Some Tooele County residents are turning to the power of hypnotherapy to walk away from cigarettes and overeating.

Clifford Webb -- a doctor from Saratoga Springs who conducts hypnotherapy sessions about once a month in Tooele -- has been working in the field for more than 35 years and was the second person in the United States to receive a doctorate degree in hypnotherapy.

"Hypnosis is the altered state of consciousness," Webb said. "You're awake, but you're not thinking how you normally think."

Webb uses the power of suggestion to help people achieve a wide range of goals, from stopping smoking to developing a positive attitude to losing weight.

"It has to be something that people want to do in the first place," he said. "I can't make people do anything."

One common myth people have about hypnotherapy is that hypnotists make people act against their will, Webb said.

One of the primary things he teaches is that he is just an instrument to people who want to achieve their goals. No one can completely hypnotize other people -- they have to do it themselves and hypnosis is just the power of accepting suggestions.

Webb became interested in the field of hypnotherapy when he was pursuing his undergraduate degree in psychology at Arizona State University and working full time. He found that during the long days of school and work he could stay awake, but his weekends would be consumed by hours of sleeping.

"I was exhausted," he said. "So I went to my psychology professor and asked him why I could stay awake five nights and then sleep the entire weekend and he said I was probably doing self-hypnosis."

After doing some research about self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy, Webb decided to pursue his interest by taking specialty classes at the San Diego School of Medicine.

"I just started using it for everything I could think of, whether it was for school, studying, sales work or sports," he said.

Webb has worked with professional sports teams and athletes for most of his career. He has worked with notable figures like Billy Casper, the Utah Jazz, L.A. Rams, Boston Celtics, and athletic teams from almost every college in Utah. He also has put his expertise to work in the medical and criminal fields, working for doctors, dentists and law enforcement agencies.

Now he focuses on helping people walk away from addictions like smoking or overeating through hypnosis sessions.

Tooele resident Mark Sandoval attended one of Webb's Tooele smoking cessation sessions in October and hasn't smoked since.

"While I was being hypnotized I thought 'this isn't working' because I could hear everything that was being said," he said. "But I haven't even thought about smoking since. I didn't have withdrawals or cravings."

Sandoval said he was impressed with the results, especially since he had been smoking since 1980.

Other session attendees have been a little more skeptical of what results would come from the hypnosis.

Melanie Bullock, a first-time hypnosis attendee last week, said shortly after the session she felt a little different but would have to give the hypnosis a couple of days to see if the effects would be long-lasting.

Bullock attended the weight loss and smoking cessation sessions and said she could hear everything that was going on during the hypnosis, but did become very relaxed.

It is seeing people who have received long-lasting and positive results that keeps Webb wrapped up in the work.

"Some people love fishing or going on cruises," he said. "I love doing this. I can see how this can literally turn some people's lives around."

Webb has countless stories of success that he can tell from memory.

"Probably one of my biggest successes was a man from Price who was smoking five packs of cigarettes and drinking 12 cans of soda every day," he said. "He stopped smoking and drinking pop all in one night. He lost more than 80 pounds in the next six months."

Webb travels to Tooele once a month to conduct hypnotherapy sessions at the Best Western Inn in Tooele. People with questions about session dates can call the Best Western Inn at 882-5010.