About Me
I help individuals and couples work through what’s keeping them from the connections they want.
I’m a hypnotist, and my work is in relationships: how we connect, and how we react when it counts. Most people who come to me already know what they want. They want to feel close to their partner and comfortable in their own skin. What gets in the way is usually something old, like a reaction that fires before they can think, or a habit of shutting down when things get close. Hypnosis lets us work with that directly, which is why change tends to come faster and feel more natural than trying to force it.
How I got here
Two things put me on this path. The first was an explosion in Iraq. I was a recon soldier, and I came home having to rewire my brain just to remember what room I was in. The second was a relationship that felt like it was made of tiny legos that wouldn’t connect, no matter how hard I tried.
So I did what I knew worked. I trained and didn’t stop. What I learned while healing my brain turned out to be what I needed for my relationships too, and that’s what I bring to the people I work with.
Wondering if this could help you? Book a free Clarity Call
How I work
I’m a Certified Integrative Hypnotist, and hypnosis for pattern and habit change is the heart of my sessions.
I pay close attention to what you say and what you don’t, which helps us get to what matters quickly.
I bring in body awareness from years of somatic work and massage.
For years I’ve led online relationship groups, coached people one on one, and guided group trances. I’ve also run in-person workshops and a meditation club.
Every space I hold is held with the utmost care and without judgment. Nothing shocks me, and I’ve got your back. Between the military, years of working in New York City, and years of helping people untangle conflict, divorce, and the patterns they swore they’d never repeat from their parents, I’ve seen just about everything, so you can say what you need to say without worrying how I’ll react.
Every session is different, and clients often notice a difference after the first one. The thing I see over and over is triggers that stop firing. Once the nervous system stops reacting the old way, people relate to the people in their lives from a grounded, balanced place. My clients have a brilliance inside of them, and I’m incredibly excited to bring it out.
The research behind the work
If you like to know why something works before you try it, here’s some of the research my work draws on. Think of it as a primer, not a map of what will happen in your session.
If you’re a therapist, doctor or coach thinking about referring a client, I’m glad to talk through whether my work is a good fit. Get in touch
This research is shared as background on how change works. My sessions are non-clinical coaching. I don’t diagnose or treat any disease or medical or mental health condition, and my work isn’t a substitute for care from a licensed provider.
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A 2005 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings looked at clinical trials of hypnosis across many medical conditions. Even with a wide range of techniques, patients who received hypnosis saw substantial benefits, and the author called for hypnosis to play a bigger role in medicine.
Read the research. Stewart (2005), Hypnosis in Contemporary Medicine
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When an old memory is recalled, it doesn’t simply play back. For a short window it becomes changeable again before the brain stores it once more. Neuroscientist Karim Nader’s research showed this in the lab, and therapist and researcher Bruce Ecker showed how it applies to emotional learning. When an old emotional reaction comes up and meets an experience that doesn’t fit it, the original learning can be updated instead of just managed.
Read the research. Nader (2015), Reconsolidation and the Dynamic Nature of Memory and Ecker (2018), Clinical Translation of Memory Reconsolidation Research
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In a 1996 UCLA study led by Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, people with OCD spent 10 weeks learning to notice their urges and respond to them differently. Brain scans afterward showed measurable changes in the brain areas involved in OCD. Schwartz called this self-directed neuroplasticity, meaning that where you place your attention, again and again, can physically reshape how your brain works.
Read the research. Schwartz et al. (1996), Archives of General Psychiatry
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The Meta Pattern is a model of change developed by hypnosis trainer John Overdurf, and I learned it through my training with Melissa Tiers. It’s a big part of how I work, though how it unfolds is different for every person and every session. It comes from hypnosis practice rather than a lab, and it fits closely with what the memory reconsolidation research shows about how lasting change happens.
Training
Advanced hypnosis, plus focused training in relationships and the body.
Hypnosis
- Certified Integrative Hypnotist, Center for Integrative Hypnosis (Melissa Tiers), NYC
- Advanced coursework with Melissa Tiers, rooted in Ericksonian hypnosis, including Meta Pattern work (John Overdurf’s model) and hypno-psychedelics
Relationships
- Integrative attachment theory certification, The Personal Development School
Reading people & neuroscience
- Graduate school, NCI University
- Certified Behavior Profiler, Levels 1 & 2, NCI University
Body & presence
- Former Licensed Massage Therapist
- Somatic practitioner
- Movement facilitator
Facilitation
- Years leading online relationship groups and group trances
- Couples workshops
- Cacao & Connection gatherings and a meditation club in Lancaster
Testimonials
Rick was an invaluable part of my divorce process. I feel like the skills I learned from him gave me the ability to calm myself down, make better decisions and set a better example for my kids. I went to therapy and couples therapy for years hoping to learn the skills that Rick taught me in two hours. He taught me very practical things to do when I could feel myself getting upset or wound up or angry.
My request at our intake meeting was “Can you help me not get triggered by my husband that I’m currently divorcing?” And Rick delivered. The decision to make a divorce feels like the hardest part but it’s the grind of months of mediation and then untangling lives and still living together until the other person moves out that is the hardest. I feel like I was able to navigate those challenges better as a result of working with Rick and recommend him to anyone going through divorce, relationship challenges or anyone who is wanting practical self regulation skills.
Rick helped me with my relationship with my wife, we grew apart in years of marriage. He helped me reconnect with her and deepen our relationship
I’ve been video calling Rick since 2023 and he has never failed to make me feel better, more expressed and closer to myself after a session. Whether it was about emotional regulation, identity shifts or deep inquiry of my inner subconscious landscape. I am absolutely amazed about Rick’s skill of holding a safe space and helping me to access my resources and strength for self-healing with his calming presence and guidance.
Rick makes it super easy for me to fall into trance and retrieve the necessary puzzle pieces that will help me change my life for the better, break my self-sabotaging patterns and gift myself more grace along the journey of human experiencing. With him I enter a shame-free container in which I feel completely accepted and supported exactly as I am. I’ve learnt so much from Rick and I am eternally grateful for the gift of knowing myself better because of him.
After learning how to use self-hypnosis and self-regulation practices I feel more secure within my own being and confident in the loving self-healing abilities of my psyche.
If you are thinking about working with Rick, do it. I’m sure there is at least one thing that will change for the better because of it… although I’d guess it will make an even bigger impact than you can imagine now.
I came to Rick for sleep issues, and learning how to manage the daily triggers disrupting my rest was the real turning point. He was incredibly easy to work with and gave me actionable, self-use tools that quiet my mind before bed. I can’t recommend him enough!
I feel pretty good! Used that head tapping technique for a minute when I was driving and having some negative thoughts. School drop-off also felt less heavy today. I’m aware I have a long way to go, but that was incredibly helpful — more than that year of talking to a therapist.
Thanks again for today. I feel like it was a fast track reminder of who I am. I appreciate you.
It was really cool to tap into that expansive optimistic self that I know that I am and had lost touch with for so long. I’m really, really grateful for the service.