About Charlene Ackerman

In her own words, this is what she wrote for her website years ago.

Ever since I was six years old, I had the desire to learn about hypnosis.  I had heard other kids in the neighborhood talk about how a hypnotist can make you do all these things. Since I was the youngest child and I was always teased by older siblings, learning hypnosis sounded like a great idea.  My thoughts were that maybe I could hypnotize them and make them do something.   I realize now that my thoughts were incorrect; however, at six years old it really sounded inviting.

It wasn’t until I was 15 or 16 that I started looking for information about how to hypnotize.  In the 1950’s, it was difficult to find readily available information.   I still have the old 78 record that I purchased.  You have to turn it over in the middle of the induction to continue.  I experimented with a friend, but when she started to relax and respond, I started to giggle because I was amazed that I could actually hypnotize someone.  She was irritated at that, so I brought her out of the hypnotic state.  We are still friends to this day and we still joke about the experience. 

I took my first training class in 1988 with Sidney Schneider.  I was still in real estate at that time.  Shortly after my training, I ran a few ads for smoking cessation and had a few people at my home.  I wasn’t able to actually use hypnosis until after 1989 and it wasn’t until 1991 that I was able to commit myself to hypnosis.  

Now, I am a Certified Hypnotist and a Certified Hypnotist Trainer through the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH).  Through my company, ‘The Hypnosis & Wellness Training Center‘ I am pleased to be able to help other people as a Hypnotist and I really enjoy passing on my knowledge and experience to others as a Hypnosis Trainer. 

The opportunities right now for skilled Hypnotists are growing as it becomes more of a recognized profession.  Many of the state level laws are making it mandatory to achieve a certain level of certification and/or experience, but I think that is actually big step in the right direction.  The simple fact is, training and experience are both very important if you want to achieve your goals in the field of hypnosis.  Each year I am impressed by the quality and caliber of people who are interested enough in hypnosis to take formal training so they can earn their certification.  That’s why I enjoy what I do so very much.