Weir receives awards for hypnosis work
by Becky Shetler Staff Writer January 8, 2009

Hypnotist John Weir has been guiding people to change their behavior patterns since his South Hills hypnosis center opened.

After he became board-certified in 2001, Weir started his full-time hypnotism practice known as the Hypnosis Center For Motivation and Habit Management in Pleasant Hills.

As a result of treatment, clients have learned beneficial breathing techniques and a more stress-free lifestyle -- not to mention that they have finally kicked bad habits such as smoking and emotional eating.

"Most people want to see a hypnotist when all else fails," Weir says, by Brady Wolfe South Hills Recordphoto by Brady Wolfe South Hills Record

and he has made it his mission to banish preconceived notions about hypnosis -- earning him national recognition.

Weir, 27, was bestowed three separate honors last year -- all considered prestigious for a young man -- or anyone -- in the hypnotism field.

He was featured on the cover of the Journal of Hypnotism's December 2008 issue. The quarterly publication is the most prestigious trade journal in the profession with readership in 65 countries.

Weir is the youngest hypnotist in the history of the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) to receive that honor.
"People that I look up to have always been on the cover," he says.

"It all just seems so surreal. Your dreams always seem to be in the future. To have actually have grasped it seems pretty surreal. It's always something that I've wanted to achieve. At the same time, I was not actively pursuing how I would get on the cover. This makes me want to fulfill the expectations that have been placed on me. I want to hold myself to another level and do everything I can for the profession."

In addition, Weir has been asked to be a columnist for the Journal of Hypnotism. The column is entitled "Enthusiastic Professionalism."

This past year, Weir received the 2008 NGH Charles Tebbetts Award for "Spreading the Light of Hypnotism."
When notified of the award, Weir was shocked.

"When they called my name it was very humbling. When we went to that convention, the president (of the National Guild of Hypnotists) said, 'This young man is the future of hypnotism,'" Weir says.
"One of my goals was to do something exceptional this year. I never thought I'd actually win anything. There are some amazing minds and great therapists in the field."

Weir has been a member of the local chapter of The Hypnotism Society of Pennsylvania for more than a year.
Founded in 1943, the society is made up of three chapters Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Bucks County.

The Pittsburgh society has close to 40 members, and approximately 25 of those members regularly attend meetings.

"It's a support group and a learning educational system, and it's really exciting," says Lois Reich, president of the Pittsburgh Chapter for three years now.

Reich, a former massage therapist, became a board-certified hypnotist in 2000. She gives hypnosis lectures in the Pittsburgh area.

Reich says misconceptions are common when people think about the concept of hypnosis.

"People need to know hypnosis can make them feel good about themselves as opposed to reaching out to artificial means like anti-depressants," she says.

The organization works to spread awareness about the benefits of hypnotism, and monthly meetings in Pittsburgh's North Hills are open to the public.

Hypnotism 101 Growing up in Greensburg, Weir didn't think that he would end up helping people through hypnotism.

"I would have never in a million years, even thought I'd be doing this," he says.

He couldn't have imagined being able to help people alleviate a list of conditions linked to stress including everything from irritable bowel syndrome to dermatological problems.

Weir says hypnosis is also a good pain management tool.

"Stress is such an onset for so many disorders and issues -- chronic pain, arthritis, dermatological disorders and hypertension. Hypnosis works by alleviating stress and creating new types of behaviors to deal with the stress," he says.

"Just teaching a person to do self-hypnosis can create triggers inside of people instantaneously and bring about certain feelings such as confidence or relaxation. (After hypnosis) the act of pulling one's ear may trigger the same feeling as being on vacation. Just the process in of itself is very stress-reducing and relaxing."

At 18, Weir went with his sister to see a motivational speaker, and that's when his fascination with hypnotism began.

"My sister was one of the only one of 300 people to go up on stage after a demonstration," Weir says.

"She was hypnotized pretty easily. It took that type of demonstration to sell me. That was my "a-ha" moment. That's when I saw my future. I thought 'I want to learn how to bring potential out in people like that.'"

Weir has used self-hypnosis to stop smoking, and he has remained a non-smoker for nine years.
"I've increased my GPA and decreased my fear of public speaking. I have no issue with it now," he says.

According to Weir's Web site, hypnosis is "psychology in action," and the subconscious mind becomes highly available and receptive to new suggestions, beliefs and ideas.

"I've traveled to various cities and practiced with some of the best (hypnotists) that I could find," he says.

Every hypnotist is required to maintain so many continuing education units per year, Weir said.

"That's 15 to 20 hours of an additional training program."

He particularly gets fulfillment from training new hypnotists.

"Indirectly, those positive letters come back to me. It makes me feel good to see their success because indirectly I've helped them get to that point where they are out there helping people, and that really gets me charged up."