Ilan Zechory Clinical Hypnosis

Everyone can be hypnotized.

Even if you have never experienced formal hypnosis, you experience states that are similar to hypnotic trance every day: zoning out, daydreaming, getting lost in a movie plot. If you are capable of these things, you can experience hypnosis.

There are many different hypnotic inductions — rapid, gradual, structured, conversational. I customize the hypnotic experience based on each client's needs and personality.

The major impediments to experiencing hypnosis are fears and misconceptions about what it is. I hope to dispel some of the common misconceptions here. Please feel free to email me at iz@ilanzechory.com if you have any reservations or concerns about trying hypnosis.

A typical first session begins with a conversation about the problem you're having or the behavior you'd like to change. I will ask you some questions, and answer any questions you have about hypnosis.

After the initial consultation, we will move on to hypnotic induction, creative visualization, therapeutic suggestion, etc.

After you emerge from hypnosis, we will briefly discuss your experience. I will also teach you some powerful self-hypnosis techniques.

Most people find that one session is all that is needed to kick a lifelong habit. Some people  require longer or multiple sessions. Milton Erickson, the seminal figure of 20th century hypnotherapy, saw some clients for 6 hours at a time.

Based on the history you provide during a phone screening, we will determine the optimal length of your first session. After the first session, you will likely have an intuitive sense about whether you would benefit from additional sessions. Clients who come for more than three sessions are usually tackling multiple problems in turn.

If you have seen people do crazy things at a hypnosis show, it is natural to wonder how much control the hypnotist has. It is important to remember that people who volunteer for stage hypnosis have an expectation about what participating will entail. The hypnotist selects people who seem uninhibited, and sends the reluctant back to their seats.

Context and motivation determine what makes sense as a suggestion. You will reject things that don't make sense. It would be difficult if not impossible to get someone to cluck like a chicken in my office, just as it would be difficult to suggest that the star of a hypnosis show quit smoking.

Hypnosis is a consensual state. I am literally incapable of making you do anything you're not comfortable doing. If I asked you under hypnosis to tell me your ATM PIN number, you would just say "no" and laugh at me (in hypnosis it is completely normal to talk, laugh, scratch an itch, or shift to get more comfortable in your chair).

Hypnosis is very relaxing, but it is not sleep. On the contrary, people become extremely alert during hypnosis. All your senses are heightened, and you are able to think clearly.

Relaxation and alertness may seem mutually exclusive, but they are not. The "deeper" you go into hypnosis, the more relaxed and more alert you become.

$300 for an hour long session. Reduced fee appointments are occasionally possible depending on your financial situation and my availability.

I've lost 30 pounds since my first (of two) hypnosis sessions with Ilan six months ago!

My problems were late night snacking, and lack of motivation to get my butt to the gym. I gave Ilan a detailed account of my issues, including previous diets and programs that I have tried to little or no avail. Ilan designed two hypnosis sessions to fit my needs -- one to address the snacking, and another the next day for the exercise motivation.

The results were incredible. I stopped snacking at night, and I don't know a better way to describe it other than I've experienced a change in my consciousness when I eat. I'm more mindful of what's going on as I take each bite, and I don't always automatically finish everything on my plate like I used to. I started going to the gym like I had a million times before, but this time I've stuck with it for 6 months, and I'm showing no signs of stopping! I am thrilled, my husband is thrilled, my kids are thrilled!

Having been a chronic cuticle/nail biter for seven years, I was willing to try anything to stop. My father offered to pay for a lifetime of manicures if I succeeded, and I had spent my fair share on a gamut of products that promised to heal my self-inflicted wounds. The problem was that biting my fingers was not a deliberate habit; the act of putting my fingers in my mouth had, over time, become completely inadvertent, like blinking or swallowing. After a visit to Ilan, the biting ceased. I became far more aware of my hands and how I used them. While tempted a few times immediately following the hypnosis to bite my nails, these urges soon passed.

While nail-biting seems like a minor habit, it was a source of significant embarrassment for me. Ilan's help in addressing the problem and repressing the impulse to bite has been invaluable. Kicking these small habits can lend you a large amount of confidence.

I started smoking when I first moved to New York 18 years ago. I've flirted with quitting over the years with no success. Now that I'm all grown up with two little girls at home, I knew I had to quit to be a healthy role model and live a long, full life. A friend referred me to Ilan. The session was really interesting. He asked questions to draw out my motivations. He understood why I liked smoking, and was completely non-judgmental. The hypnosis was very relaxing and cool - I felt some faint urges during the first couple days, but after that, nothing. I haven't had a cigarette since our appointment! (I'm writing this a month later)

As a former soldier, I know something about physical pain, and I have a very high pain tolerance. But in the weeks after being hit by a van while on my bike, I suffered terribly. I fractured my pelvis, broke 2 ribs, broke a lumbar in my back, sprained my right ankle and underwent surgery on my left thigh.

I was taking 2 percocets every 4 hours to little avail. I was struggling to move around and couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep. Returning to work was completely out of the question.

After a single hypnosis session with Ilan, the pain in my ribs and heel subsided. I couldn’t believe it, and neither could my doctor! I started walking with a cane instead of a walker, and within days I was able to sleep like a baby and return to work. To boot, I found the session extremely relaxing and enjoyable. I give Ilan’s hypnosis the highest recommendation for dealing with any type of pain.

I had been a smoker for 10 years and had tried to quit many times, but nothing had worked. I came to hypnotism hopeful but somewhat skeptical. It was such a wonderful experience. I felt like I was floating on a peaceful sea, guided by Ilan's voice. Afterward I felt very calm, and confident enough to stick with quitting. I haven't smoked a cigarette since and feel great about myself. Thanks Ilan!

I used to dread flying — I’d have to knock myself out with Xanax just to get through it!

When I found out my friend Ilan had become a hypnotist and helped some of our mutual friends quit smoking and biting their nails, I thought I might as well try it for my fear of flying. We did one session early in the morning. It was really easy and relaxing, just a pleasant experience overall and something I'd definitely like to do again.

I just got back from a trip to Paris (my first flights since hypnosis), and for the first time since I was a kid, flying was totally pleasant. It's pretty crazy that it worked, I can't really believe it myself! I am simply amazed at the transformation, and am so grateful that my vacations will no longer be bookended by dread. Thank you, Ilan.

UPDATE: I just took another flight, this time to the Bahamas (tough life, I know), and it was totally 100% fine. I read, napped, and chatted with my brother -- no Xanax and no anxiety at all.

I'm a professional actor, which means going on many, many auditions. A few months ago, I started having trouble focusing during my auditions. Even the slightest distraction became enormous: casting directors writing things down, directors shifting in their seats, producers whispering to each other. Any one of these things could throw me out of the scene and because of that, I wasn't able to act and react naturally with my reader.

After just one session with the wonderfully kind, impressively skilled Ilan Zechory, I developed an unbelievable ability to erase everyone else from my mind and rebuild the room exactly the way I wanted to see it, within seconds. In the couple of months since meeting with Ilan, I have been cast in two plays and had my network TV debut, and I think my newfound sense of focus and control has contributed greatly to that success.

I came into my first hypnosis session unhappy with the current state of a long-time friendship. During the emotional hour Ilan helped me to better articulate exactly why I was upset, and what I wanted say. The cathartic experience of getting all those feelings off my chest to an open and non-judgmental third party was the first step I needed to start mending my friendship.