Article in Natural Awakenings Magazine

Barry Wolfson
Hypnosis Counseling Center of New Jersey

by Beth Davis

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Rutger’s University, Barry Wolfson spent five seasons as the women’s basketball coach at Upsala College, in East Orange. While there, he learned he could take courses at no cost, so decided to pursue a master’s degree in counseling. There was no doubt that his decision was a natural fit.

“I had always been empathetic and passionate about helping others,” he explains. “Knowing this, my three brothers, my players and my friends would always come to me with a problem or if they needed to talk.”

Committed to helping as many people as possible, Wolfson soon discovered the art of hypnotherapy, a technique that uses the hypnotic state, which enables changes in perception and memory, a major increase in response to suggestion and the potential for controlling many physiologic functions that are usually involuntary. It would be the basis of a long and admirable career spanning over 26 years when he founded the Hypnosis Counseling Center of New Jersey, a full-service counseling center that uses both traditional counseling methods and hypnotherapy in both private and group settings—in person or on the phone. Since its inception in 1986, the Center has grown to include four locations throughout New Jersey.

“So many people experience trouble losing weight, smoking, managing stress and more,” says Wolfson. “My goal is to help them create the pathways to personal freedom and do it in a way that promotes a healthy mind, body and spirit.”

He says his clientele is quite diverse—he not only provides private sessions, but has also worked as a consultant for the State of New Jersey and has customized programs for Fortune 500 corporations. The Center also holds regular adult education seminars and works with hospitals and fitness centers.

Now, for the first time, Wolfson is offering a Wellness Weekend Workshops to provide opportunities for personal growth and renewal, physical and emotional awareness and developing skills to living a mindful life. The first workshop is scheduled for June 22-24 at Rutgers University Conference Center.

According to Wolfson, the purpose of the workshops is to serve more people and expose them to the benefits of hypnosis and other modalities. “We aim to provide the tools and techniques necessary to bring you closer to an intimate, more harmonious life, and tap into the unrealized potential or buried longing so many of us carry inside,” he notes.

He also hopes to help alleviate some of the misconceptions about hypnosis, which is, in fact, a scientific and medically approved methodology that has been backed by the American Medical Association as an accepted and recommended medical procedure since 1958.

“Hypnosis sometimes gets a bad name, but it is simply a lack of understanding,” explains Wolfson. “The reality is that hypnosis is simply a heightened state of relaxation—you are not asleep and you are not unconscous. It allows us to tap into your strongest personal asset—the mind—to plant positive and lasting seeds for change. Once in a relaxed hypnotic state, you will open yourself to affirmative, therapeutic suggestions and begin your transformational journey.”

Wolfson is quick to note that hypnotherapy is not a magic wand. The client must be a willing participant to change, which can be difficult as people become comfortable and therefore stuck in habitual patterns. “It is about empowerment and creating the life that they want to live,” he says. “And, anything worth achieving is worth putting effort into, therefore if individuals don’t put the effort in, they aren’t going to succeed.”

While weight loss is likely the number one reason clients come to the Hypnosis Counseling Center, Wolfson provides effective solutions to a wide variety of behavioral and emotional problems including smoking, fear of flying, bad eating habits, self-esteem, stuttering, fear of public speaking and much more. He even helps athletes improve their performance. The possibilities, he says, are endless.

After more than two decades, Wolfson says his clients are what keep him moving forward. “My success is helping people,” he comments. “To help them improve their quality of life and to see their appreciation is incredibly rewarding.”

Hypnosis Counseling Center of New Jersey has locations in Bloomfield, Flemington, Frenchtown and Princeton. For more information, call 908-996-3311, email Barry@hypnosiscounselingcenter.com or visit hypnosiscounselingcenter.com.