Meet Program Graduate

Lawrence Winnerman

I’m Lawrence Winnerman.

I have always been interested in healing, the mind, and what we call “alternative” medicine. Eighteen years ago, while studying acupuncture and herbal medicine, I got lured away by the internet boom. I spent the better part of the last two decades building a great career in tech – but it wasn’t enough.

My heart needed the satisfaction of helping people in a tangible way. After finding personal help with hypnosis, I knew what I had to do. I took a leap of faith, got my training and certification, and haven’t looked back.

My mission is to help other people who are at that precipice of change in their own lives to realize that not only is it safe to jump – but that they can fly! Twin Pines Hypnotherapy is named after the two twin pine trees in front of my house, that remind me of the beauty, majesty, and power of nature.

"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." -- John Muir

My goal in training with Cascade Hypnosis Center was to get the training and certification I needed to begin considering a career in hypnosis. What I got was far more than that. It was the strength and courage to make the leap into that new way of life much sooner than I had anticipated.

Cascade truly provides a “classroom-to-client” model.

I had everything I needed to begin seeing clients right away. I could not be happier with my decision to train to be a hypnotist, my choice of Cascade Hypnosis Center as the place to get that training, and the quality and support I received before, during, and after that training. 

It’s interesting – I’ve looked at gender, age, profession – and none of those capture my ideal client. My ideal client is the person who is aching for change in his or her life. This is someone who knows that something isn’t right in their life as it currently is and has tried other methods of overcoming this obstacle or challenge.

My ideal client knows that they are ripe and ready for change but might not know how. They might not have the tools to implement this change. My mission is to make them aware that not only to they have the motivation, they have the tools and the magic needed to change their lives permanently for the better.

It’s a simple message, but it’s true: it gets better. Whatever you are dealing with, we can conquer it together with hypnosis.

No matter how daunting, no matter how long you have struggled with this issue – we can transform your life with hypnosis.

I know it feels like you are standing on the brink of change – like you are at the edge of a cliff, and you don’t want to go back, and you don’t know how to move forward.

I want you to know that not only can you make the leap of faith with hypnosis – you can fly!

This might be more easily asked as “What WEREN’T my reservations about becoming a hypnotist?”

I was concerned about making a mid-life career change.

I was concerned about making a living that would match what I was accustomed to in my tech career. I was concerned about the level of training I would require to be a good hypnotist.

I was concerned about what I would tell people when they asked why I was making this change.

What I came to realize was this: all those things were fear and doubt motivated and were keeping me in a place of being stuck, afraid, and filled with anxiety.

Fortunately, we know how to deal with those feelings—with hypnosis! By learning how to be a hypnotist, I learned how to embrace the ideas that I could do it, that I was good enough, that I knew what I was doing, and that I could bring healing and hope into people’s lives.

I’ve come to this conclusion – and it’s one that might give people hope, or make them angry (or both simultaneously): whatever story you are telling yourself about why you can’t be a hypnotist and get started the moment you complete your training is wrong. Whatever it is, it is 100% wrong. You can be a hypnotist. You can go classroom-to-client. And you can make a good living, helping people, and making the world a better place.

The simple answer is that it has transformed them. The credibility of having this deep and thorough training, the certification that you can hang on the wall, and the membership in the NGH and 5-PATH communities is a solid bedrock of foundation.

Through the rigor of the classroom setting, the training, and the repeated practice, I have the confidence to work with any client, on any issue.

My biggest obstacle was believing that I could do this – that I could get training, leave my job, and make the jump into full-time practice. It was entirely self-limiting beliefs, but they were deeply engrained, and I wasn’t sure how to get past them.

How did we help you overcome them?: In several ways. First, the training is comprehensive.

There’s a lot of information, and rather then feeling overwhelmed by that (or maybe in addition to…), it made me feel like there was such a wealth of knowledge that what I was learning was backed up by data and experience.

Second, I used the practice and self-hypnosis we learned in class to help get clear about what was holding me back.

Finally, Erika could not have been more encouraging or supportive. Knowing that I could sign up for her mentorship helped get me over the final hurdle of deciding to go for it.

Hypnotherapy helped more than anything. My greatest fear was not doing everything perfectly, because I had a subconscious belief that if I wasn't the best in everything, then I wouldn't be worthy of love and attention. Through 5-PATH® techniques, Erika was able to help me with this stress and allow me to be free of the perfectionist expectations that I had for myself.

This helped me to prioritize using my intellect rather than my emotions, which lead to a good outcome in all areas of my life. I learned how to strive for excellence instead of perfection, which has given me better results that I can enjoy, instead of stressing about everything in a way that lead to everything falling apart.

Within two weeks of graduating from the class, I had my entire business set up.

I rented my office, moved in the furniture I needed, bought a recliner, and had my website set up. The biggest puzzle piece for me was getting Google Ad Words (now Google Ads) up and running. As soon as I did that and had people coming to my website, I started getting booked for consultations.

There’s nothing like having your first consultation scheduled for a Monday morning to motivate you over the weekend to finish getting your office set up.  As soon as I had that first consult and signed that person as a client, I knew that everything was going to work. My training had prepared me to see real clients—and now I had proved to myself that they would come. I have never looked back!

Erika’s training style combined with 5-PATH is the perfect combination. Erika is brilliant and no-nonsense, keeping us moving through a mountain of material. 5-PATH as a system is so innovative in that it is a framework that allows you to see and address clients with a wide range of issues. Once you have the basics locked into place, you have the flexibility to adapt to whatever situation arises.

Incredible. There is nothing like being able to make such a positive impact in another person’s life. I feel like I’m fighting on the side of goodness and light to help as many people as possible in this life. It is incredibly rewarding to think of the downstream impacts of being able to help so many people change their lives.

Incredible. There is nothing like being able to make such a positive impact in another person’s life. I feel like I’m fighting on the side of goodness and light to help as many people as possible in this life. It is incredibly rewarding to think of the downstream impacts of being able to help so many people change their lives.

I had a client come to me who was in such despair that they were considering taking their own life. With 5-PATH we were able to work through the issues underlying this anger and hurt: fear, loneliness, negative self-worth. At the end of the second session, the client was in tears (and so was I) and said:

“Thank you for saving my life. You are very good at your job.”

I am humbled and filled with gratitude at being able to play that part in someone’s life. It was one of the most touching and inspiring things I’ve ever experienced.