About Mary Willix

About Mary

Mary Willix, CHT, M.A.
Hypnotherapist and Language Professor

I am a clinical hypnotherapist dedicated to facilitating change. I teach people how to transform limiting beliefs into beliefs that give them courage, faith in themselves and enthusiasm about their lives.

When you come in for a session, our work is based what you want to achieve. Before hypnosis I ask a lot of questions - exploring your concerns from many angles, while we both take notes. The physicality of taking notes deepens your exploration - activating your brain in ways that verbal expression does not.

During hypnosis your body and emotions are relaxed; your mind is calm, alert and focused on my voice. I speak directly to your unconscious mind - that vast receptacle of learning that is the home of your multifaceted self-image. Hypnosis relaxes the critical filters of your mind so that positive suggestions are accepted. Hypnotherapy is a craft that allows me, as your hypnotist, to be creative - while you benefit from a unique experience, one that refreshes, reduces stress, and may open a door to the life you’ve been longing to live.

What makes you different from other hypnotherapists?

I am first and foremost a teacher. My way of being, interacting and expressing myself are programmed by decades of teaching people to think, speak and write in Spanish. Like a foreign language, hypnosis offers a new way to think, to be in the world and to process and use language.

I am a dreamer. Dreams have been important to me since I was a child, I pay attention to them, record them and had regular sessions with a Jungian dream analyst for five years. I love teaching dream classes (SCCC, NSCC, Discover U, EdCC Arts Now). Dreams are our pathway to the unconscious mind.

Have you had any life experiences help you relate to clients?

Yes, indeed. The first is motherhood; I have three adult sons and I understand parenting challenges. I know grief: my grandparents died in a car crash when I was 21; my dad died unexpectedly a few years later. I have experienced the joys of marriage and the agony of divorce. I’ve had 11 years of excellent therapy and gained skills for overcoming difficulties.

I know about cravings. I smoked 1-3 cigarettes every evening for decades. You might think, oh, well, that much doesn’t matter. But it was an addiction - and very hard to stop. I was thin until I stopped, then food crept in as a comforter and within three years I gained thirty pounds. Believe me, I know about cravings. I understand what triggers them and I have strategies for decreasing and redirecting them.

I recognize when clients are disassociated from their bodies and no how to help them. Dance taught me to strong in my body, to inhabit the body and not live in my head. Bodywork is essential for internal balance. I grew up studying Highland dance, switched to ballet, modern and flamenco in college – and have continued to dance most of my adult life. I love dance and movement work.

I enjoy listening. My dad was a newspaper reporter who taught me the art of asking questions and the skill of listening. Being a writer myself impacts the way I think and the way I listen. My father taught me to listen carefully and ask questions.

When did you have your first hypnosis session?

I was eleven the first time I had a hypnosis session - and its benefits have been paramount in my belief system ever since. Because I experienced the trance state at that early age and continued to practice it, I was not attracted to drugs in the sixties. I began to study hypnotherapy in 2005.

Hypnosis Training
Hypnosis Motivation Institute,Los Angeles
http://www.hypnosis.edu
Began training in November 2004
Completed training as a Hypnotist in 2005
Completed training as a Master Hypnotist in 2007
Completed full academic program in January 2007
Logged 114 hours of supervised hypnosis practice
Mentored by Tanya Nord,HMI faculty member

HMI is the only accredited school of hypnosis, according to the US Dept. of Education.
http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/instlist.asp It was accredited in 1989 by the Council for Continuing Education and training and the Distance Education and Training Commission

Hypnotherapy Courses with Kim Kodya, CHT,Seattle
Level One, Feb.2005
Level Two, March 2005
Level Three, April 2005
Level Four, May 2005

Professional Memberships & Licenses
American Hypnosis Association
National Guild of Hypnotists
National Guild of Hypnotists, WA chapter
State of WA Health Dept. Registered Hypnotherapist, #HP10001601
State of WA DOL License # 601-744-992
Academic Education
Undergraduate: University of Madrid (Filosofía y Letras), University of Washington
Graduate: University of Washington, Middlebury, University of Vermont, UC San Diego
Publications
Articles in The Christian Science Monitor, Hispania, Guideposts, North County Living; Clear & Simple Spanish, Simon & Schuster; Jimi Hendrix, Voices from Home, Creative Forces Publishing