Five ways to choose a hypnotherapist
It can seem daunting choosing a hypnotherapist when you know nothing about hypnotherapy. It can seem expensive and how do you know it will work?
Here are five ways to choose your hypnotherapist:
1: Will your hypnotherapist work with you?
The best way to know this is to take the free consultation that most hypnotherapists offer:
Do they appear to understand your issue and does what they propose seem viable?
Are they talking about a solution tailored for your specific needs or do you get the impression they will offer some generic approach?
Asking their “success rate” won’t really help. No hypnotherapist in business long term should have a low success rate! The bulk of our business comes from referrals from satisfied clients.
2: I wrote this blog in response to an enquiry about smoking cessation which began with: “I paid £250 for a single session and three days later started smoking again.”
This session was not with me – personally I charge £180 for three sessions to ensure that we don’t just put you off.
I work with people to find out why they suck 4000 poisons into their body and help them find strategies to stop.
If the approach is tailored to your perceived needs around smoking then you will stop.
The main reason why hypnotherapy fails with smoking cessation is that the client isn’t really ready to stop!
So you need to be motivated beyond your partner/doctor is asking you to stop.
The reason the enquirer had failed to stop was because she was genuinely not ready to stop. The second reason was that she had had a single session.
80% WILL quit in the first session or dramatically reduce their smoking.
If that session misses the reasons why they smoke then if that trigger happens again it is likely they will weaken and smoke.
You need strategies to tackle those triggers.
This is why a course works better – even if you stop straight away.
If you are highly motivated to tackle ANY issue then an experienced hypnotherapist will craft a hypnotherapy session that will either work for you or narrow the focus to find the real reasons for the issue.
The reasons for a session failing are generally:
- Lack of motivation.
- Expecting the hypnotherapist to perform some miracle and the client does not do any work themselves.
- The hypnotherapist has missed the real reason that the issue. Perhaps unconscious gains for continuing the behaviour outweigh the perceived benefits!
3: What is the approach likely to be?
Personally speaking I won’t know until I talk to a person face to face, by phone or Skype. There is no one size fits all. Each client requires a different approach.
Take weight loss for instance:
We have known since 1917 that diets don’t work long term because nobody wants to be on a diet forever and the moment they go back to their old way if eating is the moment the weight loss fails.
I need to understand why the person overeats?
We need to tackle the drivers which may include:
- Stress – eating seems to relieve stress but it’s better to have a strategy for stressBoredom – people who graze on food when bored
- Anxiety – you eat to tackle your anxiety and for a while you feel better and your metabolism receives a boost but after that wears off you feel a need to repeat.
- Trauma – some people overeat to deliberately ‘appear less attractive’ as self defence
- Depression – self medicating with food or alcohol seems to help – ling term it really doesn’t and some foods actually INCREASE your feelings of low mood
This is a small selection and combinations of the above plus other factors.
We can only find out by working together and also discovering the sources, in some cases, that established the habitual eating.
4: Cost?
A business consultant once told me that with my experience I should immediately double my fee. I had worked in Harley street where a chunk of the fee went to cover rent, parking, and travel!
This meant that I often ended working with people who could afford these fees, which excluded many people, or people paying fees they couldn’t afford.
My fees I believe are fair and are in the middle of the market. There are far less experienced people who charge much more than I do!
It is also odd that people will consider £60 (for instance) as expensive when they will spend that much at a hairdressers for something that will make them feel better but won’t last instead of to a hypnotherapist who may change their life ..
People will also spend a lot a gym for their physical health while not being prepared to spend on their mental health.
It’s a fact that 1 in 3 of us will need help with mental health issues.
Yet many will soldier on when there is a remedy available.
Your time with your hypnotherapist is not the only time spent working in your issue. Personally I will spend an hour or more preparing your session based on our long initial conversation.
I will record your treatment live and then edit and clean it up before sending it to you.
You then have your treatment forever and can always come back to it at any time you feel that you are ‘slipping.’
Cost factors in the time you don’t see as well as the time spent face to face.
Again personally speaking a session can last from 1 to 2 hours depending on the time required. As well as the behind the scenes time
5: Do I feel my hypnotherapist is qualified to deal with my issues?
Does my hypnotherapist seem to care about me and my issue and have a treatment plan that seems realistic?
Does it feel right?
Do I like and trust them?
Do they have the relevant qualifications and experience?
A hypnotherapist should be a member of a hypnotherapy register such as the GHR (General Hypnotherapy Register) and will be regulated by the GHSC (General Hypnotherapy Standards Council).
They will undergo CPD (Continuing Professional Development) each year to keep skills up to the mark.
A good hypnotherapist will know some history of hypnosis and will understand why they do what they do and how it works.
Not every issue that comes to a hypnotherapist is one that they can deal with!
There are a bewildering number of mental health issues. Some we are legally obliged NOT to treat such as epilepsy and schizophrenia.
Some we may not have the relevant experience or training to approach. A good hypnotherapist will refer you to a relevant specialist.
Hope this helps! Bottom line: talk to your hypnotherapist and meet them!
Graham Howes Advanced Hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner. Certified Weight Loss Professional. Trained in PTSD and Psychological Trauma. PLR FLR and Regression therapist.
CNHC approved (Gold standard of complementary practitioners)
TEL: 01473 879561 Mob: 07875720623 Skype grahamhowes1
Email: grahamahowes@me.com
GHR registered GHSC regulated