Sheldon Bilsker, Hypnotherapy Instructor, Founder, Orca Institute

Sheldon Bilsker, RCC, HT is a practising Counselling Hypnotherapist and Registered Clinical Counselor with 38 years of experience in private practice. He is President and Founder of the International Association of Counselling Hypnotherapists (IACH, est. 2004) and past President of The Canadian Hypnotherapy Association.

He has also been a member of the Legislative Review Committee of the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors which submitted the first proposal to the Health Professions Council of BC to set up a College of Counsellors in BC and therefore create a protected title of "Counselling Therapist".

Although unsuccessful at the time it formed the groundwork which contributed to the development of FACT BC, the current lobbying body representing 14 major counselling groups in BC. Sheldon is one of the original members of the BC Association of Clinical Counselors (memb. #0017).

In 1986, Sheldon began training students in hypnotherapy and other therapeutic approaches. It was at this time that he founded Orca Hypnosis Seminars, now Orca Institute. These training programs are well known throughout British Columbia, Canada and now worldwide for their practical application, broad perspective and high standards. Orca Institute is the longest-running Hypnotherapy school in Canada. It is also the only PTIB and BC EQA designated Hypnotherapy school in BC.

As both instructor and caring mentor, Sheldon has been instrumental in the present success of many hypnotherapists, counsellors and workshop facilitators. In 1989, he was called by the BC Human Rights Tribunal to testify as an expert witness on hypnosis. His testimony set a legal precedent in British Columbia defining hypnosis.

Sheldon has written three training manuals in hypnotherapy, as well as numerous articles on hypnosis and related fields. His style of instruction is specifically designed to teach students how to offer "tools" which empower clients and each other to find their own answers.

For the past 38 years, Sheldon has been practising an eastern body/mind approach partially based on his experience with Vipassana Meditation. This ancient method is now referred to in therapeutic circles as mindfulness. By working through the body to affect the mind, he includes an important physical integration and expression of the mental, emotional and spiritual.

Sheldon is also known as a keen advocate of complementary health care in British Columbia. This is reflected in his training as he explains and incorporates a wide variety of alternative concepts, giving his students a broad base of understanding on which to build a career.  To contact Sheldon call 604-900-1245. 

Diane Auld, Hypnotherapy And Counselling Skills Instructor

Diane Auld, MTC, HT is a practicing Counselling Hypnotherapist, Master Therapeutic Counsellor and Hypnotherapy Teacher. She has been an Instructor since 2006. Her love affair with hypnotherapy started long before she decided to study Hypnotherapy at Orca Institute. Many years of her own personal work and finding ways to understand the unlimited powers of my unconscious mind led to her to Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and that love affair just keeps growing.

For the past 17 years, she has had the honour of accompanying clients in her private practice, in the exploration of self through counselling, hypnotherapy, The Way of the Heart™ Field Integrations and a variety of creative therapies. In 2019 Diane created our Counselling Skills Program. This course is now part of our Counselling Skills program.

As a teacher, she brings a deep respect for Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, for each student's individual learning style and a passionate desire to help the students realize their unlimited potential as a learner and a Counselling Hypnotherapist. She feels that learning is best done experientially in a safe environment where they each have an opportunity to experiment, play, make corrections and experience.

Each person comes to hypnotherapy for a different reason, and will use the learnings in their own unique way; her job is to create curiosity, answer questions, challenge your limited view of yourself, support your search for your way, and fire a passion for hypnosis. For students who currently have a practice, one of Diane’s skills is to support and assist students to integrate counselling hypnotherapy into their future private practice.

She brings her own passion and has been told it is her passionate style of teaching that helps students engage in the learning.

Class time is the cornerstone to learning Hypnotherapy. A place to share, explore, develop new skills, discuss ways of working with current clients, play, learn from fellow students at differing levels of experience and knowledge, and of course experience Hypnotherapy. Honouring each individual’s unique way of learning is important to her, and she invites feedback and suggestions.

Diane describes her approach;

"Our classes are rich, fun, and filled with teachings that each student can use in the time between classes to play with, practice, and hone the skills needed for incorporating hypnotherapy into their current practice or eventually becoming a practicing Counselling Hypnotherapist".

Our weekend classes include some structured learning, different modules include Inductions, Counselling, and Hypnotherapy, taking what the client brings and creating a hypnotherapy session, the beginning, middle, and end of a session, tone and pacing, metaphors and stories, making direct indirect, abreactions, self-care for the therapist, ethics and requests for learning from the students. These are just some of the modules offered in the classes. Each of us is a teacher and a learner. We each bring life experience, wisdom from other teachings and our uniqueness; our class time is made richer by what we all bring."

Each month prior to our class Diane posts to our private Facebook Group of students asking for input on the upcoming class. During the class, it is very important to her that each student is getting their needs met. She regularly checks in with each student. 

She looks forward to working with you in class to develop and grow in this new and exciting way of helping our clients and ourselves truly live our unlimited potential, facilitate change and understand self in deeper ways.  

Diane is a Registered Clinical Supervisor with ACCT (Association of Co-operative Counselling Therapists), supporting new and experienced counsellors in developing and expanding their passion in the counselling field.