Counseling | EMDR | Hypnotherapy | Coaching
Freedom Awaits
Are you still feeling stuck after doing a lot of therapy? You are not alone. In my own journey, I found that talking things through could only take me so far.
Long-standing struggles are often rooted more deeply than we first realize. I use EMDR and hypnotherapy to help people shift stubborn patterns that talk therapy may not fully reach.
If this sounds like the kind of help you have been looking for, click the “Request Appointment” button below to schedule a no-cost consultation.
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling | EMDR-Trained | Board-Certified Hypnotherapist
Common Reasons People Reach Out
Trauma & PTSD
Process painful experiences, reduce triggers, and build a greater sense of safety and stability.
Anxiety & Overthinking
Relieve chronic stress, fear, and internal pressure.
Habits & Self-Defeating Patterns
Work through the deeper issues behind smoking, drinking, avoidance, and other unwanted behaviors.
Spirituality & Religion
Navigate deeper questions of meaning, spirituality, and faith.
Boundaries & Relationships
Develop healthier boundaries, stronger communication, and more secure connections.
Life Direction
Clarify your next steps in work, relationships, and personal growth.
Creativity, Performance & Expression
Address blocks, fear, and self-doubt that interfere with authentic expression and creative flow.
A Proactive Approach
My style is genuine, enthusiastic, and actively engaged. I look for opportunities to help clients work through deeper blocks using attentive listening, thoughtful reflection, active guidance, and deeper processing when needed. I also take a strengths-based approach, helping clients recognize what they do well, what they enjoy, and what feels meaningful to them.
"John helped me with trauma and saved my life. I had debilitating PTSD and woke up wanting to die for three years despite therapy, medication, and hospitalization... I think hypnosis is essential for people who have reoccurring intrusive thoughts, and I highly recommend John Utter’s expertise. He is a very talented person who can see and reach people. He likes to see people on the other side of the mountain."
- Hilma J.
Training & Background
Counseling & evidence-based care
Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a trauma-informed and ethically grounded approach.
EMDR therapy
Trained in EMDR for trauma, distressing memories, and stuck patterns that continue to affect present-day life.
Clinical hypnosis
Board-certified hypnotherapist and one of a small number of board-certified 5-PATH practitioners worldwide.
Trauma healing
Additional study and training with leading voices in trauma treatment, including Bessel van der Kolk and Deb Dana.
Spirituality & Religion
Knowledgeable of most of the world's major spiritual traditions, and many others. Experience helping with religious trauma & finding one's authentic spiritual path.
Communication & psychological safety
Certified Conversational Intelligence® Coach with extensive experience helping individuals and teams build trust, safety, and healthier patterns of communication.
Personality, strengths & self-understanding
Certified Myers-Briggs Practitioner with extensive experience helping people understand their strengths, blind spots, and growth process.
Creativity, performance & reinvention
Former major-label recording artist with firsthand understanding of creativity, performance pressure, identity, and transformation.
Career Guidance
Author of the Map for Success, a career guide recognized by Al Gore's National Performance Review.
What Clients Are Saying
These testimonials reflect clients’ experiences with my hypnosis and transformational work. My counseling practice also draws from EMDR, trauma-informed care, and evidence-based clinical training.
By the end of the session, I felt noticeably different. There was a sense of lightness and calm that I hadn't experienced in a long time. It's hard to describe, but it's like I finally accepted this helpless part of myself from the past. I never expected to feel this good after just one session. If you're considering hypnotherapy, I highly recommend giving John at Utter Hypnosis a try. It did something for me that I couldn't achieve on my own. I'm still kind of in awe of how much better I feel after this experience.
I definitely recommend 5 stars for John Utter of Utter Hypnosis. Joanne M.
He thought it would be in my best interest :
(our sessions were about how to further develop medical intuition, animal communication and bringing psychic abilities to ta place where they are clear and eliminating some health issues),
to include some coaching as well and provided great information.
His kindness and desire for his clients' to get the best out of life is evident in everything he does.
I thank you John. So do my clients and wild horses!
From High Achievement to Deep Transformation
Have you ever felt lost after achieving a big goal, even when your life looked wonderful to everyone else, or when you were navigating a major life change?
Landing a major-label recording deal and having my music played around the world left me with severe anxiety and depression. I had spent years chasing wild success, believing it would make me happy, but the depression stopped me in my tracks, and I eventually lost the recording contract.
Heartbroken and lost, I set out on a decades-long journey - working through trauma, re-examining my core beliefs, and uncovering the tools, principles, and practices that create true fulfillment and meaningful direction.
That journey led me to my calling. In addition to playing music, I now guide others to create lives filled with meaning, satisfaction, and success on their own terms."
