Lori Harber

A native to Atlanta, Lori Harber began practicing meditation after losing her father to Diabetes in 1992.  In an effort to stay as involved as possible in overall health and balance, she received a yoga certification and started traveling to Miraval, a mindfulness spa in Arizona. There, she became a mindfulness practitioner and soon after a teacher.

Lori experienced anxiety as a child and never had the tools to cope with her struggles.  After meeting her husband in 1999, she experienced her first panic attack and was forced to seek out help for herself. She found a therapist and would say today if she had found a hypnotherapist then, it would have made a huge difference in the time it took her to heal.

Everyone always asks how I decided to become a Hypnotherapist. So, here’s how it all started.

Here’s my story… 

When my oldest daughter was 3 ½, she saw her first Disney movie. It was the Princess and the Frog. I remember having to leave the theatre the minute she met the witch doctor, it scared her so badly. 

At that time, she was a great sleeper. Every morning she would yell into the baby monitor, “mommy, daddy, I’m up…come get me!”. One day, I said to her, “you know, you can actually get up in the morning and just come in our room, you don’t have to yell into the monitor!”. BIG MISTAKE!!! 

From that day on, she would come in our room the minute she woke up. The problem was, it got earlier and earlier until she was coming in every night between 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. every morning. We tried everything to get her to stay in her own bed, sleep books, behavior modification therapists, bribery…I literally bought half the Disney store! Nothing worked. Finally, we went to see a therapist who told her that she could sleep anywhere in the house she wanted, but she can no longer come in our room. He told her if she did, we were going to shut our door. She had separation anxiety and that would have been the worst thing in the world for her. So, beginning that night, she dragged her sleeping bag out of her room between 12 and 2 a.m. every night and slept on the floor outside our bedroom. This went on for almost 3 ½ years…YES, I said years! 

One night my husband and I were out for dinner with some friends. Our good friend asked if our daughter was still sleeping on the floor outside of our room. I said, with extremely tired eyes, YES…she is STILL sleeping on a hardwood floor, in a sleeping bag, outside of our door. He began to tell us a story of an Iron Man race he did when he was young. He apparently had a panic attack to during the swim portion of the race and literally sank to the bottom on the lake. A rescue team had to come and pull him out. He wouldn’t get back in the water for years. Several years later, someone told him about a Hypnotherapist that helped him get over his fear of water. 

I couldn’t believe I had not thought of this sooner! I have been a Yoga teacher, Pilates Instructor, Mindfulness Practitioner and meditated daily… how did I not think of Hypnosis? 

I reached out to his Hypnotherapist and introduced my daughter to her. She asked 3 questions: Are you ready to make a change? Do you have an imagination? Do you trust me? My daughter said without a doubt YES, she was ready! We saw this Hypnotherapist 3 times and nothing really changed. I was extremely disappointed, but I knew she wouldn’t be on my floor forever. The night of the 4th session, I woke to use the bathroom and my daughter was not on my floor. I couldn’t breath! I absolutely thought she was dead…I ran to her room to check her breathing…she’s now 7 at this point. She was sound asleep and hasn’t gotten out of bed in the middle of the night since! 

I was blown away and shared this story to dozens of people. I received a call months later by the Hypnotherapist thanking me for all the referrals. I was confused, what referrals? Several people I told the story to, went to see her for help with their own habits and issues. She told me I have 6 free sessions as a Thank You for all the referrals. Instead of using them, I signed up for her next certification course and became a Hypnotherapist! 

I never intended on opening a practice. However, in order to get your certificate, you have to Hypnotize A LOT of people, friends and family, anyone willing, for free. I was able to help so many people, I decided to open a practice. In 2015, that’s how I began Perform Hypnotherapy! 

Soon after, a few Pediatricians saw their own patients who I also was able to help. They told their story to their doctors and how I was able to help. They now refer their patients also. 

I make sure to tell all my clients. I am just a mom, who had a daughter that struggled with anxiety and found a way to help her. I realized that I could help you too!