For as long as I could remembered, I've always been very fearful of geckos and lizards. This irrational fear caused living in Hawaii to be very difficult because there are an abundance of these little reptiles everywhere. Even years after moving to the mainland, the fear persisted. The last few years this fear has intensified. I would actually have frequent nightmares as the weather begins to warm because I know they're going to be all over my yard. A few times I would cancel appointments because there was a lizard at my door preventing me from leaving the house.
As a Ph.D. student in Psychology, I've tried many different techniques to lessen this phobia with no success. In September 2013, I decided to seek help from Lance Garland for herpetophobia (fear of lizards). I didn't know what to expect. After two sessions, my fear was drastically decreased. Soon after, I went back to Hawaii for a visit. There was only one tense moment when a gecko crossed my path, but I quickly recovered. This was almost a miracle in itself because I would've ran and screamed like a banshee in the past. My husband who was very skeptical about the whole experience even noticed the difference in my behavior. He couldn't believe that I didn't seem to be aware of the geckos during this recent trip back home.
Of course, I would never be able to pick up a lizard or have one as a pet. I'm still not crazy about these reptiles, and that probably would never change. However, that's not what I was aiming for when I sought help from Lance. I just wanted a life without fear. Especially from something so small and harmless. I'm so glad I went to see Lance, and would not hesitate to refer family and friends. - Dawn Hutcheson
For as long as I could remembered, I've always been very fearful of geckos and lizards. This irrational fear caused living in Hawaii to be very difficult because there are an abundance of these little reptiles everywhere. Even years after moving to the mainland, the fear persisted. The last few years this fear has intensified. I would actually have frequent nightmares as the weather begins to warm because I know they're going to be all over my yard. A few times I would cancel appointments because there was a lizard at my door preventing me from leaving the house.
As a Ph.D. student in Psychology, I've tried many different techniques to lessen this phobia with no success. In September 2013, I decided to seek help from Lance Garland for herpetophobia (fear of lizards). I didn't know what to expect. After two sessions, my fear was drastically decreased. Soon after, I went back to Hawaii for a visit. There was only one tense moment when a gecko crossed my path, but I quickly recovered. This was almost a miracle in itself because I would've ran and screamed like a banshee in the past. My husband who was very skeptical about the whole experience even noticed the difference in my behavior. He couldn't believe that I didn't seem to be aware of the geckos during this recent trip back home.
Of course, I would never be able to pick up a lizard or have one as a pet. I'm still not crazy about these reptiles, and that probably would never change. However, that's not what I was aiming for when I seek help from Lance. I just wanted a life without fear. Especially from something so small and harmless. I'm so glad I went to see Lance, and would not hesitate to refer family and friends. - Dawn Hutcheson
What aspects of your life would you like to improve, and what if you could dramatically transform them with just one, two, or three treatment sessions?
At Charleston Holistic Center, we offer two types of counseling services to help you reach your goals: Results-Oriented and Growth-Oriented Counseling.
We facilitate an environment where positive changes are achieved by our clients quickly; for some of these issues, only one session may be needed, although a follow-up session is always recommended.
You’ll find that we wholeheartedly support your goal of empowering your life and aligning with your goals.
Some of the possibilities for enhancing your life at the Charleston Holistic Center include: Stress Reduction,Stopping Smoking, Healthy Lifestyle, Phobia/Fear Removal, Test Anxiety, Weight Loss, Substance Abuse, and Performance Enhancement
Results-Oriented Counseling: This form of highly effective counseling is for those who need help with a specific problem such as stopping smoking, phobia removal, or test anxiety. These are issues that have a specific outcome attached and definite results required. Results-Oriented Counseling has at its heart the idea that you want to fix a problem or issue in order to improve your life, and you’d like those results to be achieved rapidly and effectively. This philosophy translates directly to the approach we take in your counseling sessions. In the first session, the problem is specifically identified, the desired results are delineated, and the process is immediately clarified and individualized.
Growth-Oriented Counseling: This type of counseling is used to improve the quality of your life, and to develop the skills, growth, and insights that lead to a more joyful, meaningful life. You can effectively create the life you’ve dreamed of, and greatly facilitate your personal empowerment.
In Growth-Oriented Counseling, there are some overlaps with Results-Oriented Counseling, in that there are specific outcomes desired, and you want to get to your result as quickly as possible, but each person’s goals, strengths, and weaknesses are different and the approach must be highly individualized. A first session for these goals would include the same basic structure as a Results-Oriented Session, but for maximum effectiveness more in-depth work must be done, usually in further sessions. However, you will not be “in therapy” for an extended time. The idea is to get you to your goal, and enjoying the results, as quickly as possible.
