In Conversation with Alix

Meet one of our notable PPF contributors, Alix Hembery. She recently made a career shift, and today, we’re going to explore RTT (rapid transformational therapy) and learn more about her journey to this point.

Hi Alix, what led you to RTT, and how did that personal journey evolve into offering it as a part of your brand?

Almost ten years ago, a friend introduced me to RTT. She had gone through a session herself and felt truly moved by the experience. She said it allowed her to understand what she wanted to “fix” and that she now held a new perspective on it completely. And I had such trust in this friend that I took the plunge and - oh my did it deliver! It really did change my life, super cliché as that sounds. It took the limiting belief I had lived with for so long and made me understand it. I understood when it came into my life why I had held on to it, and most importantly, it enlightened me about my power to change it.

While I loved the RTT experience and continued to keep my therapist in my life as a life coach, I didn’t immediately desire to offer this service to others. That thought process was a slow brew. Becoming a mother - in both the journey leading up to it and maternally being it - was one of the major factors changing the course of my life and what I wanted to offer to the world. As beautiful as the beginning of motherhood was, it broke me. It’s isolating, no matter how surrounded you may be. It forces you to question your identity a thousand times over. That chapter of life was so beautifully brutal, a paradox of emotions. I was exhausted, and yet in pure bliss. I then wanted a second child so badly, but was experiencing secondary infertility.

And here RTT entered my life again. It blew me away that I was holding onto a belief that kept me from getting pregnant. And when I worked with my therapist to remove this belief and install a new one, my body followed my mind, and I now have two gorgeous children. So, RTT has been in my life for years. It was like a genie granting me a wish, but really, it was me learning to tap into my own power through the teachings of RTT. And that journey is what I want to shortcut for my clients.

You describe your approach as both therapeutic and intuitive—how do you blend those elements in a typical RTT session with a client?

When you regress a client back to earlier memories, you have no idea what is coming your way. So while training and education in RTT is vital, it is nothing without having the intuition to guide the client through their scenes. As the therapist, you help a client understand why their brilliant mind went to these scenes and how they connect to their current life. The client ultimately makes these associations, but as a therapist, you’ve failed the client if you can’t guide them with both knowledge, intuition, and nurture on their journey towards healing.

Many people are still unfamiliar with RTT. In your words, what makes it different from traditional talk therapy or coaching?

Ooohhh!! It’s so different! RTT is an amalgamation of therapies. So yes, hypnotherapy is used, but that’s the doorway to allowing your subconscious mind to take over. The following CBT, NLP, talk therapy, and other modalities are used while the client is utterly relaxed and suggestible. Marisa Peer (RTT’s founder) says RTT is like “hypnotherapy on steroids.” 

Look, I spent years in talk therapy. It was useful for a while, but ultimately, I was talking myself in circles: what had happened to me, what was happening to me, and how this all made me feel. But there was no endgame, no real tangible change.

And now, as an RTT therapist, I understand why.

Your mind is split in two – the conscious and the subconscious – and nearly ALL of your day is lived by your subconscious mind - research puts the number at 95%! So while you think you are acting and reacting from a place of consciousness and thought, it’s almost never true. Your actions, reactions, expectations, and intuition come from a subconscious mind that you’ve trained since before your first memories. And here is where RTT is so unlike talk therapy and coaching. The latter tries to change your behavior from a conscious standpoint, which is often futile. Or the change is short-lived. But RTT gets to the root cause of your belief, uses the change in brain waves under hypnosis to reprogram and install new beliefs, and so the change in your life is coming from the subconscious mind. From the mind that rules your day so the change not only happens but is lasting.

How do your creative background and aesthetic sensibilities influence the therapeutic space you hold for clients?

My sessions with clients are all online, and while this is fantastic in so many ways, there is a level of tangible sanctuary that I sadly can’t create. Knowing that, I put extra effort into the atmosphere and rapport with each person. Before every session, I set an intention and ask for all the immaterial support from everyone who’s ever helped me along the way to be with me so I can help the next person. My grandmother, for example, used to read people’s fortunes by looking at how their Turkish coffee had dried. The level of intuition, creativity, and confidence needed for that!! I call on her and other mentors every time. 

