Imagine battling a debilitating medical condition and emerging with a newfound calling – a powerful tool to help others heal. This is the story of Sherris Cottier Shank, a psycho-spiritual hypnotherapist who discovered hypnosis during her own long road to recovery.
In this interview, Mystic Mag dives deep into her journey, sharing how hypnosis transformed her life and empowered her to become a beacon of hope for those struggling with anxiety, depression, and more. We’ll explore how she uses hypnosis to address core wounds and unlock the potential within each client.
When did you first know that being a Hypnotherapist was your calling, and how did it come about?
It took a massive medical crisis and 15 months of astonishingly slow recuperation for me to discover hypnosis. During that lengthy period of physical healing, there wasn’t much I could do except read and sleep, and I had plenty of time to ponder the state of my life.
Like many other people, I suffered through decades of depression, and just like my clients today, I searched far and wide for solutions. I embarked on years of talk therapy and spiritual counseling. I took antidepressants and researched endlessly. Over many years, I read and/or listened to every book, seminar, and presentation I could find on psychology, spirituality, and the brain.
As I waited for my body to heal, it became clear to me that I could not continue the way I had been, and my whole life needed to change. I asked myself repeatedly, “What does my soul want?” The forced waiting created space for the answer to that question to float up from my subconscious mind and allowed the more hidden aspects of my inner being to emerge. My deep spirituality rose to the surface, and with it came a longing to help others.
One day during my recovery, while idly surfing the Internet, I stumbled upon an article about hypnosis in Psychology Today. As I read it, something inside me lit up and stood at attention, and I felt compelled to learn more. I had observed in the hospital that the medical community had only two things to offer me: drugs and surgery. Hypnosis appeared to be an alternative healing modality that could have helped me relax and accept what was happening to me so I could adapt to my physical needs.
The more I explored, the more I wanted to know, and my thirst for knowledge about hypnosis grew at every step. I read every article and book on the subject that I could find and researched places where I might study further.
As soon as I was well enough, I enrolled in a training program at the Clinical Hypnosis Institute and never looked back. I had discovered the tool I’d been looking for my whole life. I became more interested and more enlivened at every step of my education, and my thirst for hypnotherapy knowledge is still a constant in my life.
I learned that the great power of hypnosis is its ability to communicate directly with the subconscious mind, where all our fears, memories, and core wounds live. With hypnosis, you can go directly to the cause of the problem in the subconscious mind, heal the original wound, and create the vision and expectation of a new, preferred reality.
It feels like a miracle when you solve a long-festering problem by simply relaxing into hypnosis and easily communicating with your subconscious mind. I love watching this happen.
What services do you offer?
Psycho-Spiritual Hypnosis
I am a psycho-spiritual hypnotherapist. I address emotional, psychological, and behavioral healing, as well as spiritual and existential experiences that help heal core wounds and facilitate change.
My mission is to help my clients overcome the emotional, behavioral, and spiritual obstacles that prevent them from living as fully empowered, sovereign beings. This means helping them heal and resolve any traumas and emotional or spiritual distress that prevents them from moving forward with their lives.
People come in for many reasons, including persistent anxiety and/or depression, a bad breakup, physical or emotional abuse, a traumatic experience they can’t get over, relationship issues, procrastination, insomnia, a feeling of being trapped or stuck, or a frightening medical diagnosis. Some simply can’t stand being tortured by their own thoughts anymore.
A transformation that looks impossible at first becomes ever more possible—and probable—as emotional or spiritual roadblocks are eliminated one by one, creating the space for confidence and enthusiasm to grow.
Performance Breakthrough
I also work with many clients suffering from performance fears in a wide variety of endeavors, including sports, business, music, public speaking, writing, and the arts. They often suffer from a lack of belief in themselves and loud internal critics. Self-doubt suddenly runs rampant, and they begin to wonder why they ever wanted this thing in the first place. I help they deactivate their self-critic and see themselves as having already achieved their goals
Could you tell us more about the Hypnotherapy sessions that you offer? How can Hypnotherapy help with certain conditions, such as Depression and Anxiety?
My sessions are 90 minutes long and divided between mindful coaching and hypnosis. Mindful coaching engages the conscious mind in the process of change, while hypnosis engages the subconscious mind, where most issues reside. When you change from the subconscious mind, it is surprisingly fast and easy because your subconscious mind wants to help you. All it needs is up-to-date information.
I work both in person and through Zoom.
Depression and anxiety are usually triggered by events or circumstances that ignite core wounds or old negative beliefs. I often ask clients when they first remember having that feeling. Or when did you decide you’re not good enough? Or when did you decide it was your job to be responsible for everyone else? Questions like these lead to the core wound that needs to be healed. Once the wound is healed, the client can choose new beliefs or make new decisions that free them from the trap of anxiety or depression.
Depending on the depth of depression or anxiety, this can move quickly or slowly. Often, people form an identity around those feelings, and then we need to work on visualizing their life as a content person, a peaceful person, or a happy person. There are always layers to work through.
What exactly is Self-Hypnosis, and can a person really hypnotize themself?
Self-hypnosis, like every other kind of hypnosis, is simply a matter of relaxing into a different brainwave state where the client can communicate with their subconscious mind.
I teach self-hypnosis to clients for several reasons. It’s quick—usually 15 minutes a day—and it reinforces all their other work. However, it’s best for a client to experience hypnosis in the office first so they understand what it feels like.
I record all my hypnosis sessions, including the self-hypnosis, so that clients can use the recordings to facilitate their practice at home. I have seen great results from consistent practice with self-hypnosis.
What can a person expect from your sessions?
Most people feel better after every session as we deactivate the multiple layers of their wounds or issues. As we move through each session, clients stop self-sabotage and get unstuck from emotional, psychological, or spiritual obstacles so they can become their truest, most natural, and most authentic selves.
It’s important to keep a long-term goal and a short-term goal in mind. A long-term goal might be peace of mind, equanimity, or complete confidence in oneself. A short-term goal might be to resolve hidden anger, change a negative belief, or reduce anxiety. As I work with clients, I am always aware of both goals. Where are they going, and what are the individual steps they need to take to get there?
What do you love most about your profession?
There is nothing more exhilarating than watching someone release trauma, overcome fear, and stand their ground as the magnificent being they are. Every time I witness this in a client, it is more thrilling than the last, and my passion for Psycho-Spiritual Hypnosis and personal transformation grows a little more.
Clients often experience a series of epiphanies and turnarounds as they begin deactivating painful experiences festering in their subconscious mind. I have seen the transformation possible when a person is truly ready to embrace change, and it is thrilling to watch. When a person can no longer tolerate being consumed by an endless cycle of negative thoughts and turbulent emotions and is ready to embrace Psycho-Spiritual Hypnosis, they can resolve and release old wounds quickly and step into the wholeness of who they are.
