Session 0049 - Joan Coletto The Heart Shift Hypnotherapist

https://www.joancoletto.com

FREE Download 5 Day Self-Care Blueprint for over-givers https://www.joancoletto.com/5-day-self-care-blueprint-for-over-givers

Welcome to the Professional Hypnotherapist Podcast with your host, Aidan Noone! In today's episode, we're joined by the insightful Joan Coletto, beaming in from Chicago and ready to share her unique blend of heart-centered hypnotherapy and spirituality. Joan is the creator of the transformative Heart Shift method—a powerful fusion of hypnotherapy and holistic spiritual practice designed to help you break free from limiting beliefs and live a life filled with more joy, peace, and purpose.

Get ready for a thought-provoking conversation where Joan reveals the personal journey that inspired her innovative approach, how she empowers over-givers to rediscover self-love, and the incredible breakthroughs she witnesses in her clients. We’ll also get a sneak peek into her upcoming book, actionable tips you can use today, and an exploration of the real power at the intersection of mind and spirit.

If you're curious about the true potential of hypnotherapy, looking to shift old patterns, or want inspiration for your own healing, this episode is packed with wisdom, warmth, and practical guidance. So settle in and join us for an episode that just might spark your next big breakthrough!

Music Used: https://soundcloud.com/ashamaluevmusic2/my-world?in=ashamaluevmusic2/sets/piano-music

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Transcript

Aidan Noone [00:00:02]:
Joan Coletto, thank you so much for joining me today on the Professional Hypnotherapist podcast.

Joan Coletto [00:00:08]:
Thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be here.

Aidan Noone [00:00:12]:
Wonderful. And you come all the way, Joan, from Chicago, the Windy City.

Joan Coletto [00:00:19]:
Yes. Now, what's born and raised here? Yes.

Aidan Noone [00:00:26]:
What's life like there at the moment in Chicago?

Joan Coletto [00:00:31]:
At the moment it's hot and sticky and has been for a while. And life is pretty busy. And it's good. It's good. No complaints over here.

Aidan Noone [00:00:43]:
Great. Now, Joan, you work as a hypnotherapist and a spiritual practitioner, and you're the creator of the Hard Shift method. So. So maybe just tell us a little bit about yourself.

Joan Coletto [00:00:59]:
Yes, of course. So I am a heart centered hypnotherapist and spiritual practitioner. And the method that I use is something that I developed and I call Heart Shift. It's a fusion of the hypnotherapy and spiritual practice. It helps people release limiting beliefs and patterns so they can live with more joy and peace and purpose. I do have a book coming out this fall called Heart Shift, and it shares a lot about the processes I use. It has some inspiring stories of clients that I've worked with, and I'm really excited to share it. The purpose for writing it was to help people have more hope in their lives and to know that despite what they may be moving through in the moment, there's hope, there's change is very possible.

Aidan Noone [00:02:01]:
Great. And you mentioned, we mentioned spirituality, so there was sort of a better understanding of spirituality. What specifically do you mean when you say spirituality?

Joan Coletto [00:02:17]:
Yes. So spirituality involves using practices such as meditation, positive affirmation, visualization, visioning, those types of practices. It's not religious.

Aidan Noone [00:02:33]:
Okay.

Joan Coletto [00:02:34]:
And so it doesn't have that kind of. It doesn't have the kind of rules and regulations that many of the world religions have. It's. It's something that has, I believe, changed my life truly to be diving into spiritual practices and doing that type of work. And I initially became a spiritual practitioner almost 20 years ago, and my work involved supporting people and making changes in their lives and living a more full and joyous life. And I would help them get to a false or limiting belief that they have and through spiritual practices, change it and shift the belief. And it actually worked quite well. It worked quite well to say that.

Aidan Noone [00:03:31]:
It changed your life. Was there a specific spiritual practice that assisted you to do that?

Joan Coletto [00:03:43]:
I would say it was a variety of spiritual practices that helped me. And I really came upon it at a time where I Was very challenged. My husband and I were wanting to have a family, and we were having difficulty getting and staying pregnant. And I found a spiritual center. And it was. It just gave me hope. I learned how to meditate. I learned how to trust and have faith in something greater than myself.

Joan Coletto [00:04:21]:
I would say I used several spiritual practices. It wasn't just one. I think I was in a place of using visualization, using positive affirmations, trusting self, love, and all of those things are really spiritual practices. And they all help me greatly.

Aidan Noone [00:04:47]:
Okay.

Joan Coletto [00:04:48]:
And because of the impact they had on me, I was really happy to know that I could study and learn and. And teach and help others by using those practices also.

