Can Hypnotherapy Help Me?
There was a time in my life when I felt completely stuck. I was in my 30s, exhausted, and quietly disappointed in where I had ended up. My expectations for myself were sky-high, and the pressure I put on myself to perform, to be perfect, to people-please my way through every room I walked into was relentless. I did not even realize how much I was running on that programming until I finally sat across from a hypnotherapist and began to understand where it all came from.
Hypnotherapy helped me work through the loss of a family member, heal the psoriasis I had carried since my 20s, release a shoulder injury that had lingered for years, and finally let go of the self-guilt I had been dragging around for most of my adult life. I believed in it so deeply that I became a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist myself. And now, at A Way Forward, I get to walk alongside others who are ready for that same kind of shift.
So what is hypnotherapy, really, and can it help you?
What Is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind, one you actually move in and out of every single day. That drifting feeling as you wake up from a deep sleep, the trance-like focus you fall into while driving a familiar route, the quiet absorption of daydreaming, all of that is hypnosis. It is not sleep, and it is not surrender. You are fully present and aware throughout the entire experience.
In a clinical hypnotherapy session, we guide you into a deeper alpha or theta brain wave state where your mind becomes more open, more receptive, and more willing to gently release the patterns that have been running beneath the surface. It is in this state that real, lasting change becomes possibly, not because something is done to you, but because your own subconscious mind finally gets the space to do what it has been trying to do all along.
If you want to hear more about how hypnosis works, I go deeper into it in this video: https://youtu.be/cvMVioXWeYc
What Can Hypnotherapy Help With?
At A Way Forward, our work is focused and intentional. We specialize in the areas where hypnotherapy creates the deepest, most lasting transformation, the places where the mind and heart are most tangled together.
Shannon Rollins-Rodriguez works with clients navigating anxiety, stress, and overwhelm, grief and loss, relationship patterns and attachment wounds, burnout and major life transitions, breakups and heartbreak, confidence and self-worth, and trauma and inner child healing.
If you have been carrying something for a long time, a pattern you cannot seem to break, a wound that keeps showing up in your relationships, a version of yourself you are ready to leave behind, hypnotherapy may be exactly what you have been looking for.
What a Session With Shannon Is Actually Like
One of the most common things I hear from new clients is some version of: "I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't like anything I imagined."
Before we ever begin a hypnosis session, we spend time getting to know you, your history, your goals, what's been showing up in your life, and what you're ready to shift. Every session at A Way Forward is tailored specifically to you. There are no generic scripts, no one-size-fits-all approaches.
When we move into the hypnosis itself, you'll settle into a deeply relaxed state, on a comfortable couch or chair, eyes closed, breathing naturally. My voice will guide you inward. Most clients describe this as profoundly peaceful, like the best rest they've had in years. Some notice vivid imagery. Some experience emotional releases, tears, laughter, or a sense of something lifting. Some simply feel quietly different afterward, like something shifted without them being able to fully name it.
Sessions typically run two hours for a first session, allowing enough time for a thorough intake and a full hypnosis experience. Follow-up sessions are 60 to 90 minutes depending on your needs and goals.
Common Questions (And Honest Answers)
Will I remember the session? Yes, most people remember everything. Hypnosis is not unconsciousness. It's focused awareness.
Can anyone be hypnotized? Most people can experience hypnosis to some degree. Willingness, openness, and a sense of safety are the main ingredients. Highly analytical or creative people often find they're excellent hypnotic subjects.
How many sessions will I need? This varies by person and by what you're working on. Some clients experience significant shifts in just a few sessions. Others benefit from ongoing work over several months. We'll give you an honest assessment after your initial consultation.
Is it safe? Clinical hypnotherapy practiced by a trained, certified professional is considered very safe. You remain in control throughout. Nothing can be suggested to you that goes against your values or wishes.
Is this the same as meditation? They share some overlap, both involve focused attention and relaxation. But while meditation cultivates awareness and acceptance of what is, hypnotherapy is directive, it uses the receptive state to create specific changes in belief, emotion, and behavior. They complement each other beautifully but are not the same thing.
Is Hypnotherapy Right for You?
If you're feeling stuck, in a pattern, an emotion, a version of yourself you're ready to move beyond, hypnotherapy may be exactly what you've been looking for.
If you've tried other approaches and found yourself hitting a ceiling, it may be because those approaches were working at the conscious level while the root of the issue lives somewhere deeper.
If you're simply curious, if something in you is drawn to this work without being fully able to explain why, trust that. In my experience, the people who are called to hypnotherapy are almost always ready for it.
The best way to find out if it's right for you is simply to have a conversation.
Book your free 15-minute consultation with Shannon Rollins-Rodriguez →
In this complimentary call we'll talk about what you're experiencing, answer your questions, and help you determine whether clinical hypnotherapy, somatic breathwork, or HeartMath® coaching is the right fit for where you are. Sessions are available in-person in Orlando, FL and virtually worldwide.
About Shannon Rollins-Rodriguez
Shannon Rollins-Rodriguez is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, QHHT Level 2 Practitioner, and Pause Breathwork Facilitator based in Orlando, Florida. She brings over 500 hours of clinical training from the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy, along with a deeply personal understanding of what it means to heal from the inside out.
Shannon's approach is warm, grounded, and tailored to each individual. She does not believe in one-size-fits-all healing. Every session is built around you, your story, your nervous system, and the specific patterns your subconscious has been holding onto, often for decades.
Her work draws from clinical hypnotherapy, quantum healing, and breathwork to create a path forward that is both deeply effective and genuinely transformative.