Counseling | EMDR | Hypnotherapy | Coaching

Heal Deeply. Live More Freely

I help adults work through trauma, anxiety, limiting patterns, and life transitions so they can experience greater clarity, stability, and meaning.

My approach integrates experience as a counselor, EMDR practitioner, hypnotherapist, and coach to help people heal deeply and create lasting change.

I work with a wide range of clients, including helping professionals, creatives, and others seeking a life that feels more grounded, effective, and meaningful.

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MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling | EMDR-Trained | Board-Certified Hypnotherapist

How I Help

My work is designed to help people move beyond symptom management and to facilitate sustainable transformation. Whether you are dealing with trauma, anxiety, unhealthy habits, relationship struggles, or a loss of direction, I aim to provide a grounded and effective path forward.

As a former major-label recording artist, I understand the gap that can exist between outward success and inner well-being. That experience deepened my commitment to the work I do now.

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.

Boundaries & Relationships
Develop healthier boundaries, stronger communication, and more secure connections.

Life Direction, Meaning & Purpose
Clarify your next steps in work, relationships, creativity, and personal growth. I also help people navigate deeper questions of meaning, spirituality, and faith.

Creativity, Performance & Expression
Address blocks, fear, and self-doubt that interfere with authentic expression and creative flow.

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The Other Side of Trauma

"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.

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.

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.

Farhana Rahman

03:21 01 Jul 24

I recently had a session with John at Utter Hypnosis, and I'm still amazed by the experience. I went to him as I was dealing with some awful imaginary flashbacks about my loved ones that were really messing with my head. John impressed me right from the start. He quickly understood what I was going through without me having to explain every little detail. He also helped me to get into a trance state very quickly. During the hypnosis, I had a powerful encounter with my inner child. It felt incredibly real. I found myself giving her love and compassion, which led to an intense emotional release. I was sobbing, but it felt cathartic.
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.

Kelsey

22:31 07 Mar 23

My experience with John has been incredibly helpful for getting past some stubborn old habits and brain patterns. I've done hypnotherapy before, but I didn't get much from it. After 5 sessions with John, I don't know if it was the hypnosis or the conversations outside of it, I feel like I am in a much better space mentally. He helped me overcome strange thought patterns and mindsets that had left me a bit stumped previously. Immediately after the 5 sessions, I was unsure if anything was really accomplished, but as time went on I started to notice how much had changed. Daily activities weren't all a chore, I was able to set aside stress from work better, I felt better at accepting others. It was subtle, but overall, I feel I have stepped into a new version of myself. I am writing this review about 4 months since my last session because I wanted to see if the effects were lasting, and I would say they definitely are. This is not to say that every day is the best day I've ever lived, or that suddenly I'm the best person ever, but I definitely feel changed for the better. Additionally, John is an exceptional conversationalist and just a really interesting person to talk to. Often, I would tell him what I perceived was a problem, and he was able to reframe it in ways that I had never thought about, helping me to accept some parts of myself that I previously have been ashamed of. I highly recommend seeing John, especially if you feel like your at a point of stagnation from other therapy.

Shawndra McWhorter-Michell

04:35 16 Feb 23

Working with John has been absolutely amazing and life changing! This is truly something that works as it gets to the cause and really resolves the issue. I could tell tangible results from the first session. My craving for sugar just dropped away. It’s been a few months since then and the craving is still gone. It’s so freeing, and kind of a miracle because nothing has ever worked before.

Adrienne Beattie

05:34 11 Feb 23

John is a gifted hypnotherapist who has the ability to put one at immediate ease with his open hearted, attentive manner. I came with the hope (but not the belief) that he could help me with my anxiety & IBS-like symptoms & expected to be there for the long haul. First session I left incredulous that my underlying hypervigilance & digestive issues had completely calmed & this sense of homeostasis has continued. His ability to listen & constantly check in to ensure he's clearly tracking what I am saying creates a safe 'refuge'. I felt seen, heard & validated (& transformed!) I highly recommend John

Joanne Marcoe

03:56 10 Feb 23

Age does not matter when doing Hypnosis. I say this because I am long past retirement age; I lost my profession of 30yrs because of the Pandemic so I decided to find a new career. I can say I feel much younger as a result and was taught great skills to help me navigate this gigantic event. I am still viable and I need and want to work. During the Hypnosis process I found replenishment and completed an important connection with "my teen inner-self” who had been disregarded and was still stuck in that hurt. My “outer-self “ had aged but my “inner-teen-self” still held the sting of those early teenage years. John helped me to navigate this interaction within my inner world. His superpower was also to help me understand aspects of my mind and personality. He listened supportively allowing me to uncover and release this very old aspect of my inner being. As a result I was able to connect with a frozen part of me who’s deflating energy was dragging me down. Being boosted from the Hypnosis process has blended and replenished me.
I definitely recommend 5 stars for John Utter of Utter Hypnosis. Joanne M.

Mika Tamaki: Plant-Based Health Coaching & Yoga

18:56 14 Nov 22

Working with John has made such a difference for me! His gentle and knowledgeable approach put me at ease right away. John is kind, caring and listens with a profoundly compassionate presence. Our hypnotherapy sessions, although a little bit different in focus each time, dove deep and helped to dislodge fears and unresolved struggles I've had for years. Through my experience with Utter Hypnotherapy, I have seen dramatic improvements in my anxiety and stress levels, in my IBS symptoms, and in my relationship with myself. I would highly recommend this safe and versatile form of therapy to everyone!

Aya Canyarri

20:38 29 Jun 22

John did an amazing job. During our hypnosis sessions he was empathic, kind, and thoughtful.
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!

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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."

2021 with my favorite guitar. Feels so good.