Aidan Noone [00:05:00]:
Wonderful, wonderful. And to go back to your book, the book, it is specifically about the hardshift method, isn't that correct?

Joan Coletto [00:05:14]:
Yes.

Aidan Noone [00:05:14]:
Okay.

Joan Coletto [00:05:15]:
Yes, it is.

Aidan Noone [00:05:16]:
All right, so go ahead.

Joan Coletto [00:05:20]:
Oh, yeah, no, I was just going to say the hard shift is really the combination and the fusion of the spiritual practices with the hypnotherapy. As I was introduced to hypnosis in hypnotherapy, I realized that it was a much faster way to support my clients in getting to their false and limiting beliefs and shifting them. And these spiritual practices helped to sort of solidify those shifts that people were making.

Aidan Noone [00:05:56]:
Okay, now, can you walk us through a typical hard shift session? What it looks like, how do you customize it for each individual?

Joan Coletto [00:06:09]:
It is definitely an individualized process. It's flexible, based on each client, what they're working through, their personal belief system, their readiness, their receptivity. So I may, for example, have someone who is having an issue with trust and with trusting people, perhaps in relationships or something like that. And as we dive in and we see where the mistrust came from in the hypnosis, we can work on that specific issue. And one of the spiritual practices that I find especially helpful with people is forgiveness. And forgiveness is often, I believe, misunderstood. Some people think that forgiveness is saying whatever someone did or said is okay. And that's not necessarily the case.

Joan Coletto [00:07:14]:
What it truly is is letting go of the past so it doesn't hold you prisoner. And sometimes that means a relationship can be rebuilt, and sometimes it's can't be rebuilt. But when the forgiveness happens, we're able to let go and really move on in our lives without being tied to that situation or that person. And that can have a huge impact on people.

Aidan Noone [00:07:43]:
That's so important, isn't it? To be free?

Joan Coletto [00:07:48]:
Yes, absolutely.

Aidan Noone [00:07:51]:
Now, your work also focuses on over givers. What kind of transformation can they expect after your five day blueprint?

Joan Coletto [00:08:05]:
The transformation can really be profound when we step into self care and self love, when we prioritize ourselves. And it's not about being selfish as some people might consider it. It's about knowing when to say no, finding balance, honoring your desires, honoring your time and appreciating yourself. It's something that is very near and dear to my heart because I have personally been an over giver and someone who really didn't know how to say no. And I learned that no is a very important thing to be able to say. And when we say no, it is giving us an opportunity to say yes to something that we really desire to do or we really desire to be. And it also gives someone else an opportunity to say yes to something. So prioritizing yourself can be very, very important.

Aidan Noone [00:09:27]:
And self love and self care is just is equally important.

Joan Coletto [00:09:34]:
Yes. Yes. It goes hand in hand.

Aidan Noone [00:09:40]:
Excellent.

Joan Coletto [00:09:40]:
There was a time, there was a time in my life where I was doing so much when my kids were young and my, my path to becoming a mother was, was not an easy one. So when I did, I cut back on work. I only worked part time so I could be with them. But I found myself helping my husband with his business, doing my part time work, volunteering for things. And I was busier than ever. It was like I had two full time jobs. So that's when I really learned how to say no and prioritize myself.

Aidan Noone [00:10:20]:
Great. Now let's focus briefly for a moment on hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Joan Coletto [00:10:29]:
Yes.

Aidan Noone [00:10:30]:
What in your opinion is this specific ingredient or what does hypnotherapy add to the process, to your heart shift method and in the process of letting go of the past so that you're free. So maybe could you focus on that for us please?

Joan Coletto [00:10:51]:
Yes. So I believe that the hypnotherapy, how I see it, it just is like a laser getting to the issue. And when we can get to that issue quickly, because we're accessing the subconscious mind, we can make that shift very quickly. And something that might take weeks or even months to get to in traditional therapy can be accessed in a matter of a couple of sessions. And I'm not saying it's done or it's over in that time, but we can really access it quickly. And that's what so appealed to me when I was first introduced to hypnotherapy and hypnosis. And it's been so powerful in the work that I've done. And for me personally also.

Aidan Noone [00:11:52]:
Now, Joan, thank you for that. Can you tell us about her breakthrough case? Anonymously, of course. What shifted and how fast and what did it look like for the client afterwards?

