I've waited a few months to write this review. I really wanted to put a little thought into this.
To summarize, I've seen both sides of the Damian written in some of these reviews. One side turned me off from every working with him again. Down below you'll see some comments on professionalism.
In my initial meeting with Damian he stated as his qualifications that he was really good at hypnotizing people. What I grew to find out quickly is that he struggled a little at the therapy related side of his business. He initially came across as very enthusiastic and friendly and my first session went great. I went to Damian for weight loss and I found a noticeable improvement in my diminished obsession with food after my first session.
When we tried to recreate *the magic* of the first session, we could never make it click again. I found Damian to be kind of grasping for things to try and when I was "under" he seemed unorganized in his thought and kept going down rabbit trails of deep rooted issues to which I was not responding to these methods. Frequently he seemed to lose track of what he was doing.
I felt in subsequent visits, I was encouraging Damian to keep going and maybe we could recreate what was so helpful in the first visit and what we missed in the subsequent visits. But, we both kind of realized that the methods we were trying - I just wasn't responding.
I was discouraged, but I feel like the other side of Damian started to emerge. He would say stuff like, "You come off as all nice and friendly but I feel like there is this deep and dark side of you that I need to get out." OK - not sure that is the best method of encouraging your clients but I was willing to try. We never found that deep, dark side. By my last visit (of which I pre-paid), I got a snarky, "why are you even here?". I told him that since I pre-paid, I might as well try again one last time. To which I received a response that most people would have lost 20 lbs after my sixth visit - implying that there was something wrong with me.
In summary, when this did not work, even though we both really really wanted it to - I started to be attacked by him. Not a good environment at all.
Professionalism. What therapist do you know that does not take notes? He charged me $100 an hour. The first hour was spent going over the last session and talking about what we'd do next session. HE KEPT CONFUSING ME WITH OTHER PATIENTS!! Aren't you the person who does this? Or that? So, we'd spend my money to clarify which client I was and then when under therapy, he'd go in a totally different route. He was 100% that my dead mother was the cause of my food obsession. Under hypnosis, he'd said stuff like, "You resent your mother don't you?" To which I'd answer no. "You and your mother did not get along?" Again, no. Everyone's mother impacts their life but dragging my dead mother through the wringer when I insist - when under hypnosis - that that is not a fact, was very disturbing. I ended a session once when he would not get off the mother topic.
I also loved once when he asked me why I wanted to lose weight. I told him that due to my age and weight, I was scared about my health. That appeared not to be truthful to him. He kept pressing me why I really wanted to lose weight again and again and again. Finally, I asked him what the deal was and he said that everyone wants to lose weight to look better to other people. I think he had some self esteem issues himself that he was dealing with and putting them on me.
Hah - he always brought his snack/food into my food counseling session. That was special.
My favorite though, at $100/hour, was that he lost his bathroom key to the floor's shared bathroom. He told me to wait outside the bathroom door for the occupant to leave. Someone was crying in there. Finally, I went across the street to use the coffee house's bathroom - I had to waste at least 45 minutes of my money/session because, frankly, he just seemed a little flaky and couldn't hold on to his key.
A guy who is good at hypnotizing people is not a hypnotic therapist. If you want to be hypnotized, Damian will work. If you need some therapy - you might want to see a therapist. I left feeling worse than when I started with him.
On a happy note, I'm working with someone else now and see how constructive weight loss therapy can really be. read more