How to choose a hypnotherapist is both difficult and easy. This article helps you understand how to choose a hypnotherapist so you make the right decision for you.
Let’s do the easy bit first. If you Google ‘hypnotherapist’ you will see hundreds of them. Even if you narrow it down to your area, you will see many options. So finding one is not the hard bit.
The difficult bit is finding a good one that is right for you. How to filter through all the information so that you make the right choice?
A personal story
When I was just 18, I needed to find myself a hypnotherapist and I went through a few before I found one I felt comfortable with. One of them was downright spooky and the others just didn’t seem professional. I wouldn’t want you to go through that – it is emotionally draining and expensive. So, here are my top tips to help you, assuming they are in travelling distance to you:
6 Tips help you choose a hypnotherapist
- Check out the website – does it look professional? What information does it contain about the therapist? Does it show they have been doing this for a long time? Do they list their qualifications? Memberships? Specialisations? I am always worried about those which are written badly with lots of typos – this says a lot about the way they work, even though it may seem superficial.
- Select the three you feel most drawn to. Make a list of questions which I give below and see how they do when they answer you.
- Do they appear genuinely interested in you and your problem or just getting you in the diary for an appointment?
- What hypnotherapy techniques do they use? Some hypnotherapists have only learned how to do suggestion which implies they are probably reading from scripts. This is a one-size-fits-all approach. The likelihood of this being right for you is diminished – it is much better to choose someone who has a variety of hypnotic techniques and they can vary to suit your situation. The different types are:
- Suggestion – the use of affirmations to counteract your problem
- Regression – taking you back to the root cause and neutralising it
- Ego-State – dealing with self-sabotage, when you feel a part of you to change but another part of you holds onto the problem
- Metaphor – an NLP technique using stories to help you create shifts
- NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) – a wide range of linguistic and other techniques to facilitate change
- Ask them about their qualifications and memberships – do they seem shifty or confident in their answers? And do they match up to what is claimed on the website?
- Beware of the hypnotherapist who says they will “cure” you in a set number of sessions. Dealing with the unconscious doesn’t work as neatly as that and this is more likely to be a reflection of their inexperience, nativity or that they have no idea what to do with you – not a position you want to be in when you are entrusting yourself to someone.
Any hypnotherapist who offers guarantees about results cannot be trusted. This is your mind we are dealing with, not the purchase of a new kettle. I recently did some supervision for a hypnotherapist who clearly did not understand the complexity of the human mind and I had to stop working with them because they were a danger to the public – working with the wrong person can open up a can of worms they may be unskilled to deal with. This is why taking time to choose the right person is so important. This is an investment in you and in your emotional wellbeing so take your time and don’t decide until you feel comfortable. Do not be pressed into a decision.
A good hypnotherapist will understand the psychology of change and will be able to see beyond the obvious. For example, people who come to see me for weight loss think they just need to eat less food. That seems obvious, but if I only help them eat less food without dealing with the drivers for them over-eating, the problem merely transfers onto something else such as drinking too much, gambling or spending too much. So dealing with the symptom rather than the cause can create more problems for you. Always find a hypnotherapist who deals with the cause.
Do not base your decision on cost – some people are very cheap but they are inexperienced. You wouldn’t want to see the cheapest brain surgeon, would you? You’d want to see the best, so do take time in making the right decision. However, an expensive hypnotherapist is no guarantee of skill so you need to go through this selection process to help make the best decision for you.
Make sure you feel comfortable with them before you commit. For example, I offer a guarantee that if, in the first hour of the first session, you do not feel it is right for you, you are under no obligation to continue or to pay for that hour. This gives you the comfort to make the decision on your own terms without pressure to commit.
Hypnotherapy is one of the best ways of creating change and insights when you find the right person – take care and enjoy. It can be the best investment you make in yourself. If you would like to have a chat to understand how I could help you, do get in touch. To find out more about me, visit here.
