Dr. Scott Hoye, Psy.D.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist. I have a background in holistic practices such as Reiki and meditation. As a psychologist, I work holistically with treatment modalities such as hypnosis, biofeedback, guided imagery and mindfulness.

In a previous life (this lifetime) I worked as an actor and a musician. My undergraduate degree was in fine art and art history. I started out as a lay-hypnotists before my training in psychology. I have been using this modality since 2002, and have conducted research with hypnosis in creativity and hypnosis. My biofeedback training includes work with addictions, mood and anxiety disorders, and pain management.

Initially, I was drawn to hypnosis to more effectively help myself and fellow actors in New York as a means to focus better in auditions, and tap into creativity faster to create characters, whether after landing a role, or seeking employment. I sought training in this modality, and worked for some time in a clinic, and open a small, private practice as a lay-hypnotist. Seeing some limitations in my training, I enrolled in graduate school for psychology. My initial interest in the use of this holistic modality led me to the realization that I loved helping people with this modality, and wanted to expand my understanding of other ways to work, such as psychotherapy and psychological testing. I am constantly curious about finding ways to help people, and connecting with other clinicians to assist with holistically impacting my clients for growth and wholeness.

My clients often describe how they feel a pressure lifted, or a sense of relief that they have had their problem or issue heard, and a sense of hope. That is, if they are connecting with me for assistance with a problem. If they are coming to me with a question about, or seeking ways to improve upon their current life and capabilities, they often tell me they are excited to continue the exploration with me.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about this healing and psychotherapeutic modality. People fall into two main categories when asking or hearing about this:

1. Hypnosis is manipulative, bad-mojo, and scary.
2. “Wow, that sounds really cool! When can we get started!”

A realistic picture of hypnosis is: yes, it is a real technique of communication, and can help for setting goals, changing habits, or working out deep seated problems. It also is more similar to guided imagery and, meditation, but it is more focused, and is more goal-directed and intentional than most imagery and mindfulness techniques as they are used in therapy.

Hypnosis is not a magic bullet or a panacea. Most people have average or moderate talent with it, and can learn how to best use the technique with a confident therapist. It can greatly improve therapy outcomes, or be a powerful adjunctive treatment to medicine or other therapies.