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hypnotherapy500

Jennie Chen Volet is a highly qualified and experienced hypnotherapist, who has recently opened an office in the Geneva Plainpalais area. Keen to spread the word about her new business, she offered a session to Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman last November. Lisa was suffering from unrestful sleep due to clenching and grinding her teeth. Would hypnotherapy help?

Before she went, Lisa asked those around her if they had ever tried hypnotherapy and what impression they had of it. Most had preconceptions involving losing control and being under the power of someone else... how wrong they were!

Jennie's smile, welcome, and calm disposition were a welcome sight at the rendez-vous. “Sit down, take off your shoes, put your feet up, and let's talk. I'll explain what I am going to do, that you will be conscious all the time, that at any moment you can scratch your nose if you like! Your mind has layers of conscious, preconscious, and subconscious. All I am going to do is lead you there. Once we are at the subconscious we will try to unlock the reasons for clenching and grinding your teeth. Once we have discovered the basis we can find alternatives. Understanding is the key.”

Wikipedia’s definition of “understanding” is “a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object.”

wiser humans hiba

Hiba Giacoletto, an experienced psychologist and coach - and long-time knowitall.ch guest blogger – has just launched a new business in Geneva and Lausanne aimed at teaching clients “skills for living”.

Called Wiser Humans, Hiba’s new business is targeted at all those people who sometimes find that life seems a little too crazy, either because they are feeling out of control, or stuck, or lost … or any number of other adjectives that describe that hopeless feeling you get when things are just not going right!

With a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Lausanne, and qualified as a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), Hiba has, for the last few years, been running her own food-oriented coaching business called Healthwise.  However, as her individual and group session work has increasingly taken her in the direction of more general issues to do with psychology, she has now decided to set up “Wiser Humans” because, as she puts it, “being human is hard” and we could all benefit from being a little bit wiser!

Hiba told us, “I created Wiser Humans because I noticed there is so much unhelpful information out there like ‘just choose happiness’ or ‘just think positive!’. And then we are told there is something wrong with us if we can’t do this.”

Christmas services2015

We have now updated our list of Christmas church services for 2016.  If you would like to attend one of the many services happening in Geneva, Vaud and neighboring France this year, please take a look at the following list, which we have compiled from the websites of local churches. Some of them are French-speaking but most are English-speaking churches. Please check the websites before setting out, in case any of the times or locations have changed.

If your local church has not yet posted details of their services, please come back and check the article again later, as we will update the list when details become available.

If you know about other services in your area, please let us know.

doggywash1

Free wash for knowitall.ch readers’ dogs the first time you visit!

A new walk-in center for washing dogs has just opened in Geneva.

The first center of its kind to be opened in this region, Doggy Wash & Snack provides a self-service grooming facility that is open 7 days a week, 12h to 20h.  So no matter when and where your dog gets into a mess, you can bring him straight into the center for a quick wash and dry, safe in the knowledge that you won’t have to bring any dirt into your home!

If you’d rather not get your own hands dirty, Doggy Wash & Snack also offers a full professional grooming service, which can be booked in advance for your dog. In addition, the center has around 50,000 accessories and 15,000 items of pet food, many of which are on sale at the center, or can be ordered through the company’s website, www.doggywash.ch. If you live in downtown Geneva, you can also take advantage of free delivery on orders over Fr. 80.-, or you can use the drive-in option to collect items without needing to step out of your car! If delivery is absolutely essential, you can pay Fr. 10.- for orders under Fr. 80.-. If you have a car and more time to browse the shop there is also a parking spot in front of the store.

annabelle Maison

by Hiba Giacoletto, Healthwise

Imagine an environment so peaceful you feel safe as soon as you step into it.

A place where you can let go of your burdens and start anew.

This is the vision behind La Maison AnnaBelle which provides supportive housing for women working towards recovery from all types of disordered eating such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, over exercising, overeating, orthorexia or EDNOS - Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.

This beautiful house perched on the hills above Montreux, in Chernex, provides a judgement-free zone away from home, where women facing eating disorders can finally put down their baggage and work on recovery away from outside pressure.