Hypnosis is a "magic wand", and the Hypnotherapist
                     will magically "make" my problems go away: 

Hypnosis is an extremely marvelous tool to help a person quickly resolve
the inner conflicts that close the door to their success. 
However, it is not a passive tool, wherein, you just lay back,
close your eyes, and the Hypnotherapist magically "makes"
 all your problems just melt away.  

There does need to be some serious participation and willingness
to change from the client who seeks to resolve an issue or unwanted habit. 
The client must first believe that the problem can be resolved,
and then they must be able to imagine themselves living successfully
with the issue resolved.  When imagining the issue resolved,
this must be done with conviction, and the client must expect their own success.

*BELIEF + IMAGINATION + CONVICTION + EXPECTATION = RESULTS

                                                                        
A Hypnotist and/or Hypnotherapist puts you "under"
                  and controls your mind:

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis..... Yes, it's true! 
All hypnosis is actually self-hypnosis. Therefore, you are in control at all times. 
A Certified Hypnotherapist is merely a trained guide,
skilled in the techniques to help you relax your mind enough
and utilize the power of your own imagination
so that you can resolve the inner conflicts between your
conscious & subconscious minds.  They are also there to supply
the positive agreeable suggestions given to the subconscious mind
to effect the desired change in behavior. 

When working with a Hypnotherapist, you are allowing the Hypnotherapist
to guide you into hypnosis.  You can certainly achieve the same state on your own, however, your results are much better achieved with the assistance of a trained certified practitioner......kind of like moving a couch by yourself -
Sure, you could do it, but it's oh so much easier with a helping hand.

           Never can anyone "take control" of your mind.             

A Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist will "make" me do things 
                              I don't want to do:

Since all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, you are always in control ~ period!  
Although Hollywood would like for you to believe differently,
a person in hypnosis is never "under" someone else's control. 
 
How you see hypnosis depicted in the movies or television is for the sole purpose of making the story more interesting, and holds no factual bearing in reality.  A Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist can't "make" anyone do anything that is not acceptable, agreeable, or ethical to their core belief system - No If's, And's, or But's about it! 

The stage hypnosis acts, may seem contradictory to the previous statement, however,
they are based on volunteers (key word), who subconsciously agree to
 "go along with the act" ~ they understand "the game", and know full well
that they may be requested to do some embarrassing stuff
- like quack like a duck or bark like a dog.

If you ever catch a live show, you'll notice how the Stage Hypnotist
will scan the volunteers he's working with.  He's looking for the participants
that are being "party-poopers" and who are either unwilling or 
unable to go into a true relaxed state of hypnosis
(there are ways of knowing if someone is faking it),
and he excuses them from the stage.

He knows the volunteers who agree to go into hypnosis are more likely
to follow his good natured suggestions willingly.  While the ones who
"don't want to play"  will only serve to ruin the illusion, and wreck the act. 

In a therapeutic setting however, the goal is to help your mind relax enough
to effect positive change - not to entertain an audience...
So, don't expect your Hypnotherapist to suggest that you quack like a duck
or bark like a dog - unless you want them to, of course...:-)