Founder and Center Director, Cindy Locher, BCH
I’m Cindy Locher and I’m a Board Certified Hypnotist and NLP Practitioner, and the Founder and Center Director of ChangeWorks Hypnosis Center, The Minnesota Sports Hypnosis Center, and Forever Stop Smoking.
My Story
My parents and sister were “die-hard” smokers. My Dad was born in 1928, started smoking when he was a teen and that was reinforced when he served in the Navy. I remember him telling stories of when the ship would come in to port, how the cigarette company reps would be there to greet the sailors coming off the ship with free cigarettes.
My Mom smoked too. I suppose in the 40’s and 50’s it was a lot more common and a lot less was known about it. My sister, who was 16 years older than me, also picked up the habit. For some reason, I never did, although I remember being barely able to breath, riding in a car with multiple cigarettes going and the windows rolled up in winter in Michigan.
They didn’t want to quit. You know what they say, a person has to want to, for themselves, for their own reasons. They even belonged to something called “Smoker’s Rights.” This was in the late 80’s and early 90’s when smoking was beginning to be banned in some restaurants. I remember them turning around and refusing to go to restaurants when they found out it had become a non-smoking place. I joked, calling them “militant smokers.” I had no idea I would lose them when I was only 35.
Maybe they knew it would eventually kill them. I don’t know, we didn’t talk about it. And of course after you’re diagnosed, that’s not what you talk about either. You talk about how you feel after chemo or radiation and what might make you more comfortable, and you try to talk about what things will be like after you’re cured. But you’re afraid to go there too much because there’s too much fear and it’s too painful.
I miss my family. I lost Dad in 1999, 18 months after his diagnosis. I lost Mom in 2000, 6 weeks after hers. And my sister died on an operating table, having not been diagnosed prior to what was supposed to be a routine surgery.
I have a passion for this work. Maybe that’s one of the reasons my clients have such great results. My wish is to help you quit smoking for the last time so that your family doesn’t go through what mine has.
My approach is completely client-centered. This is custom, private hypnotherapy, tailored to your needs, your belief system, and is therefore highly effective.
I have successfully conducted thousands of hypnosis sessions to help people achieve positive changes in their lives and I am confident in my ability to help YOU.
If you’re interested in learning more about my credentials, here they are:
• Board Certified Hypnotist, through the National Guild of Hypnotists, 2009 (NGH)
• Master NLP Practitioner, Certified through the National Federation of NLP, 2010 (NFNLP)
• Honors graduate, Hypnosis Motivation Institute, California 2008
— the first accredited college of clinical hypnotherapy in the nation.
• Certified Instructor, National Guild of Hypnotists 2009
- Founding Member of the Midwest Association of Transformational Leaders 2008 (ATL), a local off-shoot of Jack Canfield’s global organization, the Transformational Leadership Council (TLC). Both organizations provide opportunities for thought leaders to connect and share, at the community level (ATL) or the global level (TLC). Cindy also sits on the planning committee of this prestigious organization.
• Certified Instructor, International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT) 2011
• Certified Instructor, National Federation of Neurolinquistic Programming 2010
• Completed Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program Training (2010)
• Active Member of the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH)
• Active Member of the American Hypnosis Association (AHA)
• Active Member of the International Medical & Dental Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA)
• Active Member of the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT)
• Certified Smoking Cessation Specialist (AHA)
• Instructor of hypnosis classes at Normandale Community College (Self Hypnosis I & II, Self Hypnosis for Pain Control, Medical Hypnosis, and Mind/Body Techniques for Anxiety Reduction) (2008 – 2017)
• Certified Hypnosis Instructor (CI) through the National Guild of Hypnotists
• Certifed Nutritional Coach through NESTA, the National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association.
- Author; Published works include: Mastering the Art of Success, co-authored with Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul); numerous published articles and host of KDWA radio’s Hypnosis Today with Cindy Locher (2009 — 2012).
- Speaker; invited and featured speaker/workshop leader/ lecturer at national and international conferences including National Guild of Hypnotists; International Medical and Dental Hypnosis Association; The International Hypnosis Convention (multiple cities in Mexico and South America); Hypnothoughts Conference; and various colleges and private conferences within the Midwest.
I abide by and conform with the Code of Ethics of the National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists.
