How To Change Your Brain & Habits
The science of neuroplasticity, habit formation, and hypnosis
How habits are formed
In simple terms, neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to adapt and change. Everything we experience, actively or passively, is imprinted in our brain in the form of neural pathways.
One of the fundamental laws of neuroplasticity is that neurons that fire together wire together.
This means that when an experience is repeated, it leads to a change in the structure of the neurons that process that experience, making the connections between these neurons stronger.
Once these neural pathways are established, they direct our existence without our awareness. This is how habits (both conscious and unconscious) are formed.
Why we can't seem to break bad habits
When given the chance, our brain will always take an existing neural pathway–even if it leads us to suffering. For example, we can’t stop reliving a past traumatic experience or break our addictions.
Why? Because the neural pathway is already there, unlike the one we would have to create in order to proceed otherwise. Our brain likes to save energy and will always take the easy way to continue its momentum.
With time, the more conscious and unconscious habits you develop, the less flexible you become. Changing may seem difficult, even impossible.
The process of change
So, can we change our habits to acquire better ones, more beneficial to our mental and physical health? Absolutely.
Does this change necessarily take years and always prove painful? Not necessarily.
The habits we form, mostly unconsciously, we can undo by consciously using the hidden resources of our mind.
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Turns out, the brain doesn't really distinguish between what we do mentally and what we do in reality. This is good news because it means that only a few weeks of mental training every day (sometimes only a few minutes long) can be enough to achieve the desired change.
This is exactly what I do in my sessions. The therapy I offer allows you to reclaim power over your mental processes by using practical exercises (that we practice and adjust together) to expand the scope of what you thought possible.​​
Unlocking the power of the right hemisphere
Astonishing as it may sound, each hemisphere has a will of its own and a proper take on the world, as Iain McGilchrist’s research shows, despite what the common opinion among neurologists may remain following a theoretical ban on this question in the past century.
McGilchrist based his analyses and conclusions on no less than 5000 neurological studies. We now have at our disposal a science-based model to understand many recurring psychological issues.
While the left hemisphere assumes that it knows and decides everything, in reality it is a simple spokesperson or interpreter of the right.​​ We can reconfigure our neural pathways by utilizing the right part of the brain.
When we rebalance the activity of each of the two parts, we’re able to get “unstuck” and escape the dead ends in which the left hemisphere tends to lock us.
Hypnosis and Meditation for change
Milton Erickson, the father of modern hypnotherapy, defined the therapeutic use of hypnosis as the awakening to latent, unexplored resources.
Hypnosis doesn’t put us to sleep; it awakens us, by directing us more easily to the unexplored–what Erickson called “the unconscious mind”– the set of cognitive resources proper to our right hemisphere, that doesn’t speak with words, but only through experiential metaphors.
Hypnosis & Meditation is the eclectic approach I developed combining Eastern and Western practices to help you overcome your problems and drive your own healing and transformation. ​
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The goal of my sessions is to equip you with exercises (breathing, visualization, mind-body meditation, etc.) that you can do anytime you want.
In order to create new, better habits and behaviors, you must first unmake the neural pathways that drive your old habits or beliefs.
Only after acknowledging and welcoming the part of us we want to change can we detach from them. Only then can the transformation begin, and we can move forward with confidence. 
My voice will guide you through this process.
How long does change take?
This process is tailored to your personality and past experiences and is meant to be as short as possible.
Together, we will test the efficacy of the exercises and adjust, if necessary, according to the evolution of your needs and environment.​
But you should know that the therapy begins in the office and continues every day. By practicing exercises on your own, you increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
In general, the more you commit yourself to change, the less time it takes.
Inspiration and Influences
My therapeutic approach is inspired by:
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Neuroplasticity studies and experimentations (Taub, Merzenich, Moskowitz, etc.)
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NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming, especially Connirae and Steve Andreas)
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EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) in its most recent version, the Strategic Therapy school (J. Haley, L. Metcalf, etc.)
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The research on the asymmetry of the brain (I. McGilchrist)
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The study of the role played by dopamine and anxiety in various addictions (A. Lembke, J. Brewer)
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Recent developments in hypnotherapy (E. Rossi, M. Yapko, J. Zeig, etc.)
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What meditation has taught us about the brain (A. Newberg, J. Schwarz, etc.)
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Ancient and modern breathing and grounding techniques
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The practical translation of S.W. Porges’ polyvagal theory (Deb Dana)
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The methods developed by Joe Dispenza
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Voice Dialogue, a school at the confluence of Carl Jung’s depth psychology and Fritz Perls’ Gestalt therapy (Hal Stone & Sidra Stone).