TINA MARKOE KINSLOW/Courier-Post Joanne Traynham is a hypnotherapist who treats people to help them lose weight or stop smoking. She is branching out into hypnobirthing.

Traynham is a hypnotherapist. Recognized as an alternative medicine, hypnotherapy is a way for people to improve themselves by using the power of suggestion.

"You have to be ready and willing to change," said Traynham in a recent interview. "Your subconscious mind takes over."

Hypnotherapy is not mysterious, she said.

"I never say, `You're getting very sleepy,' " she said, laughing. "People think they don't have control, but they do. They never lose consciousness."

Small-business owner Kathy Sandecki of Haddon Township turned to Traynham when she wanted to quit smoking. After one session, Sandecki gave up her 20-year, pack-a-day habit.

"I was very skeptical at first, but it's not like they show on TV. I was completely conscious and in control the whole time," recalls Sandecki, who runs Hair of the Dog grooming in Haddonfield.

Now, three months later, Sandecki hasn't puffed another cigarette.

"I don't think I had (nicotine) withdrawal. I never felt it. I felt a low-grade anxiety about not having any anxiety," she said.

Traynham gave Sandecki a tape of the session so she can hypnotize herself at home when she needs it.

Now Traynham is branching out to offer "hypnobirthing," a new-age technique where clients are hypnotized or self-hypnotized to go through labor with little or no pain medication.

"It's about being peaceful and calm. It's mind over matter for the pain," she said.

The lingo for hypnobirthing is slightly different, Traynham said. For example, women don't have contractions, but rather uterine surges, she said. Instead of saying "labor," hypnotherapists say "birthing." Mothers don't push, they "breathe down."

Traynham did self-hypnosis for the birth of her daughter, Julia, three years ago, although she did receive an epidural, too.

"I went into labor with no fear, but with total excitement. I was confident that I was going to have a healthy baby."

For hypnobirthing, Traynham educates mothers about releasing the fear of labor.

For $500, an expectant mother will get four or five sessions, tapes of the one-on-one sessions and advice on breathing techniques. Traynham will also go to the hospital to do hypnotherapy for free, if the mother wants her there.

"It's very natural. There's no crying or screaming or moaning," she said.

Traynham is one of a handful of licensed hypnotherapists in New Jersey who are trained to perform hypnobirth.

Although Lourdes Wellness Center in Collingswood doesn't offer hypnobirthing, it offers alternative services, such as group hypnotherapy, massages, meditation, nutrition classes and yoga, said staffer Elizabeth Moeller.

"Our classes work hand in hand with Western medicine rather than taking its place," said Moeller.

Wendy Marano, spokeswoman for Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, said many people in the medical community believe alternative medicine complements traditional medicine, while some doctors think "It's all bunk."

Marano said that Lourdes Wellness Center has been thriving for more than 20 years.

"Some people believe alternative medicine is the holistic approach to medicine," Marano said.

Traynham, 30, has been practicing hypnotherapy for six years and set up an office on Mount Vernon Avenue in Haddonfield about a year ago. Traynham grew up in Collingswood and married her high school sweetheart, Terence. She graduated from Rutgers University in Camden with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2000.

Originally, she wanted to be a therapist or psychologist, but after taking a college class in hypnotherapy, she was intrigued.

"With hypnotherapy, you can heal a person in one session and I liked that," said Traynham, who now lives in Mount Laurel.