“Feel your feet on the floor and the support of the sofa,” comes the soothing voice of Linda Carole as she begins to hypnotize me on the beige couch in her Edina office. “Breathing easily and gently, getting a sense of that special part of your mind … Allowing yourself to sink into it.”
The licensed psychologist with two decades of experience guides me to a trance-like state where I can hopefully understand, or at least tap into, my subconscious. My aim—apart from writing this piece—is to gain some clarity on my long-term goals.
I guess instead of keeping it light for this one-hour session, we’re going deep!
But, first, some basics: Carole’s private practice, Mindset, Inc., provides coaching, personal consultation and psychotherapy to people with chronic pain and those who have experienced traumatic events, such as war veterans or refugees, among others in varying situations. She uses hypnosis as a procedure to help the patient change their thoughts, perceptions and behaviors.
Peggy Trezona, president of the Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis, was enthused about a story on the clinical use of the procedure because she says there are public misconceptions about hypnosis.
“It’s not what people see in the movies or on TV,” Trezona says.
“Some people think that hypnosis is only people clucking like chickens,” Carole adds.
It’s nothing like that, they insist. The provider doesn’t control the patient’s thoughts. The patient remains aware of their surroundings and can recall the hypnosis. The patient must be open, motivated and responsive as the process plays out. Carole says and reiterates that she is only a coach, a guide.
As I sit on the comfy sofa with colorful throw pillows, Carole assesses what in my life is creating stress and the questions to which I seek answers.
I share with her, but keep from you, dear readers; it’s patient-doctor confidentiality, you know?
Now, fast-forwarding again to feeling my feet and the support of the sofa, a phrase Carole repeats countless times.
I close my eyes and breathe deeply as instructed. I hear the rattle of the ceiling air vent and the faint sounds of a conversation in the neighboring office.
“We are going to be speaking to this inner part of your mind,” Carole explains. “There’s this part of your mind that is conscious of everything. There is a part of the mind that has things waiting for you. There’s a part of your mind that works on things 24-7 and is alert and supports you in what you do without being conscious of it.”
I’m trying to relax, but my mind wanders. I’m thinking about writing this story and other things on my to-do list. And honestly, how embarrassing it would be if I were to fall asleep!
Carole later says Buddhists call this “monkey mind” as she makes a hand gesture of a would-be monkey babbling on her shoulder. In that calming, motherly voice, Carole reinforces the points and passions of which I told her I want guidance on.
The rattle of the metal vent and the murmurs of distant small talk begin to fade. My comfort level reaches cloud-high. I only hear her voice, and she is talking about my brain.
“Knowing what an incredible resource it is,” she pacifies. “And knowing what it will teach you today, especially about balance … personal fulfillment, relationship satisfaction.
“Feeling secure about the uncertainty, while knowing what you know,” she adds. Then she repeats, “All the while, your feet are on the floor and you’re feeling the support of the sofa.
“Letting your mind know how to take care of yourself and those that you love and care about,” Carole continues. “Allowing yourself a future vision, pleasant. It’s a powerful force at a very simple level, allowing your inner mind to know the path that you would like to choose.”
After what she later tells me had been 15 minutes, Carole asks for me to open my eyes and return to the office. After a pause, she asks me for a reaction.
I have become one with the couch. I widen my eyes and then scrunch them closed. I can’t … think … straight. It takes me a second to remember where I am. I then try to garble together a response.
Since I was returning from a different state, I must paraphrase: “It was calming … encouraging … that the decision will play out in due course.”
I somehow feel a kinship with Carole. I half-joking say, “When’s your next opening?”
She laughs and then shares a story about a case study she conducted at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Carole and colleagues gave relaxation training, music and a massage to 117 heart surgery patients.
“Our people reported significantly less pain than the folks that didn’t get us,” Carole says. “The relationship between mind and body has always been very important to me.”
She shares a personal story about how she successfully underwent recent foot surgery—with minimal pain medication.
“There was some part of my mind that knew I could manage this, so I felt relaxed about the experience, felt relaxed about the healing process,” she says.
As we talked, I felt a bit distanced from the peace I had just found during the hypnosis. And as a product of the immediate-gratification generation, I needed an answer.
I blurted, “What sort of conclusions or observations did you come to about me, or is that something that I need to answer?”
“Probably,” she replies with a wise and kind chuckle. “My role was to help you figure out what was distressing and to help you cope with it. What your values are and to motivate you to do something differently.”
She gave me her notes and set me out into the big, bad world. As I sat down to write the next day, I read the first sentence on Carole’s white sheet.
“Stress serves a purpose, it will be there for you,” it said in cursive handwriting.
Suddenly, I was calmer. The deadline wasn’t looming. I could feel my feet and …
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Learn more about hypnotherapy with Linda Carole at Mindset, Inc.; 4005 W. 65th St., Suite 206; 612.251.4179.
