The Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association Hall of Fame
The AHA takes pride in paying tribute to those individuals and members past and present who have played an important role in advancing clinical hypnotherapy. The profession today is a reflection of their unwavering dedication.
Harry Berger
Harry was born in the Netherlands and at 17 joined the army. In 1945 when he was 18, he and a number of other soldiers, were sent to Scotland for Commando training. This successfully made men out of boys in just six months. At this point he was recalled to the Netherlands where in 1946, at the tender age of 19, he was stationed as a Platoon Commander and acting Company Commander in Indonesia.
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Derk Brocx
My Parents were Dutch but I was born in Indonesia, During WWII I spent nearly four years in a Japanese concentration camps on Java at Banju, Biru and Ambarawa. After the war I went to back to Holland and then came to Australia in 1951 on the SS Toscana with John Hemmes, (now a famous Sydney identity).
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Beverley Bultitude
My grandfather inspired my childhood imagination; he nurtured my curiosity, with his stories and teachings about nature. I visited my Nan and Pop, on weekends; it was fun, filled with loving affection, encouragement and compliments. My Grandparents vegetable garden was the habitat for many varieties of insects, bugs, lizards and birds.
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Beryl Huntingdon
I am a Life member of the AHA having been a Member since 1984.
I became interested in Hypnotherapy in the 70’s, when Beverley Bultitude was practicing Hypnotherapy in the Medical Clinic at Cronulla, NSW and Beverley invited me to assist her in the clinic.
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David Kennedy
I have been a counsellor for over 50 years, beginning my working life as a church minister. I first came in contact with hypnosis in the early 1980’s when given a tape during an illness, not knowing it was hypnosis originally, but recognising the profound change that I experienced, I became curious about the control over our bodies and mind that was available to all of us.
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Joe Kee
I have told my story many times, so I will mention a number of incidents that happened along the way. They say people on a mission in life are the survivors; well I have been on one for sixty years and still going. Although there have been many ups and downs. Upper most in mind is the saying “The road to success is always under construction.”
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Onsy Mattar
In 1972, I was a practicing psychologist in Macquarie Street, Sydney. In the room next to me was a Hypnotherapist called James Ballantine who was Secretary of the AHA at that time. We used to talk about hypnotherapy and James gave me some tapes to listen to.
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Roy Williamson
Well I grew up in the UK and in 1946 after being discharged from the Royal Navy I immigrated to Australia where I started work as a carpenter.
Not long afterwards I met my future wife Lorraine, got married and started to build our house in Regent. Building work was scarce at the time so my father in law suggested I apply for a job as a ward assistant at Bundoora Repatriation Hospital.
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Leslie Bullock
With permission from Leslie Bullock’s family we put down Les’s own writings as submitted at the Australian Hypnotherapists Associations’ (AHA) 50th Anniversary dinner 10 years ago. Les was with us in September 2009 to celebrate the AHA’s 60th Anniversary of Foundation as well as the AHA’s first World Conference. It is with pride that we are able to print his memoir of his part in the formation and struggles of those early years of Hypnotherapy in Australia. He will be sadly missed, but always remembered for his pioneering spirit and dedication to the Art and Science of Hypnotherapy. Leslie Stanley Bullock, 12th October 1925 – 14th May 2010.
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Paul Savage
Born in Mordialloc , 1st son to Frank and Olive Savage
At 16 he met the love of his life, 15 yr old Maureen . He joined the Merchant Navy and boarded the SWEDISH SHIP, Goonawarra, a mess boy to the crew and had two trips to San Francisco in 1943. He bunked with the only English speaking person on board. He took his banjo with him but constantly played “Red sails in the sunset” and then he learnt “Lovely Hula hands” but because of the repetition, a sailor finally grabbed the banjo and threw it overboard.
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Bruni Brewin
My birth first name is Brunhilde. On any official documents it is still a requirement to use this name, but unofficially I have always been called Bruni. The surname however has gone through some changes over the years. That can be said for many of us over the course of our lifetime. I was born in 1943 and lived in a German village called Bevensen.
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Maya Lak
Maya was born in the Netherlands and came to Australia in January 1949.
She started her professional life as a bookkeeper then she completed her Bachelor of Management and then her Bachelor of Education at the University of Technology Sydney. A few years later she went back and completed her Master of Adult Education as well as her Master of Management (Community)
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Dr Peter Leslie George
Born in Kent England, he migrated to Australia in 1958 to continue Bio-Physics at Adelaide University. Peter has had more than one career throughout his working life with wide experience in Military systems engineering as well as considerable Defence consulting in Australia and internationally. Peter has extensive international experience in Applied scientific research and development. His passion for the last 25 years has been in research and development of communications specifically in talk therapies, Mental Health and wellbeing and integrative Hypno-Psychotherapy. Prior to this he spent 5 years as a principal research scientist leading communications EW Group Seconded to Pine Gap.
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Cas Willow
Cas left school and home early and then got married. Children were always going to be part of her life; even when she was young, she wanted to have children and be a good mother. She had three children and returned to school and learning when she was eighteen and continuously studied right up to her cancer diagnosis in 2016 when she also received an invitation to complete her doctoral degree, which she was deeply saddened that she was unable to accept and complete.