About

Donald Pelles, PhD, Certified Hypnotherapist

In practice since 2007, Donald Pelles, PhD, provides hypnotherapy services to the greater Washington, DC area and beyond. He works with clients worldwide via the internet, Skype, and telephone.

 

Donald Pelles, a Certified Hypnotherapist, is certified by and a member of IMDHA (the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association). IMDHA requires continuing education credits to maintain certification. Dr. Pelles regularly attends and presents at the annual IMDHA Hypno-Expo

 

Donald grew up in Kansas City, MO, where he was a musician and a track star. He graduated from Harvard College in mathematics, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to earn his M.A. and Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley; his dissertation remains a significant contribution to the field. He served as a Mathematics professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

 

He later pursued a successful 28-year career as a software developer. Most people think only of the logical, coding side of software development. Donald's strength was in creativity and problem-solving, generating solutions beyond the coding issues; to make software engaging and useful. Those are the skills he brings to the “hardware” of the human mind, with hypnotherapy and NLP. There is always a solution if you are willing to look at a problem from different angles. Donald is an effective guide in that process.

 
Hypnotherapy is Dr. Pelles' third career. He brings to this practice a wealth of life experience and wisdom that can come only from wide and varied study.  He brings to hypnotherapy more than three decades of creative problem solving to a new "software," that of the human consciousness.

 

Donald's fascination with hypnosis began as a child watching a cartoon program. Several other encounters through his life lead him eventually to try it himself. After one session he stopped a longstanding habit of cracking his knuckles. This may seem a minor issue, but it convinced him of the power of hypnosis. He began to study the phenomenon himself, applying the same intellect that had produced his success at Harvard and Berkeley. He earned his basic certification, and has gone on to study a wide variety of techniques and strategies so as to tailor his approach to individual clients.

 

He has continued his professional development with trainings and certifications in NLP (NeuroLinguistic Programming), Metaphors of Movement, Parts Therapy, IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy), and Post Traumatic Stress. He is licensed as a trainer in Core Transformation and Wholeness, two powerful processes he utilizes in working with his clients and loves to teach.

 

Many of his clients have remarked on the sense of calm they feel in Donald’s presence, his soothing and hypnotic voice, and the peaceful, relaxed atmosphere he has created in his office, all leading to an aura of connection and rapport that enables the resolution of their difficult and long-standing issues.