Sometimes a new direction in your life doesn’t start with a grand plan, but with a neighbor who suddenly quits smoking. Just like that, from one day to the next. No months-long struggle, no nicotine patches, no “I’ll try one more time”—just done.
For Anneke Kruit of Medemblik, that was when her curiosity was piqued. Her opposite neighbor, a heavy smoker, appeared to have quit after one session of hypnosis. "I asked her how she managed that. Then she said: I just went into hypnosis." That fascinated Anneke. Especially since that neighbor had driven all the way to Assen for that. "I thought: why so far? Is there no one around here who does this?"
That demand proved to be the beginning of a new path. Anneke now combines her job at Odin, an organic supermarket, with her own hypnosis practice at home. In her Floria Hypnosis practice, she receives clients in a beautiful space at home, but she also works online.
That very combination suits her well. In the store, she works in a small team, helping customers, learning a lot about organic food and meeting people who are open to hypnosis. Her cards hang on the bulletin board and people from the store have also come to her through a lecture in Medemblik.
How hypnosis drew her curiosity
"My opposite neighbor was a heavy smoker and had quit overnight. When I asked how, she turned out to have had one session of hypnosis."
After that experience, hypnosis kept coming Anneke's way. With her youngest daughter, she visited a hypnotherapist, but it didn't work at the time. "She wasn't that open to it either," Anneke explains soberly.
She later took her other daughter, who had a soy allergy, to a hypnotherapist on Texel. There again, something happened that touched her: after one session, her daughter was rid of the complaint.
From then on, Anneke wanted to understand how this could be done. She googled, got in touch with Edwin Selij and discovered that hypnosis is actually a very natural state. A state in which you are more often than you think. For example, when you are completely absorbed in a car ride, a book or a creative process.
She recognized this in herself as well. Anneke has written several books, including fiction and a family history about the Kruit family. While working on that family book, she once became so deeply concentrated that she didn't "wake up," so to speak, until hours later. She was cold, stiff and needed to go to the bathroom. Later she thought: so then I was in hypnosis. "It was wonderful, that focus. You are working so nicely."
From interest to training
"If you experience a couple of Edwin's seminars, it actually feels like a natural progression to do that training."
At the time, Anneke was still working at a call center, where she spent 16 years. She had experienced mergers and began to think about the future. What did she still want? What could she still do? And what might a plan B look like?
Hypnosis felt right. Not only as a possible new direction, but also as personal development. She herself had themes she wanted to work on, such as processing her divorce, nail biting and wondering what else she wanted to do with her life. "I always had a need to develop myself," she says.
In 2022, Anneke completed Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' 1.0. That training was online, which she found practical and enjoyable. She could just participate from home while getting to know people from all over the country and even beyond. "I really enjoyed that," she says.
After completing Level 1.0, she didn’t immediately feel confident enough to start working full-time as a hypnotherapist. That’s why she also took other courses, which included in-person sessions in small groups. There, she was able to practice, gain experience, and further develop her own style.
Still, HIN began to attract her again. Especially the 2.0 appealed to her, because in it there is a lot of focus on the pre-conversation. And that, according to Anneke, is important. "You get sucked into a client's story very quickly."
Learning by making meters
"Making meters is just really important. I learned an awful lot from that."
Anneke started small. First in a bedroom, with friends and family. That was instructive, but also different from working with real clients. Family remains family after all, and then serious practice is sometimes more difficult.
Later, she set up a Social Deal and conducted about a hundred sessions. Financially, it didn’t yield much, but in terms of experience, it was invaluable. She learned to deal with different clients, expectations, and reactions. Because hypnosis is powerful, but it’s not a magic trick where the therapist solves everything for someone.
At the same time, more and more success experiences came. And those very experiences gave her confidence and energy.
One example that has stuck with her is a boy with tics. He was bullied at school as a result. After the sessions, the tics disappeared, his self-confidence grew and he enjoyed school more. He is now in the volunteer fire department, has many friends and likes to go boating. "Then you think: I contributed a little bit to that," he says.
Why she loves working with hypnosis
"The successes that kept coming gave me a lot of energy."
Anneke doesn’t necessarily call hypnosis a calling, but her enthusiasm is clear. She appreciates that hypnosis is brief and positively focused. It’s not about endless digging, but about seeing what someone needs to move forward. “If you take something away, you have to replace it with something else,” she says. For example, someone who quits smoking doesn’t want to start drinking or eating more as a result .
