Well there have certainly been some changes in the last 3 months and the biggest change to my business I have had to make is moving to online therapy. Whilst counselling can easily be done outdoors with my new walk and talk sessions, for hypnotherapy this is not so easy. The fact you go into a deep state of relaxation in order to access the subconscious mind means you need to be relaxed in order to do this. I was slightly hesitant at first for online therapy because I had seen something written online that suggested it would be difficult to deal with an abreaction online. Having said this I have worked with clients online through counselling who have been in tears, as is often the case with counselling, and I realised that clients are quite bright and I’m sure they have shed many a tear in the past would you not agree? Crying is a release of emotions and actually quite good and healthy. I was further assured by this on a recent CPD event that was being run by the National Hypnotherapy Society. Most of the hypnotherapists on the CPD training were working online and have been working online since the beginning of lockdown with no problems at all. In fact the majority said that the clients were so relaxed because they were in the comfort of their own home that many of their clients have said they would prefer to stay with online therapy than return to the therapy room!
I had a client contact me recently for hypnotherapy for anxiety and I talked him through how the therapy would work. We had a phone consultation before his first appointment which consisted of me asking questions centred around the anxiety he was experiencing and prepared his treatment plan. I talked him through how to download zoom which was very easy, (if I can do it anyone can!) I allowed a bit of extra time for the session so I could help him work out the camera and the microphone. He also had my phone number so that if he did have a problem I could talk him through it on the phone. The first session was fantastic! He said how relaxed he felt and said he could not imagine having to leave a therapy room and drive home feeling so relaxed.
Another client who I have seen was an existing client. She was very reluctant at first to come for online therapy but in her words, “if I do not see you I am likely to drink a whole bottle of gin”. (Loved her honesty)! She decided needs must and just like my other client I went through how to download zoom and made sure I was there on the phone if things went wrong. She was very impressed in how deep she had gone, deeper than she ever had in person with me. The fact she was in the comfort of her own home helped all the more. She said being able to relax after the therapy was so nice and she messaged afterwards to say she had a small nap after our session as she was so relaxed. As with every hypnotherapy session my clients receive their recording via email so they listen to this in between sessions.
I have actually come to the conclusion that online therapy works just as well, if not better for hypnotherapy, than person to person. Even after the lockdown finishes I would love to continue to work this way so it gives client’s a greater choice of whether they would like to come to the therapy room or stay at home. It also means I have received clients from further afield as distance is not an issue. Although I am based in Mid Wales, I have clients from London and Liverpool now which would not have been possible if I had not moved to online therapy.
If you are still not sure then why not drop me a message and have a chat about it?