Malibu Hypnotherapist Named Local Business Person Of 2022

MALIBU, CA — For hypnotherapist Barbara Jean Carey, running a small business in Malibu has always been about more than the day-to-day responsibilities. Inspired by the support she received when her Malibu home burned down in 2013, Carey has made giving back to her community a priority.

“I love Malibu, I just love it. Not because it's Malibu — it's such a community-oriented city. Even the mayor is there to help you when you need it. It's not closed off, it's so open,” Carey said.

Alignable, an online platform for small businesses, named Carey as Malibu's Local Business Person of 2022, recognizing her many efforts to support her community. While adjudicating, Alignable searched for small business owners and leaders "who’ve gone above and beyond guiding peers and supporting entire communities," according to Alignable's website.

"Local business owners are the heart and soul of their communities and they ought to get way more recognition for all they do," Alignable’s President & Co-Founder Venkat Krishnamurthy said in a news release.

Carey, who runs a private practice called The Confident Mind, has been practicing hypnotherapy for 17 years. In addition to her private practice, Carey works with the Seasons rehabilitation center in Malibu, where she helps treat addiction and mental health issues.

Carey's interest in hypnotherapy is driven primarily by her motivation to help people, she said. She sees her role as helping people who are stuck and, in her experience, the Malibu community is really responsive to hypnotherapy.

“I figure out what’s happening to either keep us believing the same false self-limiting beliefs or [what's keeping us] in the same patterns and then I break through that,” Carey said.

The Alignable award was partially peer-decided; the competition yielded over 32,000 peer testimonials throughout the nation, Krishnamurthy said. Previous winners of the Malibu Alignable award include Ellen Shane, who created a foundation after her daughter was killed on Pacific Coast Highway in 2010, and photographer Dana Rubin, according to Alignable.

Like these previous Malibu winners, Carey prioritizes community engagement and has stepped up for her community in many ways since moving to Malibu in 1983. Carey refused to leave Malibu during the devastating 2018 Woolsey fire, which destroyed at least 670 structures within Malibu, according to the Los Angeles Times. She couldn't possibly evacuate knowing some of her neighbors would be stuck, Carey said.

Carey was motivated by the kindness she saw in 2013 when her Malibu house burned down. Carey was feeling hopeless — insurance covered nothing but the rebuild itself, even though she "didn’t even own a spoon." On top of rebuilding her life, Carey kept running her business. The Malibu community stepped up by offering her places to stay, collecting furniture for her new house, offering their garages as storage and even throwing fundraising parties in her honor.

"It was like a miracle. But this is the community of Malibu," Carey said. She added: "It's comforting to know that you have people out there. That whole thing with my house changed my life, and I just want to give back."

All of the support empowered Carey, giving her the motivation to keep her business open. She eventually was able to rebuilt her house in its original spot.

"I think it is important … for local businesses to help out local businesses," Carey said. She added: "Life is tough enough, let's be there and support each other."

Carey stepped up for her community once again when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which devastated many local businesses in and around Malibu. Carey has helped promote local businesses at The Confident Mind and has been really flexible with payments, she said.