Devin Ryback | Hypnotherapist in Ithaca, New York

Hypnotherapy Certificates and Formal Education

I completed my clinical hypnotherapy training in 2017 at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America, earning the title of Certified Medical Support Clinical Hypnotherapist.

In 2015 I completed my B.A. in Integrative Healing at SUNY Empire State College. This was an interdisciplinary degree combining studies and research in the fields of Psychology, Philosophy, and Holistic Wellness.

From 2010 to 2012, and from 2013 to 2014, I studied Psychology and Philosophy at SUNY Binghamton University. I paused my studies for a year to pursue personal development through travel to Perú.

How Mindfulness Meditation Saved My Life

In late 2012 I became severely depressed and dissociated. I almost didn’t make it through. My nervous system was in chronic sympathetic fight-or-flight mode, and my mind was in great distress. The therapy available to me at the time was not helpful, and I was seeking an approach which aligned with my holistic perspective on healing.

Then I found mindfulness meditation. I began practicing every day like my life depended on it (because my life did depend on it). Ten minutes per day eventually became twenty, thirty, one hour, twice per day. Within a few months my mind and body were in harmony. I felt deep inner peace, and balance.

I continue my mindfulness practice to this day. Years of daily practice have created a new beneficial pattern in my being. Mindfulness has become an automatic function of my mind, and the foundation for my entire way of life.

How I Became a Hypnotherapist

In 2016 I was accepted into the Master of Social Work program at SUNY Stony Brook University. I was looking for a next step on my path into a role of service. Only three months into this program, however, I realized and decided that it was not for me.

My decision to close that door led to another one opening: hypnotherapy. It was an “aha! moment”. My holistic values, my advanced communication skills, my soothing voice (so I’ve been told), my interest in alternative healing modalities, my childhood curiosity with hypnosis, and my personal knowledge of the power of the mind, all converged in my clinical hypnotherapy training.

I had found a way to channel my capacity for healing into a role of service. Completing my hypnotherapy training was one of the most impactful and important decisions of my life, and I am honored to be able to share this powerful healing method with people who need it.

My Journey with Psychedelic Medicine

My journey began in 2011 in undergraduate school, continues to this day, fourteen years later, and will continue for the rest of my life. Psychedelics and plant medicines are extremely powerful and should be used in a spirit and mindset of reverence and highest respect.

These medicines have brought me deeper into my self than any other method I have experienced. They have shown me the parts of myself who were hurting the most, and how to love them unconditionally. They have introduced me to lineages of knowledge and wisdom beyond anything I could have previously imagined. Psychedelics and plant medicines, in the most unfathomably personal and masterful way, have educated me in the art of healing the self, and thus healing the whole.

I have worked personally with LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, MDA, DMT, and Ayahuasca. But ingesting these molecules is only part of the process. Maintaining the context of medicine, holding the intention of healing, and engaging in proper integration of the experience, are all required when working with psychedelics and plant medicines to ensure the deepest and most healing outcome.

Thank You, Teachers

I was, and am, blessed to have very wise teachers to guide me on this path. Everything I learn—everything—I integrate with my hypnotherapy practice.

Doing this work is more than a mere job for me. It is Service. And Service is sacred. It truly is an honor to share what I have learned.

May the Wisdom of those who have walked this path before me, guide me.

Thank you.