Welcome to Stillwater Hypnotherapy
Hi! My name is Rita Wege. I am a Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist (RCH) and I am registered with ARCH (Association of Registered Clinical Hypnotherapists) and an Associate member of IMDHA (International Medical and Dental Hypnosis Association). My practice is conveniently located in Shoreacres, halfway between Nelson and Castlegar near Playmor Junction in the West Kootenay, BC.
I believe that by bringing positive changes into the lives of each person who enters my office, these positive changes will extend to other people in their community. Each individual has within themselves the capacity to better understand the belief structure that drives their actions and that by evaluating and changing negative beliefs, they can also overcome negative behavior patterns.
For more information about how you can experience these positive changes in your life, feel free to call me at 250-359-7234 or 1-888-354-1685 to schedule an appointment. See "How I Work" page for more information about how hypnotherapy can help you, sessions and rates.
You can use the form on the right to send an email.
I offer free 30 minute consultations by phone or in person. Discover for yourself how hypnosis can help you feel better.
Feeling curious but not ready to commit? Get together a small group of 2 - 5 friends/family members and I will demonstrate how hypnosis is an ideal stress reducer. These sessions are in my home and last up to 2 hours.
Thank you for visiting! I look forward to hearing from you.
Hypnotherapy
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Rudyard Kipling
Hypnotherapy is an excellent modality for helping you with your problems. It can help with many of the physical and emotional symptoms you may be struggling with such as stress, chronic pain, insomnia and depression. This in turn allows you to develop a positive mental attitude. I teach self-hypnosis which empowers you to discover your own internal resources and increase your coping skills and abilities. By practicing self-hypnosis you can feel better, heal faster and generally be more effective.
The following quote shows that Hypnotherapy is more effective than other modalities in helping you reach your goals.
"Dr Alfred A. Barrios (PhD) conducted a study to investigate the effectiveness of Hypnotherapy, Behavioural Therapy and Psychoanalysis (Psychology). The results he uncovered astonished the clinical community. After 600 sessions of Psychotherapy, there was a 38% success rate. After only 22 sessions of Behavioural Therapy, there was a 72% success rate. However, after only 6 sessions of Hypnotherapy, there was a whopping 93% success rate!”
The new concept that the brain is “plastic”(neuroplasticity) suggests that the brain can adapt in significant ways to current conditions, thus breaking old “habits of thought” and establishing new ones. This phenomenon is often described as “neurons that fire together, wire together”. By use of suggestion, I help you break old habits of thought that no longer serve you and replace them with more supportive beliefs.
Although there is no universally accepted definition of hypnosis, it is a natural state, one that you already experience daily. It involves focused attention, heightened concentration and senses and it is characterized by a slowing of brain waves and occurs naturally during your day. You experience a state of hypnosis just before waking and before falling asleep. Also, you are in a state of hypnosis whenever you are doing something automatic such as driving a car, taking a shower, brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, reading a book or passive activities such as watching a movie. Daydreaming as well creates slower brain waves. “It (hypnosis) is not sleep, yet it is often associated with deep physical and mental relaxation.”
There are four brain waves (or states of awareness or consciousness) that you cycle throughout the day and can be measured. They include beta (awake, normal alertness, consciousness: 15 – 30 Hz), alpha (relaxed, calm meditation, creative visualization, hypnotic trance: 9 – 14 Hz), theta (deep relaxation and meditation, problem solving, hypnotic trance: 4 – 8 Hz) and Delta (deep, dreamless sleep: 1 – 3 Hz).
Hypnotherapy should not be confused with hypnosis. While hypnosis is a state of mind, hypnotherapy is a therapy done when in an alpha and theta brain states. Using hypnotic techniques, beneficial changes can be brought about. In states of deep relaxation, a therapist can uncover and explore memories, emotions and past events which may affect a person’s conscious mind and help activate a client’s inner resources in order to achieve desired goals. It can be used to treat numerous medical and psychological problems.
Our conscious mind is approximately 5% of our mind and our subconscious is 95%. The subconscious controls our breathing, blood flow, digestion and all our bodily functions. It does not know the difference between pretend and reality! This is very important to understand and serves to explain why hypnotherapy is so effective. What we believe becomes our reality.
There are many differences between the conscious and subconscious mind. The conscious mind can only focus on seven to nine pieces or information at any given time, while your subconscious mind is aware of everything else. The conscious mind is linear, logical, analytical and always asking why. The subconscious is not limited, does all your feeling, is intuitive and knows why.
“Hypnosis is one of the most fascinating and misunderstood tools available to everyone. An understanding of the hypnotic state and how to use it for your special benefit can lead to seemingly miraculous changes because you speed the reprogramming of your subconscious mind. However, the misconceptions caused by fiction and television fantasy have let many to see it as mysterious, magical or otherwise special power.” John G. Kappas, Ph.D
Certificates and Courses
Basic, Advanced and Master Hypnosis Courses (Full Circle College of Hypnotherapy in Calgary, Alberta)
Introductory NLP, Counselling Skills and Clinical Issues Courses (Full Circle College of Hypnotherapy in Calgary, Alberta)
Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner
Grief Counselling Course (Full Circle College of Hypnotherapy in Calgary, Alberta)
Dynamic Hypnosis for Pain Control (Instructors: Michael Ellner & Scott Sandland)
Hypnosis and Sports Performance (American Hypnosis Association)
Weight Loss Specialist (American Hypnosis Association)
Hypnosis and Pain Management (American Hypnosis Association)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, AutoImmune Diseases (Instructors: Melissa Roth & Roger Moore)
Addictions (Instructor: Richard Nongard)
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
- Mahatma Gandhi
This website is a work-in-progress and will be expanded gradually