Stress Reduction:
We can enable you to reduce your stress levels, and to feel more relaxed and in control of your life every day, no matter what challenges the day might bring. Hypnotherapy techniques are highly effective for combating the day-to-day stress many of us experience. They work to activate the body’s natural relaxation response, which reduces everyday stress and boosts your ability to handle life’s ups and downs.
Having a healthy relaxation response puts the brakes on the damage that stress can wreak on your system, and it brings your body and mind back into a healthy state of calm equilibrium. In addition to feeling better, this can help to prevent the many health problems associated with chronic stress. Our therapies are excellent for specific stressful situations as well, enabling you to respond differently to a particular challenge or event. Give yourself the gift of stress reduction therapy, and witness firsthand the dramatic, positive changes in your life and your overall stress level.
Stop Smoking:
Stop Smoking therapy is typically a single results-oriented session of approximately 75 to 90 minutes, with a follow-up session for 60 minutes usually the next week. The first session involves identifying your particular pattern of smoking, determining the triggers for your smoking, and eliminating your need to respond to the triggers and/or habitual patterns that you’ve developed. Whether you only smoke socially or are a several-pack-a-day smoker, the process is highly effective in eliminating your desire to smoke. After the first session, you can walk from the office as a non-smoker. The follow-up session serves to solidify your commitment to remaining a non-smoker.
Some of you might worry about withdrawal symptoms, including cravings, bad attitudes, or weight gain. Because the results-oriented counseling has eliminated your need for tobacco, you’ll find that you do not experience any of these unwanted symptoms. (By the way- this process can be used for any form of tobacco use- if you dip or chew rather than smoke, the process is the same, and is just as effective.)
Healthy Lifestyle:
Would you like to eat better, sleep better, exercise more, improve your memory and/or cognitive skills, and generally feel better overall? Do you feel that you haven’t been reaching your full potential? Our highly individualized and focused growth-oriented counseling plan will allow you to achieve your goals.
Analysis of your current strengths and weaknesses along with your long-term goals will be used to create just the right plan for you to quickly see the results you want. Strengths will be further enhanced, and weaknesses can be minimized or eliminated.
During counseling, subconscious blocks and emotional triggers that have been holding you back from your full potential will be found and removed. Imagine the possibilities when you are a free and fully actualized individual, moving without obstacles on your chosen path!
Phobia/Fear Removal:
Fears and phobias can quickly and effectively be removed with a combination of EFT and hypnosis during a results-oriented counseling session. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a highly effective method for removal of any intense emotional reaction. The process involves the therapist tapping on very specific acupressure points that allow the stored up feelings and brain-trigger reactions to be released, and the intense feelings to be dramatically reduced or to disappear altogether. This process, combined with some hypnotherapy can eradicate a fear or phobia in one session. A single follow-up session is recommended to ensure that all emotional triggers concerning the fear or phobia have been completely cleared.
Test Anxiety:
For those with test anxiety or fear of public speaking, now is the time to remove those blocks to success. Results-oriented counseling can quickly help you succeed, where before in those stressful situations you may have met with mediocrity or failure. You’ll find our counseling approach to be profoundly effective, even if you’ve tried other methods in the past that haven’t worked. You can walk out of our counseling session with confidence and ability to thrive in those high pressure situations from now on.
Weight Loss:
If you have been struggling with weight issues, we can help you break the old patterns and habits of over eating and poor food choices, and take control of your weight once and for all. Our effective therapies for weight loss and healthy eating can provide the extra motivation and techniques to help you reach your goals, and assist you in avoiding the “food traps” that often cause weight gain.
We’ll work with you to develop a new, positive relationship with eating and healthy food choices. With effective hypnotherapy techniques it really is possible to change old patterns and achieve a healthier life, free from the struggle of weight issues.
Substance Abuse/Addictions
Addictions can often be eliminated in a few results-oriented counseling sessions, depending on the complexity of triggers and how pervasive the addiction is in a person’s life. Alcohol addiction, drug addictions, food addictions, and sex addictions are all treatable using this powerful type of therapy. If you’re ready to shed these issues, we are here to help you.
Performance Enhancement:
Are you in a profession where you need to put in your best performance every day? Is your income tied to your ability to produce results, or are you up for a promotion and need to have the confidence to do your best work? Are you an athlete who wants to up his/her game? If any of these examples describe you, then performance enhancement can dramatically improve your life. Your therapist will work with you to create a highly individualized plan for you to succeed. By combining elements of enhanced visualization, removal of self-sabotaging blocks, elimination of the fears of success and/or failure, and the creation of subconscious self-confidence and self-assurance, your paradigm will shift to a higher level where success becomes natural and you consistently prosper in your chosen field.
