“I loved how William spent the time to understand my goals and
habits and tailor the situation accordingly to that. I told him
about three things to change: stop an annoying personal habit, stop
my teeth clenching, and get rid of migraines. He asked me to choose
the top priority since all three was too much for one session. I
chose the annoying personal habit.
“I thought I would go under so to speak, but instead during hypnosis
I was aware and very conscious the entire session. He chose what he
thought was the best method for me: the Laughing Session. I thought
the Laughing Session was marvelous for me because that’s how I go
through life-–I heal through laughter.
“It’s difficult to explain a Laughing Session, and I was there! It
was very free form, much like improvisation and distraction, but
then he brought it back to the issue at hand. It was a very organic
but winding thread of fun, and I laughed a lot during hypnosis. It
was so easy and organic that it went by so fast-–yet felt thorough.
“Within days my annoying personal habit was gone. And I stopped
clenching my teeth during the day and had fewer migraines even
though we didn’t work on those two problems. It was all connected
somehow.”
– Laura Nardozza, Graphic Designer
San Francisco
William Song is a certified hypnotherapist with a private practice in San Francisco, California. He specializes in helping people with habits and those with chronic health issues.
He’s the author of the book, Healing and Hypnosis, and he’s the creator and producer of the YouTube show, Project Hypnosis. Please don’t confuse this show with Heidi Klum’s show on Bravo, Project Runway. The two shows are very different. : )
Prior to becoming a hypnotherapist, William worked most of his life in the financial field.
His last position was at an investment bank working in equity research. He was part of a team analyzing companies in the information technology services sector.
Besides seeing private clients, he helps companies with their business challenges. They hire him because he understands how hypnosis skills can reduce costs, increase profits, and help teams think more creatively.
A personal note on how I became a hypnotherapist
I worked in the financial field most of my life. My last job was in the equity research department of an investment bank, which was going to be my stepping stone to becoming a hedge fund manager wealthy enough to contribute millions to causes I believed in.
As I was working, making good money, I realized I couldn’t do it any longer. I hated putting in 12-hour days, being tired all the time, and fearing that I’d lose my girlfriend because I was always working! Plus there were times I worked 80 hours in a week, and I knew it wasn’t worth it. I felt dead inside. No amount of money is worth my soul.
We all have a limited time on this planet, and we’ve got to make the most of it doing what we love. Back then I dreaded work, dreaded waking up in the morning. I wanted to run a hedge fund, but getting to that point was painful, like something was wrong.
So I quit my job and decided I’d apply to business school and go to work at a hedge fund after graduation. But life had other ideas, and I realized my heart wasn’t in it; applying to business school seemed wrong. I reevaluated my life and decided to start my own business. As I researched what type of business, I also wanted to do volunteer work. Society had been very good to me, and when you’ve been fortunate, it’s good to give back.
The volunteer opportunities were boring. Since I knew some Neuro-Linguistic Programming (a field related to hypnotherapy), I decided I’d help people stop smoking. But no medical clinics took me seriously; I was a stranger with no credentials, not a doctor, psychotherapist, or anything official. But I didn’t give up.
I began advertising my program myself. As I helped people stop smoking, I realized, “This is satisfying! I love helping people with their habits!” I went to hypnotherapy school, and here I am doing what I love, and even getting paid for it! Now, I wake up feeling good, because I’ve found my calling.
About my hypnotherapy background
In 2003, I graduated from Hypnotherapy Training Institute in Marin County. It is one of the oldest hypnotherapy schools in the U.S., and it’s graduated more hypnotherapists than any other school. My certification comes from the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners. My certification number is HT 603-334.
Shortly after graduation, I continued my training at the NLP Institute of California, becoming a certified practitioner of NLP (in 2004), a certified master practitioner of NLP (also in 2004), and later became a certified health practitioner of NLP (in 2006). NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. For simplicity, I like to say its a cousin of hypnotherapy. I mainly use it to help clients let go of negative beliefs and habits, and then start creating better beliefs and habits.
With that said, NLP has been used to help in many areas of life, including improving the performance of companies, athletes, performers, students, and much more. In short, NLP combined with hypnotherapy creates a more powerful combination for change.
Over the years I’ve read many books and attended many classes and workshops taught by a wide range of instructors with sometimes fundamentally different opinions about hypnotherapy/NLP. But those different viewpoints made me think more deeply about how all of this works.
After all these years, I’m still fascinated by how the subconscious mind works, by human behavior, and the whole process of helping people to create positive change. And of course I continue working with my first client who’s been with me many years: myself. I still have plenty of issues to work with, and my wife agrees with that statement. 🙂
Reading a new hypnotherapy book is fun, and attending a hypnotherapy or NLP conference is like going on vacation. Seeing clients succeed is a satisfying feeling. What’s even more satisfying is when clients call me to say they solved a different issue on their own using self-hypnosis.
You may have heard the old adage: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and he feeds himself for life. I teach clients how to fish.