"I am grateful to Dr. Peterson for her wonderful instruction which has helped me apply the skills I've learned to proactively support women through such an important stage in their lives".

This program has certainly changed the course of my career, as it has led me on a path to certification in clinical hypnosis and the beginning of my own private practice. I would like to thank Dr. Peterson for this fantastic training program and for her amazing contribution to maternity care!

“My counseling practice has been a wonderful adjunct to my teaching, allowing me to expand my services to my students as well as to independent clients. “

The training in pregnancy and birth counseling with Dr. Gayle Peterson opened new worlds for me as a childbirth and parenting educator, enabling me to deepen my understanding of my students' birth and postpartum issues.  My teaching about pain-coping strategies became more body-centered, I began to include a body-centered hypnosis component to group classes and I was able to use language effectively in my contact with prenatal and postpartum clients.  With the current increase in cesarean births, I receive many VBAC referrals from midwives and physicians. I also developed a Cesarean Birth Healing Circle based on aspects of the training. 

“…that is the magic of this work: It is simple and yet powerful, archetypal and yet unique to the woman's individual needs.”

I have the unique perspective of having been able to use the Prenatal Counseling and Body-Centered Hypnosis both as an expectant mother and as a midwife. Going through the process during my pregnancy convinced me that it was a useful tool for building confidence and trust in my ability to naturally and actively give birth to twin babies. But it wasn't until I did the training that I realized how subtly and profoundly the model had really helped me in coping with my labor.  As a midwife I have often felt powerless to assist my clients in working through their fears before birth. Now I have the tools to do so in an effective and illuminating way. In addition, the model is perfectly suited for use with women who are struggling to become pregnant, either because of fertility challenges or chronic miscarriage. Thank you Gayle, for what you have offered me and other birthing women.

“It is such an elegant and subtle model, that oftentimes, a woman has no idea that she just made very deep changes in under an hour.”

The prenatal counseling has had a ripple effect on my birthing classes, breastfeeding education and doula services. The model is the most powerful tool I use. Finally I can sit one on one with a woman, assess her individual situation and effectively address and meet her needs. This work inspires me, and by the feedback I receive from my clients, it has the power to change women's lives.

“This Training is invaluable to anyone wanting to work with women during the childbearing period.”

Gayle Peterson’s unique model has given me an excellent framework to assess and treat the emotional and psychological challenges my clients face, as they become mothers. Her training affirmed for me the importance of pregnancy and birth as a developmental marker in a woman’s life and allowed me to apply principles and techniques of body-centered hypnosis to help women cope with anxiety, depression, infertility and loss. I also found the techniques taught in the training invaluable in my prenatal yoga class to help women feel comfortable in their bodies and instill confidence in their ability to give birth.

"I am grateful for Gayle's work both personally and professionally. Her Prenatal Counseling Training not only changes how a woman approaches childbirth, but how a woman relates and takes responsibility for her life experience."

Gayle Peterson's model allows practitioners to combine the physical with the emotional. When I prepared for the birth of my first child, my preparation was all information gathering. Once the first contraction hit, all that information went out the window. I used Gayle's model to prepare for the birth of my second child, and the knowledge I had was of a deeper experiential level of trust in my body's ability. It wasn't something that a text book could have taught me. Gayle's approach put me in touch with a deeper body knowledge.

…it is the only model I have ever found that integrates mind and body, sound clinical practice, and evidence-based holistic childbirth principles.

As a clinical psychologist, Gayle’s training provided me with a structure for providing short-term counseling for pregnant women and their partners. The Certification Training in Prenatal Counseling and Birth Hypnosis provided me with the foundation I needed to transform my practice into one that reflects my strengths and passion for working with women during the childbearing period. It was the missing piece I was looking for, and I am forever grateful for Gayle’s training.

Dear Gayle,

My husband and I were discussing last night how the counseling I did with you seemed to be a turning point for me-not only in the pregnancy, but in life as well. I understood for the first time how I had “lost touch” with the core of myself-how my upbringing contributed to that, and how I have been working my way back to connection that was lost. The visualization tape helped to restore that connection. I think it helped me out of the “intellect” and to trust my body and “inner knowing”. The birth went so well. And I feel strong and happy. Thank you!

Warmly,
Wendy R.

Dear Gayle,
I wanted to let you know how much I valued our sessions together. You keyed into issues that really needed to be addressed in my mind, and consequently I feel turned around and very optimistic about a new child.

Helen T.

Dear Gayle,

Thank you for the very positive effects I have experienced after our counseling sessions. When I left your office last, I felt light-headed. It was difficult to face my trauma but it was very well worth it. In the days that followed I experienced a “re-entry” into everyday life and I’ve had no terrible flashbacks. For this I am very grateful. You are a very gifted therapist.

Best Wishes,
Gayle B.

Dear Gayle,
If you recall I went to your originally because of my fear of childbirth, and the hypnosis not only helped tremendously when I birthed Stacy (who is now 19!) but it came right back to me when I had Sydney (who is just shy of 16). In fact, it worked other times too, it just was called up from the depths of my mind, subconsciously, when needed. The wave always, always returned to shore. For that I am forever grateful.

--Susan S.
May 2008