What kinds of transformations have you witnessed in clients through RTT, and what do you think makes those shifts possible?

Witnessing change in people post-RTT is magical. Some change is instantaneous, and you can physically see the person’s demeanor change in front of you. Sometimes, change can happen gradually, or it’s not even noticed until the client looks back and thinks about it. Either way, the wonderful thing is that there’s always change.

And I’ve had the privilege of helping people with so many different concerns. Some seemingly minor – I want to stop craving sugar and eat healthier. And some that are heavier – clients with unimaginable trauma in their upbringing that are looking for a way to live without the anxiety or depression. The other day, I had a phenomenal session with a client, and she said the most beautiful thing to me. “I thought after this session I would feel lighter, but actually this feeling is better than that. I feel more complete, like more of me.” 

That is the kind of change RTT brings.

You’ve created a brand that lives at the intersection of healing and coaching. How do you envision RTT fitting into a broader lifestyle or wellness philosophy?

I would love to see the concepts of RTT brought to our local schools. Imagine children learning to be in tune with their inner voice, listening to it actively. They may not grasp conscious/subconscious minds, etc., but if they can be taught what a crucial role their mind plays in their bodies and their lives, it would be a strong foundation for fostering confidence, compassion, and motivation.

What’s a mantra or phrase you’ve been living by lately?

Recently, I’ve really been cognizant of changing my words, specifically the words “I choose.” So I’m not saying to myself, “I want to go to the gym” or “I want to eat healthy.” I “want" a lot of things. 

But I’ve replaced it with “I choose.” I am choosing to be healthy and to live life in a particular way, and that’s incredibly motivational for me. 

The last book or podcast that genuinely shifted your perspective?

I find myself deeply at the cross-section of science and “woo-woo” right now. Two degrees in Biology force you to be very rooted in research and the difference between correlation and causation. The other side of that coin is working with people and seeing change that science has yet to explain fully. I just finished a book by Bruce Lipton called ‘The Biology of Belief’, a deep dive into cellular biology and epigenetics. I loved the part linking quantum physics and the study of energy to the core teachings of RTT.

If your healing philosophy had a scent, what would it be?

What a fun question! I need to sit with a parfumier to see if these would even work together, but here goes… 

I love the strength and powerhouse scent of an oud—not an overbearing oud but still very present. That is how I want to show up for myself and my clients: strong but not dogmatic. 

I’d love a scent that is uplifting and evokes comfort in equal parts. For example, I want to fall into a cloud of eucalyptus whenever I smell it. In every aspect of life, I want to bring that softness, that nurture, to the table alongside the strength. In my mind, one doesn’t work without the other.

What led you to RTT after working in dentistry for so many years? 

Dentistry was another pivotal chapter in my life. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. And I left it quite happily when I met my husband and then had children. But it was in returning to it for a very short time—a few days, actually—that my work in a dental office helped clear my life path—that “ah-hah” moment everyone talks about. 

A dentist I adore in Century City needed help while his hygienist was away, and I happened to be in LA at the same time. One experience with a patient during this time changed it all for me. She was an older woman, beautiful, whose family owned a Hollywood iconic venue. The head of the family had passed, and this restaurant was being dissolved. In the short space we were together, she opened up to me about everything. About her sadness, her loss. Not just for the family member, but for her own identity. She said, “This restaurant is who I’ve been all my life. I’m in my late 60s now and if I lose it, who even am I?” There were tears. She kept apologizing and saying she didn’t talk about this with anyone and didn’t know what to say to me, which made her open up this way. I felt so honored and wanted to be there for her in so many different ways. Just then, the dentist walked in at the most inopportune time, wanting to do an exam. Poor guy had no idea what he was walking into. But that’s what changed it for me. I loved the people aspect of dentistry. I wanted that experience, minus the interruption. So my wheels started turning as to what type of therapy or help I could offer. How could I be there for people in a way that would truly give them comfort and, more importantly, change? RTT is that answer.