Wellness Institute Blog

At the Wellness Institute, we have always been innovative. We work on the cutting edge, pushing the envelope, and blurring the boundaries between clinical work and spiritual work. At many times in the Institute’s history, people have wondered whether the integration of spiritual traditions and practices was a viable way to help people to heal their traumatic wounds in the modern world.

I had double bypass open heart surgery two weeks ago. Here are some of the lessons I'm learning from this experience.

The deep subtlety of what my heart is telling me. For example, I resisted going to the emergency room when my heart was telling me to go because my experience didn’t match my image of a guy clutching his heart and screaming out in excruciating pain.

My symptoms were more benign, thankfully; light headedness, nausea, pressure in my chest. Fortunately, Diane made the decision to pay attention to my heart’s message and go to the emergency room.

Are you constantly thinking about food or your next opportunity to eat?
Do you see yourself as thinner or heavier than others see you?
Have you tried several weight loss/food control methods?
Do you feel shame about your eating or not eating?
Are you juggling multiple roles in your life?

As you take in these statements, are there any that resonate with you?  Perhaps you are a mother coordinating the schedules of your children while managing the title of wife and business woman.  Maybe you are a businessman traveling and you miss your family, so you reach for another serving of cake, at least it allows you to feel some sweetness while you are on the road?  Or maybe you are so stressed out from trying to people please that all you can think about is devouring your next meal?  Maybe you’ve gotten to a point in your life where food is love.  Your food or drink of choice might represent a substitute for emotional satisfaction.  Perhaps it helps you to drown out the pain of loneliness, fear, guilt, or shame?  Maybe you are stressed out and can’t quite put your finger on the ‘why’ of it?

How Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy Breaks through Dissociation to Treat Trauma

Many traumatized individuals alternate between re-experiencing their trauma and being detached from, or even relatively unaware of the trauma and its effects. It can be very confusing, for the individual and for those who interact with them. When we understand the psychology of what’s going on, it’s really not so confusing and actually makes sense.

Whether your career feels like it’s in a rut or you wish you could treat patients more fully, a hypnotherapy course at the Wellness Institute can help. How do we know? We’ve graduated thousands of students in over 20 countries. We offer training in hypnotherapy and advanced degrees in transpersonal psychology.

Our students say courses have transformed their patients’ lives as well as their own. Not sure you’re ready to join us? Here are the top 10 hypnotherapy training benefits.

Here are 30 of the most common traits. To see if you are an empath, check the ones that apply to you. A score of over 15 means you have a high probability of being an empathy.

Are there some days when you come home and feel more exhausted than usual? Are there some clients (or even family members) who, during or after being in their presence, you feel sick, exhausted or even pains in certain parts of your body?

All therapists need to keep accurate, up-to-date records in their office. Records are important in coordinating care and referring and terminating patients. Accurate records can also protect you in case of patient disputes and malpractice accusations.

Keep in mind that no matter if they’re paper or electronic, all your records must comply with HIPAA regulations and state laws. Keep physical records in locked cabinets and take precautions (such as virus software) to protect digital records.

If you’re just starting out in private practice, here are 10 documents you should keep when treating new or existing patients.

Therapy isn’t just about talking anymore. From altering subconscious states to tracking eye movements to getting up to dance, there are countless nontraditional methods that can successfully improve a client’s emotional and physical health. Here are 7 alternative treatment methodologies that all therapists should consider.

So I’m thinking about how easy it is sometimes for some of us to become myopic, to narrow the focus of awareness down to something that is attention grabbing and emotion inducing, probably either bright and shiny or a gruesomely fascinating wreck on the side of the road.

But it's only part of the big picture. And to get lost in detail is to miss the rest.

Something that has become useful to me as a reminder or a map of how to see a bigger picture is research that some folks at Harvard have been doing over the years. William Torbert and some others. And what their research is showing is that, in general, at any one point in time a person has approximately 50 percent of our energy, awareness, or mastery focused on our present condition. What we know, and  who we know. And who we experience ourselves to be in this here now time in our life.

So if approximately 50 percent of me is here, where is the other half of my attention and energy?

What their research shows is that about 25 percent of us is trailing behind, dragging its feet. You know: “I don't want to.” “I can't.” “Never done it before.” “I tried it once and it didn't work.”

And 25 percent of us is out there ahead, kind of scouting, looking for any new opportunities.

So the way that I envision this is a train. And there's a very nice Pullman car and it's got a dining facility and a nice berth for sleeping. You can live comfortably in this car. And then there is a caboose on the train. It's kind of bringing up the rear.