Photography by Julia Cartwright
Please do not confuse what hypnotherapist Katie T. Larson does with comedy club theatrics or mind control portrayed in cartoons, she asks.
Inside her dimly lit office at Our Wellness Community on Tyler Street in Oak Cliff, Larson helps clients retrieve memories of their previous lives. Some, even reincarnation doubters, say the experience has helped them live a fuller life this time around.
“Though skeptical of religion and the journey of the soul, I do believe that there’s a lot to uncover in my subconscious,” Larson’s client, Oak Cliff resident Jessi Hall, says. “I was interested to find out what past-life regression might help me uncover.”
Wearing business attire, colorful sneakers and an easy smile, Larson settles into the therapist seat beside a sofa and says, “I’m not crazy.”
She holds two graduate degrees — a master’s degree in teaching and a doctorate in leadership with a focus on transformative learning — she did a TEDx talk in Hong Kong, published a book and is working on a second. She taught science in New Zealand and traveled the world.
Now she has two children and a business in Oak Cliff where, among other things, she is a growth coach, holds group sessions for women and offers forms of hypnotherapy.
As a child, she says, she was sensitive and started remembering odd things — such as skinning a rabbit or having a drinking problem — that might signify a past life.
“I tried to tell my parents I hoped I wouldn’t be an alcoholic again,” she says. “They didn’t know what to think.”
When she under went past life regression therapy a few years ago, she says, she had clear memories of another time and place and she emerged more empathetic, connected to a higher power, less afraid of death and longing for more self-knowledge.
She knew she wanted to use this in her practice.
“It is powerful knowledge — life changing,” she says.
According to research by Pew, belief in reincarnation is “on par” with beliefs in other forms of afterlife, and about 75% of people report a belief in something beyond this life.
Past life regression can be beneficial no matter where you stand, Larson says.
“Even if what you see is metaphorical, it is still going to provide valuable insight,” she says.
Larson’s client Sarah Duncan, who is a practitioner in Garland, says a session with a skilled hypnotherapist is a worthwhile experience in a number of ways.
“Therapy is overall such a relaxing experience,” she says. “And Katie is an incredible practitioner who makes you feel safe and grounded and asks amazing questions. She prompts the discovery and exploration of the subconscious mind.”
During the first few minutes of a session — offered on a sliding scale — Larson tells the client what to expect. She uses imagery, suggestion, relaxation techniques and counting down to get to the trance state.
As Katie’s client, Duncan says she has opened doors to vivid memories in great detail.
“For me, it’s a really visual experience, like a movie where I’m the main character playing out before me,” Duncan says.
Jessi Hall says her session with Larson was her first experience with hypnosis, and it worked. She felt as if in a “conscious version of a dream state,” she says.
“I was guided through the experience, but I had a say in what I saw and what I expressed about it to Katie,” she says.
Hall saw a seaside cliff in the Netherlands, felt cold wind on her face and peripherally observed a wedding in her hypnosis state, she says.
“What I saw wasn’t a replay of my memories,” she says. “In my case, there are a few images that I saw clearly, and some were felt more than seen.”
In the 1980s, a prominent psychiatrist, Brian Weiss, popularized the PLR idea with his book called Many Lives, Many Masters, which described how he became a believer when, while working with a patient under hypnosis, he stumbled upon her past lives. Exploring that realm cured the patient of phobias and neurosis and revealed otherworldly knowledge.
Some critics have said that while the best-selling book is beautiful, it too closely resembles a religious text to be real. Others disapprove of the therapy, saying it encourages fantasy or can create false memories.
However, as critic Gabriel Andrade, a skeptical researcher who has written about Weiss, points out, “few medical associations have actually condemned it as unethical.”
In her book Past Life Therapy, Rabia Clark, found that clients’ and therapists’ belief in reincarnation or lack thereof has no impact on the outcome of the therapy.
“The key is understanding the perspectives of those who claim these experiences, and working with them to help them live successful, integrated present lives,” she says.
Larson communicates with clients for up to a month at no charge after their session to continue processing.
Hall says that has helped her to understand behavioral patterns confronted in the session.
“These were (habits) I was well aware of but didn’t necessarily expect from my session,” Hall says. “I’m not convinced I experienced a past life, but I’m certainly open to it. All in all, even if the session gave me a safe space to confront my past without reintroducing trauma, it was very worthwhile.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story erroneously identified Katie T. Larson as Katie Larson. It also erroneously identified her as a “wellness coach.” She is a growth coach.
