Meredith McCarthy is a clinical hypnotherapist, author, and speaker with over 30 years of experience helping individuals unlock the power of their minds to overcome challenges, including addiction and anxiety.

Meredith founded the New Zealand Academy of Clinical Hypnotherapy (NZACH) and is president of the New Zealand Association of Professional Hypnotherapists (NZAPH). She's passionate about empowering others to transform their lives by addressing subconscious patterns and fostering emotional healing.

Meredith blends psychodynamics, cognitive psychology, and hypnosis techniques to address the root causes of behavioural issues. She also offers practical strategies, such as self-hypnosis. Her innovative HELP System guides individuals to unlock their mental potential, fostering self-belief and resilience.

In her therapeutic work, Meredith emphasises the 'Three D's'—Detachment, Determination, and Direction—as a framework for overcoming addiction and achieving personal growth.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Imagining a life beyond where you are now - asking yourself: "Where do I see myself 10 years from now? What if I don't change anything?"
• Connecting with YOUR values, not what others want or expect from you
• Regression work and revealing the source of an addiction
• Normalising hypnosis and hypnotherapy – your mind is not being taken over!
• You're either using the mind as a dress rehearsal for something you're going to do or tuning into channel "I hope I don't!" and reinforcing your worries
• Stepping back into your internal power, shifting your story and asking yourself, "What is the new story I need?"
• How awareness gives you a choice (where attention goes, energy flows)
• Challenging beliefs like it's going to be hard, and I'll always be an addict!
• Bringing your optimist out to play (and how hypnotherapy makes the journey easier)
• Reminding people that they are not behaviours; they are pure potential
• How AA affirmations reinforce the identity of "I'm an addict"
• Working with clients dealing with addiction (and past trauma), believing the client has the answer, and being their cheerleader
• When you've been in the depth of dysfunction (with a substance), thinking having one drink will be okay is just the addiction talking…
• Conversational hypnosis and different types of induction (including progressive relaxation) and instant induction
• Dealing with resistant clients—you can't push them!
• Future pacing, imagining 'as if' potentials, and the power of mental rehearsal
• Food addiction, stress, binge eating (and purging) and understanding a person's relationship with food (and how they want it to be)
• How hypnosis, alpha and theta brain waves states, and being open to suggestion allows our creative 'anything is possible' to take a front seat
• Who hypnotherapy is not recommended for (the risks)
• Joyful emotional states and the power of positively pumping that up!

We would love to know what stood out the most for you in this episode. Please feel free to contact either of us via the links below.

Remember to rate the podcast on Spotify or leave a review on Apple Podcasts; your support will help us reach a wider audience and help more people.

Connect with Meredith:

LinkedIn: Website and Business

Podcast: NZACH Talk time

Connect with Kerene:

Website – Mindful at Work

LinkedIn - Kerene Strochnetter

Instagram – Kerene_strochnetter

Facebook – Mindful at Work