Joan Coletto [00:12:08]:
Yes, I can think of a woman who came to me and she was struggling in relationships. She did not trust men. She believed all men cheated. And her parents had gotten divorced when she was young. Her father had been unfaithful to her mother, and this just caused her to have this belief that all men are like that. And she did not have a good relationship with her father either. And through the hypnosis, when I regressed her to actually go back to that point in time when her parents were first getting divorced and all of the things that were going on, she came to realize that her father was still there for her and that the parents issues had happened long before the infidelity had happened. All she really knew was her dad wasn't there, and she felt abandoned, and she felt that she couldn't trust him, when, in fact, as she actually regressed and remembered, her dad really was there for her and she was pushing him away.

Joan Coletto [00:13:35]:
So it was enlightening for her to see the facts. And. And what ended up happening was she was able to have a conversation with him and not only forgive him for what she may have thought that he did wrong or. Or that he hurt her in some way, but. But she actually asked him for forgiveness because she realized how she had pushed him away for years. So it completely transformed their relationship. And she then, as we often do, we sort of repeat patterns or what we expect to have happen happens, because she had this belief, all men cheat. She was in a couple of relationships where her partners were unfaithful to her.

Joan Coletto [00:14:28]:
And as she worked through this, she actually was able to move into a very loving and positive relationship. She's actually married now, living a wonderful, happy life. But it really came from actually seeing the truth of what happened and then being able to heal it.

Aidan Noone [00:14:52]:
Wonderful. It was like, you know, taking one particular specific belief and generalizing it and spreading it like butter over everything.

Joan Coletto [00:15:01]:
Exactly.

Aidan Noone [00:15:03]:
You know.

Joan Coletto [00:15:03]:
Yes.

Aidan Noone [00:15:04]:
So that you broke it up into its component pieces and dealt with them, I suppose, which was a major breakthrough for that young lady.

Joan Coletto [00:15:16]:
It really was. She was able to heal her relationship with her father to, you know, forgiveness was such a big part of this whole thing, and it was really transformative for her.

Aidan Noone [00:15:34]:
And on top of all of that, Joan, how do you measure success? Or how do you know a client has truly shifted?

Joan Coletto [00:15:47]:
You know, they've truly shifted When I just see the change in behavior, the change in attitude, can tell when a client walks in the door, how they're doing. You can just feel that energy that they walk in with. And when I see someone coming in lighter, happier, smiling, and I hear the accomplishments, the things that they're moving forward in and doing it, it feels wonderful. It's very validating that that this works and that people can shift their belief systems, they can work through things, and they can live the life they truly desire to live.

Aidan Noone [00:16:39]:
Wonderful. And in your opinion, building on what we've been building up so far, what role, in your opinion, does belief for readiness play in healing and shifting? And have you had a walk? Have you had to walk clients through resistance or indeed skepticism first, specifically, perhaps around hypnosis and hypnotherapy?

Joan Coletto [00:17:09]:
So I would say that when people come to me, they know the work I do, so they're certainly open to the hypnosis. It is. I think that hypnosis and hypnotherapy can sometimes be misunderstood. So I do like to explain that to people a little bit. The readiness is really about that willingness to do the work because they can have an aha moment when they're in session, but if they walk out the door, so to speak, and they don't do anything with that, it doesn't always stick. So that's where I find the practices, particularly things like meditation, affirmation, visualization, those type of things can really support the work. And I pretty much always give my client some kind of an assignment and something that they are to do in between sessions to support the work we do. And I find that those that do it and do it consistently move through things a lot faster.

Aidan Noone [00:18:34]:
Okay. And, you know, before, I probably preempted my question before the heart shift method existed, I presume it was the spiritual practices were missing, perhaps in your own life and your own practice that pushed you to create the hard shift method.

Joan Coletto [00:19:01]:
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Combining the spirituality with the hypnotherapy was huge. I've had personally so many aha moments in my work with hypnosis, because in practicing, of course, we practice with colleagues, we work. I was in a mentorship program for several years, and we would do work with each other, and I uncovered so many things that have helped me living my life. One thing that really comes to mind is I was always. I was worried about my daughter and worried that something would happen to her, that somehow I was going to lose her. And it was in hypnotherapy that I realized it was because I had lost.

Joan Coletto [00:20:00]:
She was my first child and I had had miscarriages. And subconsciously, I think from the moment I became pregnant with her, I was afraid I'd lose her. And that sort of carried forward. And once I realized that it went away, I stopped all that needless worry, so to speak. But those kind of. I've had shifts and things like that happen quite a bit in my life due to this. And in doing this hardship method in writing this book, my greatest hope is that I can give other people hope that they can overcome things.

Aidan Noone [00:20:47]:
Yeah. And you mentioned there Joan mentors. So who were your biggest influences? Like mentors, teachers, or maybe life experience, of course, that changed the way you approach healing.

