How did you first get involved with hypnotherapy?
In 1989 I met Dr. Rhodanne Foy, Ph.D., the director of an established hypnotherapy clinic, and a very accomplished therapist with over 30 years of experience. I entered into an internship with her and after earning my certification as a hypnotherapist through the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners in Los Angeles, I accumulated more than 3000 hours of supervised clinical experience before opening my own private practice.

The opportunity to work alongside a highly experienced professional and benefit from her many years of experience was extraordinarily valuable and gave me the best training one could have.

What kinds of problems did you work with?
In my first years as a hypnotherapist, most of my clients were coming in to stop smoking. Hypnosis is tremendously effective with smoking cessation and over the years, thousands of people from all walks of life from bank presidents to truck drivers to actresses have successfully quit smoking with me.

Soon I expanded into doing weight control sessions and sessions to help people overcome fears and phobias such as fear of flying, public speaking anxiety and anxiety when driving.

When did you start working with test-taking?
In 1995, a very talented court reporting student came in to work with me. She had failed the state exam for stenographers 5 times, all because of her nerves. We did a series of hypnosis sessions to help her stay calm and focused during the test. She ended up passing the test with one of the best scores ever recorded in California!

As a result, I began an association with South Coast College of Court Reporting giving seminars and working closely with their students. I then became a "workshop provider" for the "California State Board of Psychology" and the "California State board of Behavioral Sciences" where I help professionals stay calm and focused during the extremely stressful state licensure "orals".

How did you catch the attention of the news media?
The health and fitness reporter for the Orange County Register met, by chance, one of my clients who had come in for exercise motivation. The result was a terrific full page Articles on how hypnosis can help people exercise and lose weight.

The host of the emmy-nominated talk show "Southland today" saw the article and had me as a guest on her show 4 times, along with many of my clients who told about the specific results they got from hypnosis, I'm very fortunate to have received so much positive coverage from the media.

Benjamin Moss, 47, lives in Laguna Beach, California.