A client with driving anxiety also stuck with her. This woman was brought by her husband because she was afraid to drive herself. After the first session, Anneke gave her a self-confidence anchor, as she often does with a little squeeze. When Anneke asked how the woman felt, she said she actually felt like driving a car. Her husband pulled up in front, she got behind the wheel and drove off by herself. "That was fantastic, of course," she said.
In her practice, Anneke works with topics including, smoking cessation, weight loss, anxiety, self-confidence and blockages. She is also affiliated with Hypnosezorg, an umbrella organization. This feels to her like a piece of recognition and professionalism. At the same time, her work remains practical: she often sees people for a maximum of three sessions. After that they are done, or come back later with a different theme.
The 3.0 as deepening and professionalization
"What makes it exciting is that you have to submit live sessions, and then you are judged by Edwin himself," says Dr. K. K., who is a member of the community.
In November 2025, Anneke earned the 3.0 at the HIN. That training felt different from the earlier parts, mainly because it was much more live. She found that fun, but also exciting. During the 3.0, trainees had to submit live sessions and received personal feedback.
That is precisely what made the training valuable to her. You are confronted with things that can be done better or faster, not to rebuke, but to make your sessions stronger. "Then you're not just working as a group, you're really being guided individually," she says.
Anneke found the in-depth discussion during the preliminary consultation particularly interesting. Techniques related to the family panorama and self-image also appealed to her. She now regularly applies Lucas Derks’ family panorama in her work. As a result, the 3.0 program brought her greater refinement, more confidence, and greater professional acumen.
She also found live practice valuable. After training, that collaborative practice often falls away, when it is so important to stay sharp. The 3.0 brought her back into that active learning mode.
What HIN has meant to her
"It has enriched my life tremendously. I'm more positive in life, I'm happier and I can put things into perspective better."
For Anneke, the HIN has meant much more than just getting an education. It brought her personal growth, new friendships, more self-confidence and a professional path that suited her. She kept in touch with people from the trainings and can still spar with colleagues.
That she can now help other people through hypnosis is perhaps what she likes best of all. Especially when she sees young people regain their strength. For example, with a technique like the magic mirror, where people can suddenly feel that they are unique. "Someone can tell you a hundred times that you are unique, but if you don't feel it yourself, it doesn't land. When that penny drops, other pennies often drop as well."
Anneke loves that domino effect. One insight can start a whole movement. More confidence creates more space. Less fear creates more freedom. And that is exactly what makes her want to keep doing this work after she retires. Maybe less often, but she doesn't see herself stopping.
Also mean something to other therapists
"When I did the 3.0, I told Edwin about my protocol The Healing Bath. He encouraged me to do something with that."
In addition to her practice, Anneke developed her own protocol: The Healing Bath. For that, she created the website hethelendebad.nl, with materials for therapists. Think videos, explanations on how to record mp3s, a free pdf on symbols and an mp3 for sleeping well.
The material is primarily for beginning therapists, for example, people who have done the 1.0 or 2.0 and would like to become more confident in their sessions. In it, Anneke also shares practical elements from her own practice, such as the squeeze heart as an anchor and explanations of phenomena.
Thus, she not only helps clients, but also colleagues who are finding their way in the profession. This rounds out her development nicely: from curious participant to therapist, and from therapist to someone who can also give something to others.
A new direction that continues to grow
"It's so wonderful that I discovered this. Not only because it has enriched my own life, but also because I can help other people with it."
Anneke started with wonder. With a neighbor who quit smoking. With a daughter who seemed to be rid of an allergy after one session. With the question: how is this possible?
That question brought her to Edwin Selij, the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands, trainings, practice sessions, clients and eventually her own practice. Now she works from Floria Hypnose in Medemblik, both at home and online. She also develops material for therapists through Het Helende Bad and continues to deepen herself.
For Anneke, hypnosis is not a trick, but a way to help people move forward quickly, positively and purposefully. And perhaps that is exactly what the HIN has brought her: not only knowledge about hypnosis, but also a new perspective on herself, her future and what she can do for others.
You can find Anneke at Floria-hypnosis.com
Also helping people with hypnosis?
You can take the training in person or online. Would you like to have a no-obligation chat to see if this is right for you? Schedule a one-on-one consultation here. You won’t be speaking with a salesperson, but with an experienced HIN coach who works with this training program and clients on a daily basis. In 20–30 minutes, you’ll get a clear sense of whether this is the right step for you and which start date suits you best.
The schedule for these sessions fills up quickly around the start of each group. Is there still a time slot available that works for you? Then book it now.