Joan Coletto [00:21:04]:
Yeah. So I would say the first thing regarding hypnotherapy was Dr. Brian Weiss, who did past life regression work. And I saw him on the Oprah show and I was just so, so interested in his work. And I ended up doing a training with him in past life regression. And during that time he said it would be really good to get more hypnosis training, more hypnotherapy. So I went on to the Wellness Institute and trained with them. And that's where I did internship and a mentor's program through them.

Joan Coletto [00:21:51]:
And that, that training was just, just wonderful. And they called, they're training heart centered hypnotherapy, which really spoke to me because I was already doing the spiritual work and that idea that this can be heart centered really spoke to me.

Aidan Noone [00:22:15]:
Excellent. Now, in your practice, how do you decide when to lean more heavily on hypnosis versus the spiritual techniques?

Joan Coletto [00:22:30]:
It's a great question. I. I really simply listen to my intuition. I pretty much always use hypnosis to some degree. But whether it's more hypnosis, more spiritual, really just depends on the person, on the situation. So it's hard to say that there's a concrete like, this is when I use it, this is when I don't. It really is all about the feeling and my intuition that I really tune into.

Aidan Noone [00:23:18]:
You sort of just know that, you know.

Joan Coletto [00:23:20]:
Yeah, exactly, exactly. And I'll often do in the beginning what I call hypno light, which is almost just having the client in a little bit of a meditative state just to see how they react and how relaxed they can be.

Aidan Noone [00:23:43]:
What's the first thing that you look for in a client that tells you how to proceed specifically in the first session?

Joan Coletto [00:23:56]:
So let's see. I would say in a first session, I want to get to know them a little bit. And the first thing I want to know is what brought them to me or what brought what. What is going on in their life. And I ask a little bit about their childhood, growing up. And it's interesting because some people will tell you a lot and some people, it takes time for them to really open up and say a lot, especially about their. Their past. People can sometimes hold that and of close.

Joan Coletto [00:24:43]:
So a first session is generally mostly talk and maybe a little bit of, as I said, that sort of hypno light, just getting them to relax a little bit, close their eyes and talk that way. I do find that when I'm with someone, it's much easier if they have their eyes closed for them to tune into how they're feeling.

Aidan Noone [00:25:14]:
Yeah.

Joan Coletto [00:25:16]:
And also if emotion is coming up for them, if I see tears or, you know, just a real change in the expression, leaning into that can really help.

Aidan Noone [00:25:32]:
In your opinion, Joan, is hypnosis just relaxation?

Joan Coletto [00:25:41]:
No, I don't think so. I think hypnosis is accessing the subconscious mind and all of the memories and everything that we. That we have there.

Aidan Noone [00:25:55]:
Yeah. Excellent. And you know, working with different clients and the differences in people, everybody's different. What's the difference between a temporary emotional shift and a true deep shift, in your opinion?

Joan Coletto [00:26:18]:
In my opinion, there's the shift that happens in the intellect, in the head, and there's that shift that happens in the body and in the gut. And that shift that really happens in the gut is generally, I believe, permanent. Whereas we can understand something and intellectually know something, but if we're not really feeling it, it's. We're not necessarily acting on that. We act from what we believe with our whole body. And a lot of the work that I do really involves getting in touch with the body whenever the emotions coming. I want to know, where do you feel that in your body? Where does it live within you? What's the physical sensation that you have? Give that part of your body voice? What does that voice say? And I feel like that really helps wonderful people get in touch with their true feelings.

Aidan Noone [00:27:26]:
Would you. Would you for a moment speak to beliefs about beliefs?

Joan Coletto [00:27:33]:
So I think belief system, when I talk about beliefs, I'm speaking to those ingrained subconscious beliefs that we might not even be aware of, but sometimes we are. So when I spoke to the woman whose father was unfaithful and then she believed, all men cheat. You can't trust any of them. That. That's a deep seated belief. And those beliefs, when we really believe something, everything in US goes out to prove it's true. So the person who believes all men cheat is going to find men who cheat. Not consciously, certainly not wanting to in mind, but that belief is, is a deep seated core belie you're going to live and try to create that.

Joan Coletto [00:28:33]:
So that's why it's so important to identify those beliefs, which hypnosis is great for. But to identify those beliefs and then change them.

Aidan Noone [00:28:45]:
Yeah. Wonderful.

Joan Coletto [00:28:46]:
And rewire the brain, so to speak.

Aidan Noone [00:28:49]:
I think beliefs are so important and shifting beliefs, I think that's the sort of. Well, from my perspective, I think that's the key in largely where change happens.

