Anneke Kruit: from curiosity to hypnosis practice

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.

Later, she took her other daughter, who had a soy allergy, to a hypnotherapist on Texel. There, something happened again that moved her: after just one session, her daughter was free of her symptoms.

From that moment on, Anneke wanted to understand how that was possible. She started searching online, came across Edwin Selij , and discovered that hypnosis is actually a very natural state—one you experience more often than you realize. For example, when you’re 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

“Once you’ve attended a few of Edwin’s seminars, it actually feels like a logical next step to enroll in that training program.”

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 potential new direction, but also as a form of personal development. She also had her own issues she wanted to address, such as coming to terms with her divorce, nail-biting, and figuring out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. “I’ve always felt the need to grow,” she says.

In 2022, Anneke completed the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands’ Level 1 course. The course was online, which she found practical and enjoyable. She was able to participate from home while getting to know people from all over the country and even beyond. “I really enjoyed that.”

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, the HIN began to appeal to her again. The 2.0 course in particular appealed to her because it places a strong emphasis on the initial consultation. And according to Anneke, that’s important. “You can very quickly get swept up in a client’s story.”

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 all the more rewarding. 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 stayed with her is a boy with tics. Because of them, he was bullied at school. After the sessions, the tics disappeared, his self-confidence grew, and he began to enjoy school again. He’s now a member of the volunteer fire department, has many friends, and enjoys boating. “It makes you think: I played a small part in that.”

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 .

One client with a fear of driving also left a lasting impression on her. This woman was brought in by her husband because she no longer dared to drive herself. After the first session, Anneke gave her an anchor for self-confidence—as she often does—in the form of a small squeeze heart. When Anneke asked how the woman was feeling, she said she actually felt like driving. Her husband pulled up, she got behind the wheel, and drove away on her own. “That was fantastic, of course.”

In her practice, Anneke works with issues such as quitting smoking, weight loss, anxiety, self-confidence, and mental blocks. She is also a member of Hypnosezorg, an umbrella organization. To her, this feels like a sign 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’re done, or they come back later with a different issue.

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 completed the 3.0 course at the HIN. That course felt different from the previous ones, mainly because it was much more live-based. She enjoyed that, but also found it exciting. During the 3.0 course, students had to submit live sessions and received personalized 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 acuity.

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 taking a course. It brought her personal growth, new friendships, greater self-confidence, and a professional path that suits her. She stayed in touch with people from the courses and can still bounce ideas off colleagues.

She finds it perhaps most rewarding that she can now help others through hypnosis—especially when she sees young people regaining their sense of empowerment. 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’re unique, but if you don’t feel it yourself, it doesn’t sink in. Once that penny drops, other things often fall into place 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 intended for novice therapists—for example, people who have completed the 1.0 or 2.0 courses and would like to gain more confidence in their sessions. Anneke also shares practical elements from her own approach, such as using a “squeezed heart” as an anchor and explanations of various 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 use it to help other people.”

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-hypnose.nl

Also helping people with hypnosis?

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