The power of post-hypnotic suggestion

Gail Plaza describes herself as “a last resort.” People come to her when all else has failed. They’ve tried to lose weight, quit smoking or overcome a phobia. Nothing has worked, and they’re willing to try anything… even hypnotherapy.

Working as a certified hypnotherapist at Positive Changes in Manalapan, N.J., for the past two years, Plaza helps people conquer various challenges by putting them into a relaxed state of mind where they are receptive to suggestions to change their behavior. She’s worked with people who’ve undergone gastric bypass surgery —thinking that was their last resort—only to stretch out their tiny stomachs and gain back the weight. She’s helped people overcome fears of bridges, water, dentists, driving on highways and taking tests. She recently helped a man kick a habit of chewing nicotine gum, to which he became addicted after he quit smoking.

“A lot of it is positive self-talk, building self-confidence and self-esteem. I can’t come out of my house in any kind of a bad mood,” Plaza says with a laugh. “I have to be the most cheerful person in the whole world! I try to practice what I preach.”

But, the positive suggestions are only part of the hypnotherapy process. First, clients go through a one-hour evaluation where Plaza learns as much as she can about the problem or behavior that is troubling them. This allows her to develop a personalized script that will emphasize suggestions to address their specific needs.

“Some people have had success with hypnotherapy before or know someone else who did. Others are skeptical,” she says. “I tell them right off, if you really have a lot of doubt, you probably shouldn’t be here. You’re not going to be receptive.”

At their first session, patients sit in a reclining chair wearing light strobe glasses over closed eyelids to help relax the mind. They hear Plaza’s voice through a headset. After about 30 minutes of relaxation, she begins introducing suggestions. For someone focusing on weight loss, it might include statements such as, “Soda is no longer desired. Water is your favorite drink. You will drink eight glasses of water a day.” A general script for weight loss also might emphasize portion control and a desire to exercise.

Plaza tapes the session and gives it to her clients on CD, with instructions to listen to it twice a day. Over the next two weeks, they return for 30-minute coaching sessions, in which Plaza assesses their progress and offers support, motivation and helpful tips. For weight-loss clients who are still eating too much, she may suggest that they use a smaller plate or try chopsticks to slow their eating. They continue to listen to their first tape for a third week before returning for another session, where Plaza prepares a new tape of additional post-hypnotic suggestions.

“It takes 21 days to make a habit, so we ask them to listen to the first tape for three weeks. Then we’ll do another process, which layers upon the first one we made. They may have told me new things, which I will use to customize that session,” she says.

Hypnosis is based on repetition, Plaza explains, so if clients aren’t listening to the tape she’s prepared for them, they won’t make progress. She also incorporates repetition into the tape itself, repeating suggestions seven or eight times throughout a script. “If they are soda drinkers or addicted to sugar, I will tell them repeatedly that they are no longer going to have a desire for these things,” she says.

Patients come once a week for varying periods of time, depending on their program. Weight-loss clients can sign up for three-month, six-month or one-year programs. Smokers come for a nine-week program. “People do stop smoking before the nine-week time, but we also weave in the message that they are not going to replace one bad habit with another, trying to keep their weight in check,” she says.

Plaza happily rattles off a list of success stories, clearly pleased that those who have come to her as a last resort have overcome their challenges at last. Her latest “poster woman” is a client who has lost 50 pounds in six months, but who is more excited about how hypnotherapy has changed her attitudes and ways of handling everyday stress. “She has learned to deal with her stress and let it go and not affect her,” Plaza says.

For Plaza, hypnotherapy was an interesting progression of her career in the health care and wellness fields. Before her children were born, she spent eight years as a volunteer ambulance driver and emergency medical technician, and she also volunteered at a hospital emergency room. She stayed home for five years after her three children were born, later becoming a personal trainer, which allowed her to work around her children’s schedules. Then she went back to college to study psychology, a field that uses hypnosis as a form of therapy.

Although many people remain skeptical of hypnotherapy, Plaza says she believes it is gaining credibility among health-care professionals. Her office has received referrals from dentists who recommend hypnotherapy for patients who are extremely nervous before a procedure. General practitioners are suggesting hypnotherapy to patients for weight loss.

Hypnotherapy has been around for hundreds of years, Plaza says. Her own employer, Positive Changes, was founded 32 years ago and now has franchises all over the country. “It’s been an interesting field for me, because it complements everything else I’ve done,” she says. “My work has always been about health and helping. It’s wonderful to know that you are helping other people to improve their lives.”

—Sharon Huss Roat, AS ’87

Gail Plaza lives in Manalapan, N.J., with her husband, Robert. Son Robert is a sophomore at UD.