and every price is published — which, oddly, is unusual here.
No, and no hypnotist in Chicago does. Hypnosis is not a covered medical service, which is the flip side of my not being a licensed health care provider. Ask your administrator about HSA or FSA eligibility; policies vary.
Yes, by video, anywhere in the United States, at about fifteen percent below the in-person rate. You need a quiet room, headphones and forty-five uninterrupted minutes. The one thing I prefer to do in person is past life regression.
Eat something, go easy on the caffeine, wear something you can sit comfortably in for ninety minutes, and do not schedule anything tight afterward — most people are pleasantly slow for half an hour.
Forty-eight hours notice, no charge. Inside forty-eight hours the session is billed, because the slot cannot be refilled.
[Confirm the address or service area and the neighborhoods to name here.] Convenient to Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Lakeview, River North and the Loop, with online sessions available anywhere.
Part 4
Safety and scope
For most people it is about as eventful as a nap. The main cautions are situational: do not listen to a recording while driving or operating machinery, and if you have epilepsy or a seizure disorder, a psychotic or dissociative disorder, or any significant medical or mental health condition, talk to a licensed provider before starting. Some people I ask for a written referral before we begin.
I do not treat any of those, and I want to be unambiguous rather than clever about it. Diagnosing and treating mental health conditions is licensed clinical work and it is outside my scope. What I do is relaxation, focus and habit work with people who are functioning day to day. If what you are carrying is heavier than that, I will say so and refer you to a licensed Chicago clinician.
Not at all — keep taking exactly what your prescriber told you to take. I will never suggest you change, reduce or stop a medication. That conversation belongs with whoever wrote the prescription, full stop.
No. What is said in a session stays in the session, with the ordinary legal exceptions. Note that I am not a licensed clinician, so what I hold is confidentiality as a professional obligation rather than a statutory privilege — a distinction worth understanding, and one reason I keep the privacy policy specific.
Services are offered to adults. A minor requires the consent and the presence of a parent or legal guardian, and I take those case by case.
Scope of practice. Nothing on this page is medical or psychological advice. Tim Horine is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist and is not a physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, licensed therapist, or counselor. Hypnosis services offered here do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or condition. Individual results vary and no outcome is guaranteed. Read the full disclaimer.