Joan Coletto [00:29:04]:
Yeah. And indeed, I totally agree with you.

Aidan Noone [00:29:07]:
Yeah. Now, what's the biggest myth about hypnotherapy or spiritual healing that you wish more people understood?

Joan Coletto [00:29:23]:
The biggest myth, I think sometimes when people hear hypnosis or hypnotherapy, they think woo woo, kind of not real. What are you going to make me do? They don't really trust it. And I would just love to have more people educated to know what it really is and what it can do. Because what I've seen it do for people, what I've had it do for myself is absolutely incredible.

Aidan Noone [00:30:00]:
Wonderful. Now, Joan, thank you for that. If someone listening feels stuck right now, what's one thing that they can start doing today to create their own mini shift?

Joan Coletto [00:30:20]:
I would say meditating can be very helpful, sitting in the silence. Because when we do that, we can tune into our intuition, we can tap into that a little bit and that can be very helpful. I would also say notice behavior patterns and really be curious. So not judgmental about yourself. Like I always do this. Why do I do it? Not in that way, but to be curious. Like, okay, I notice I keep doing the same thing here. What, what's the driving force? What happens before I do this? Or you know, something along that lines because it's a lot of times these repeated patterns that are the key to what's going on.

Joan Coletto [00:31:23]:
And it's the repeated patterns that we want to shift and change.

Aidan Noone [00:31:29]:
Yeah. Excellent. And you know, briefly touching on beliefs again, if somebody is doing meditation from a religious point of view or indeed from a non religious point of view, I presume that's okay.

Joan Coletto [00:31:46]:
Absolutely, yes. I think just that time in silence is really helpful.

Aidan Noone [00:31:53]:
Yeah. Okay. Now Joan, tell us about your book again, please. And the title of it.

Joan Coletto [00:32:02]:
Yes, yes. So the book is titled Heart Shift and it is, the subtitle is Transform Painful Patterns to Live an Empowered Life. And in the book I Introduce the seven pillars that I work with in addition to hypnotherapy. And those pillars are visioning, forgiveness, meditation, trust, visualization, affirmation and self love. And I go through and define them and give some examples. And then I have stories of people that I've worked with so that the reader can actually see hardship in action and they can see, you know, where someone starts out and how they progress and how things begin to change for them. And I also have, along with the book, there's a book portal that people can access. And in that portal I have recordings of meditations that I've made, hypnosis processes and some worksheets.

Joan Coletto [00:33:22]:
They're journaling prompts. So, so that it's a little, there's some interactive nature to the book also so that hopefully people will find these resources helpful for them.

Aidan Noone [00:33:37]:
Wonderful. And I presume where will we get the book? When has it been published?

Joan Coletto [00:33:44]:
The book will be published. It will be out this fall, hopefully in October.

Aidan Noone [00:33:49]:
Wonderful.

Joan Coletto [00:33:50]:
And if anyone wants to be notified, they can tune into my website, they can get on my email list and they will be notified when the book's ready for order or pre order.

Aidan Noone [00:34:05]:
Wonderful. Now, Joan, thank you for that. So what's next for you on the hard shift method? Where do you see your work evolving?

Joan Coletto [00:34:18]:
I see groups forming. I'm forming some small groups to work with, with people so that I can, My, my desire is to simply reach more people. I, I want to see more people supported by this work. So I am creating some small groups that I'll be working with on particular, working on particular things like whether it's a group working on forgiveness or, you know, we're working on, I'm working on a few other groups also, but, but we'll just use forgiveness as an example. So I would work with this group for a few months. We would meet, we would do processes, there would be sharing, there would be some coaching involved. And I just see that as another way to support people.

Aidan Noone [00:35:17]:
Wonderful. So how can we contact you?

Joan Coletto [00:35:22]:
So you can contact me on my website, joancoletto.com and I'd love, maybe we can put in a link to that resource that I have or the blueprint. And yeah, that would be the best way for people to get in touch with me and to stay in touch and see what's happening.

Aidan Noone [00:35:45]:
Wonderful. Joan Coleto, thank you so much for your time and for this wonderful opportunity to speak with you and to share with our listeners the work, the transformative work that you do daily in your practice in Chicago, U.S.A. thank you, Aidan.

Joan Coletto [00:36:03]:
I really appreciate it. It was an honor to be here with you today.

Aidan Noone [00:36:08]:
Okay, Joan, until next time. Bye. Bye for now.

Joan Coletto [00:36:12]:
All right. Bye. Thank you.

Aidan Noone [00:36:15]:
Thank you.