About Donna Nowak, CH, CRT

I didn’t plan on becoming a hypnotherapist. In fact, for nearly 20 years, my career had been in turnaround management, helping troubled companies and assisting business start-ups. I was happy in the corporate world.

Then in early 1999 out of the clear blue, I had an overwhelming internal calling to study hypnosis. It didn’t make sense to me at that time, but through a variety of interesting life experiences, I’ve learned to heed the inner voice. By April 1999, I was certified as a hypnotherapist, and in January 2000, I opened an office. In 2002, I became certified as a past-life/regression therapist.

In November 2001, I again received intuitive guidance (a sudden message/idea about something I had not even been considering). This time my "directive" was to establish a nonprofit association that would bring together all of the practitioners in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Thus, Mind-Body-Spirit Connected (MBSC) was formed as a 501 (c)(3) educational nonprofit professional association.

In 2007, a desire to collaborate nationally prompted me to contact the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA). Much to my surprise, by early 2008 I stepped in as their Executive Director/CEO, to guide them through a restructuring and turnaround. This included relocation of offices from Seattle, WA to Cleveland, OH; facilitating the merger of MBSC into the AHMA later that year; and putting my hypnotherapy practice on hold for two years.

In March 2010, I passed the leadership baton to a successor, resumed seeing hypnosis/regression clients, and am now working with a few business clients in addition to managing a major restoration project of a 1916 house in Cleveland Heights. 

Professional Affiliations and Credentials

1) Hypnotherapy and Regression Certification

• Certified Hypnotherapist
  Eastern Institute of Hypnotherapy, Goshen, VA, 1999

• Certified Regression Therapist
  The International Board for Regression Therapy, NY, 2002

2) Memberships

• American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists,  Palo Alto, CA (Life Member)

• National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists, NC

• The National Guild of Hypnotists, Merrimack, NH

• Association for Research & Enlightenment, Virginia Beach (Life Member)

• International Association for Regression Research & Therapies, Riverside, CA (Life Member)

• American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), Cleveland, OH

Community Service

• Mentor/Consultant to various nonprofits

• Renaissance Unity, Board Treasurer

Awards & Recognition

• ATHENA Award Finalist
  2005 "Inside Business Magazine" (recognition for professional excellence, community service, and assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence)

• Member of the Year
  2001/02 Cleveland Women's City Club (WCC)

• Outstanding Individual Contribution to the Industry
  1992 Turnaround Management Association (TMA)

• Account Executive of the Year
  1987 United Way

• Marketing Person of the Year
  1982 Avery Dennison (Fortune 100 Company)

• Most Highly Motivated
  1970 Perry High School