Hypnosis for Spiritual Distress

The Authors

The Rev. Dr. Lindsay Bates has been a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists since 1995 and is a past President of the Clergy Special Interest Group within the Guild. She is a member of the Order of Braid, an international honor society for the hypnotic arts and sciences. Hypnosis was a central tool in her pastoral ministry. Now retired after 40 years in the parish, she works in partnership with her spouse, the Rev. Dr. Charles Scot Giles, as the practice Reiki Master. She now blends hypnotic techniques with Reiki for her clients.

The Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles is a senior member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. For more than thirty-five years he has maintained a large practice in hypnotic coaching that includes three free clinics for cancer patients in an arc around Chicago. He is the author of the curriculum used by the National Guild of Hypnotists to train colleagues to do hypnotic medical and cancer health coaching. He has won many awards, and in 2005 was inducted into the Order of James Braid, an international honor society for the hypnotic arts and sciences.

Celeste Hackett is an award winning professional Hypnotist, Life Coach and Hypnosis Instructor with a 24 year background as a major market radio personality. She is known for rapid success in working with people who have very difficult personal problems, her mastery of a complex hypnotic system called 5-PATH® and for building a thriving six figure hypnosis practice out of her home in Plano, Texas.

Rev. Timothy Jones worked in civil intelligence in Ontario, Canada for 28 years, trained in forensic hypnosis in 1986 and transitioned to clinical hypnotherapy in 2005. His life focus changed in 2000 with the death of his step-son, when he attended seminary. An NGH Certified Instructor, he teaches advanced and specialty courses to certified practitioners and with an active hypnotherapy practice in southern Ontario, Tim is considered an expert in the science with his focus on brief change work to quickly help modify behavior patterns no longer benefiting the client. With over two decades of clinical experience and a Baccalaureate and Masters in Christian Ministry, Tim is completing a PhD in Transpersonal Counseling with a focus on ameliorating the effects of attracted or randomly occurring energy attachments influencing human behavior within naturally occurring ego states.

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Chris Lemig is a transpersonal hypnotherapist, author, and meditation teacher. Prior to pursuing a career in hypnotherapy, he spent several years as a Buddhist monk studying philosophy, meditation, and religious ritual in India and Nepal. He founded True Nature Hypnotherapy in 2019 where he works with private clients to heal past traumas and create powerful, healthy changes in their lives. In addition, he teaches a transformational workshop for emotional healing and spiritual growth called Gateway to the Limitless.

Rev. Christian Skoorsmith, MA, PsyD(c), FNGH, is an award-winning hypnotherapist and mental health professional in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is the author of five books on hypnosis and more than 50 articles in academic and professional journals. He is a popular speaker on hypnosis-related topics around the world, and was awarded the NGH Hypnotism Research Award for his pioneering work with tinnitus and the IAHP Science Award for scholarly rigor. Skoorsmith serves in leadership positions in the International Association of Hypnosis Professionals (IAHP) and the Clergy Special Interest Group of the NGH. He earned a Masters of Religion and served ten years in ministerial and executive leadership in Community of Christ, an international peace church, and is still ordained and active in congregational ministry. In 2016, he transitioned to hypnotherapy. In 2023, Skoorsmith was inducted as a Board Certified Fellow of the NGH – a distinction fewer than ¼ of 1% of hypnotists achieve. He maintains a successful hypnotherapy practice that The Seattle Times named “the best alternative therapy in the Pacific Northwest.”