Counselor’s hypnosis may heal past traumas in the present.

Her soothing voice takes people into a hypnotic trance. Every word is clear. JoAnne Conard, a licensed mental health counselor, has professionally helped—sometimes hypnotized— her clients to erase anxieties, fears, and phobias during the past 50 years.

She has been a certified hypnotist for 25 years.

“People need to know they are in charge,” JoAnne says. “Hypnosis is similar to deep meditation. A person remains aware of his or her surroundings and can open their eyes anytime. But to reach hidden reasons why they are suffering in the present, one needs to reach the subconscious level where beliefs about ourselves are stored.”

One woman with agoraphobia hadn’t left her house for three years until she met JoAnne. Within three weeks, she was able to accompany JoAnne to the corner of her street. It was there some 50 years earlier a stranger had tried to entice her, at age 10, into a car. Now, the woman remembered she had fled home to safety. Years later, that suppressed memory was keeping her a prisoner in her adult life. Once identified, it wasn’t long before the woman was driving again with agoraphobia gone.

“You are in charge of yourself,” JoAnne says. “Hypnosis helps you reach your subconscious mind to reprogram what you want to happen. If you believe what others have told you or what you think about yourself, it doesn’t have to end there. You determine your present moment and can actually do something about it.”

JoAnne, a resident of the Village of Bonnybrook, remains licensed in order to volunteer for a weekly caseload of clients at Transition Life Consultants (TLC), a self-help group offering professional services in The Villages for a simple donation based on ability to pay.

“Letting go of the past can be healing,” she adds. “Ask for help.”