I am Ellen R. Coleman, a former university professor in private practice for over 15 years as a certified hypnotherapist who coaches clients seeking self-empowerment and recovery from self-sabotage. Located in West Los Angeles, CA, my office is close to Santa Monica, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood.
My practice is based on the belief that the most common reason why people fail to achieve their goals and live their dreams is self-sabotage: we undermine our own success by failing to take the actions we know are necessary, but can’t seem to get ourselves to do (either at all, or consistently enough).
Self-sabotage involves any behavior that impedes rather than promotes success, such as accepting limiting beliefs, engaging in negative self-talk, making excuses, procrastinating, worrying excessively, second-guessing ourselves or demanding perfection.
I truly believe that no matter how much talent, insight, creativity, vision, and resources a self-saboteur may possess, if he or she is unable to overcome this destructive behavior, their gifts and blessings will lie fallow.
As a recovering self-saboteur of long-standing, I know first-hand how frustrating and deflating this behavior can be. I also know that replacing self-sabotage with self-love is highly achievable, well worth the effort, and the best gift you could ever give yourself.
Recovery from self-sabotage is a process that requires understanding. Before I can apply hypnosis to expedite your recovery process, you and I must identify 1) the ways that you sabotage your good, 2) the goals that you are obstructing, and 3) the purpose(s) served by the self-sabotage. I use a form of Socratic dialogue in which questions and answers enable us to “drill down to” the truth about your issues.
With that knowledge, I can formulate hypnotic material to impress your subconscious mind with persuasive and supportive thoughts, suggestions, metaphors, and images, that prompt positive feelings and emotions in you. This strengthens your intentions to take constructive action and encourages your choosing the actions necessary to achieve your “authentic”goals and stop sabotaging yourself.
If you are like many of my self-sabotaging clients, you suffer from one or more of the following syndromes: low self-esteem, a poor self-image, lack of confidence, negative self-talk, and limiting beliefs about your ability to get what you want out of life. If so, I will work with your “inner child” to heal painful negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, sadness, frustration, and resentment that may be responsible. I will also coach you on how to develop and implement strategies for overcoming your resistance and fear, and for breaking bad habits and replacing them with good ones that further your goals.
If I suspect disorders such as severe depression, OCD and ADHD, treatment for which is out of my depth, I will refer you to other therapists who are licensed and specialize in those issues, and work with them as an adjunct therapist if you like.
My study and fascination with the mind began long before training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana, California, where the first nationally accredited American program in clinical hypnosis originated.
While at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where I attained a B.A. with honors in Philosophy, I wrote a senior thesis on wanting as a mental event that motivates human behavior.
After earning a Masters in Philosophy at Cornell University, I lectured there while working on a Ph.D. dissertation on Mental Causation and the Explanation of Human Action. I went on to teach Philosophical Psychology and Philosophy of Mind at Stanford, San Francisco State, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I was a legal scholar for a year at UC-Berkeley Law School, and taught Computers in Law at Sangamon State University in Springfield, Illinois.
After leaving academia, I became a computer software and documentation consultant in Silicon Valley. It was there I witnessed and experienced first-hand the effects of extreme pressure and stress that developers and other IT professionals suffer as a result of the unrelenting demands and aggressive deadlines that must be met. Fear of failure, performance anxiety, diminished self-confidence, and loss of motivation and concentration are just a few of those effects that are highly treatable with hypnosis.
Growing up in a family that loved to crack jokes and share laughter, I became smitten with comedy, and imitated some of the best comics I saw on television. As a teen-ager, I pursued creative drama (akin to improv), but only started to find my comic voice taking stand-up classes and performing at clubs around Los Angeles, including the Comedy Store, the Improv, the Westside Comedy Theatre, and the LA Cabaret Comedy Club.
My eclectic career as a teacher, writer, consultant, hypnotherapist and coach has taught me so much about the mind and how to motivate constructive action for positive change. Helping clients overcome the mental and emotional issues that otherwise thwart achieving their goals and living their dreams gives me great joy and a profound sense of purpose.
And now, as an edutainer, I combine comedy with motivational speaking to help us all learn from and laugh at our human frailties. Here’s to finding the funny in our foibles!
Have a Question or Concern?