“I Don’t Treat a Habit — I Guide the Soul Toward Freedom”

An Interview with Hypnotherapist Alex Peter Ivanov

– Interviewer: Alexey, you don’t advertise your practice in the usual way. People come to you through word of mouth. Why did you choose this path?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: Because advertising is external. But healing begins from within. When someone comes through personal recommendation, it’s no longer just curiosity — it’s trust. One person breaks free from addiction and tells another. The other sees the result — a change in voice, in posture, in the light in the eyes. And then, in their subconscious, a crucial belief forms: “If it worked for them, it can work for me.” That’s no longer hope — it’s conviction, grounded in lived experience. And that’s what prepares a person for real change.

– Interviewer: So you believe that the recovery story of a previous client becomes the beginning of therapy for the next?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: Exactly. A story is more than a narrative — it’s a living matrix of transformation. And if someone accepts that story, they step into a space of possibility. That’s how the internal algorithm of trust begins to work. That inner bridge between “what was” and “what is” — it’s already therapeutic. It becomes my first point of entry.

– Interviewer: How would you describe what happens in a session? What is your process?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: It’s not exactly “work.” It’s more like a dance — slow, careful, responsive. I lead, yes — but gently. And when the client allows themselves to be led, when trust enters the room, something happens that many call a miracle. But it’s not magic. It’s attunement. Subtle, living, and deeply human. That’s where healing begins.

– Interviewer: People often ask: what’s your success rate? Is it even possible to measure hypnotherapy in percentages?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: Percentages are a convenient illusion. But I don’t believe my practice belongs to the realm of numbers. If someone comes to me because a loved one recovered — that’s already 100%. Because this isn’t about data — it’s about a life visibly changed. I don’t need to present statistics — I only need to see that people keep coming. That is the result. And that result is my most meaningful “certificate.”

– Interviewer: Do people ever ask to see your diplomas or certifications?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: Occasionally. Very rarely. Usually it’s those who haven’t yet witnessed the outcomes of my work. Maybe once or twice a year. But those who’ve seen real change — they don’t ask. They’ve already seen the most important proof: someone who once suffered is now free. What paper could speak louder than that?

– Interviewer: Would it be fair to say that you don’t work with a habit, but with the person?

– Alex Peter Ivanov: With the person — and with their pain. Addiction isn’t a desire — it’s a symptom. The illness lives in traumatic biography: in childhood, in loss, in humiliation, in not being heard. A person doesn’t choose to drink — they simply can’t not drink. It’s a way to forget pain. I help that pain emerge and be heard. And only then can someone say, “I choose sobriety” — not from fear, but from strength. From dignity. From an inner light.

– Interviewer: Many of your colleagues are curious about your method.

– Alex Peter Ivanov: Many have asked me: “Can this be taught?” And I understand the desire. But the truth is, what I do isn’t a protocol or a step-by-step method. It’s something far more alive. It’s not a technique — it’s a touch. A subtle space where not minds, but souls meet.
My close ones sometimes say: You’re not treating — you’re becoming a channel. A channel between something higher and the one who seeks healing. I won’t argue. But what I do know for certain is this: when a person is sitting in front of me, and I feel the words coming not from my mind, but through me — that is the moment real transformation begins.

Closing Statement

Alex Peter Ivanov: I often tell my clients: You didn’t come to me — you came back to yourself. I merely walked alongside.
Hypnotherapy, as I see it, is not about imposing, forbidding, or “reprogramming.” It’s a return. A return to one’s true self. And if, at some point, I became someone who helped illuminate that path — then my work was not in vain.

I don’t give people strength. I help them remember that it was always there.