I joined Conscious Choices in 2007 after completing my certification as a hypnotist from the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherpy Association.  I am also certified through the National Guild of Hypnotists.  In addition, I have taken additional training and have completed an advanced certification called 5-PATH Hypnosis.

Besides being interested in Hypnosis, I also have an Educational Specialist degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Converse College.  I am licensed in the state of North Carolina as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Associate (LMFTA) .  As an LMFTA I am working towards full clinical licensure.  I am supervised by Dr. James Rentz at The WestGate Training and Consultation Network in Spartanburg, SC.  Dr. Rentz has been a therapist since the early 1970′s.

I am very interested in helping people in these three areas:

• Couples who want to enrich their relationship and address their issues.
• Individuals suffering from a “mid life crash”.
• Parents and children who can’t seem to get along.

In addition to having a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I have all the school work but my thesis done on a Master of Arts in International Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.  I have also completed work on an Master of Science in Computer Science at University of Missouri in Rolla, MO.  I completed my undergraduate work at Westminster College in Fulton, MO in 1982.  I have Bathelors of Arts degrees in Economics & Business Administration and Computer Science from Westminster College.

After graduating from college I worked at large corporations in varying roles.  I worked for Mississippi River Transmission Corporation, Citigroup, Prudential Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo, Fleet Mortgage, RBC Insurance, and Edward Jones.  I have 24 years of corporate expereince.

Working in the corporate world I always felt something was missing in my life.  I felt I wasn’t living up to my potential.  In 1997 I met my wife Roberta.  While we were dating we spent many hours talking about lifes challenges.  On one occasion she told me how in 1988 she saw a hypnotist and relived a scene with her father when she was 9 years old.  This event ultimately led her to leave the corporate world, get a third graduate degree, and become a marriage and family therapist.

Starting in 1998 Roberta and I attended the Hayden Institute.  There we learned about Jungian Psychology and Dream Interpretation.  I became fascinated with C.G. Jung’s approach to life and its problems.  His whole approach is growth oriented not problem oriented.  He calls this process, Individuation.  In 1998 I started reading about Individuation and started walking my own Individuation process path.  Its an amazing process that really helps reconcile what our Soul needs and what our Ego wants.  I love helping clients walk their own path.

When I was 7 years old I got interested in hypnosis.  I was sitting in a doctors office and needed something to keep me busy.  I saw a book on hypnotism on his bookshelf and decided to read it.  I have been intrigued by hypnosis ever since.  During my freshman year in college I convinced my college roommate, Roch, to allow me to hypnotize him.   My interest in hypnosis has continued to this day.  I was very fortunate to meet two people Roberta and I trusted to train us in 2006.  Rob and Priscilla were excellent trainers.  They took the time to make sure we understood how to meet our clients needs instead of just following a “script”.

Today, I am fortunate to be in practice with Roberta.  We live in beautiful Flat Rock, NC with our cat, Rembrandt (Remy).  We are able to enjoy traveling, hiking, and learning about the unconscious.  If any part of my story has intrigued you, I hope you give me a call to let me know how it effected you.  Hypnosis is a very powerful tool that has helped thousands of people.  It can help you too.