When we first see our clients for an initial consultation, we gather information using our Information gathering form and then we proceed to give a presentation of the workings of the mind, this is always customised with information taken from the client to make it relevant and specific to their needs.

During this presentation, questions are encouraged at every opportunity. I prefer to break this presentation down into sections,

The Brain

Polar Bears

Ancestors

Anxiety

Stress bucket

Sleep

The 3 P`s

Physiology

Trance

At the end of each section, I check the clients (and Companions) understanding of what has just been shared, this allows for any clarification needed to be given before we move onto the next section. We can then, at the end, discuss any further questions or queries that the client may have. In the main, the more detailed an explanation, the less questions there are. We review this presentation at every future session to further reinforce understanding.

We must ensure that the client knows what to expect from us going forward, we can discuss the format of future sessions, how many sessions we feel the client would benefit from and any other administration that we feel is needed. I always encourage clients to contact me by email with any questions they may have after the sessions and I always call them back with the answers, phone is the preferred option for contact as its more personal and allows for the clients understanding to be checked.

Putting the clients mind at ease, allowing them to see our trust in the process, will start the positive change of mindset needed immediately and give the client hope.

Listening is a vital component of effective communication. Not being listened to, can have a negative impact on the quality of the therapy that the client receives. Effective communication does not just involve speech, its also the eyes, the ears and body language. Listening cannot be a passive activity; it takes effort and genuine engagement. Words need to be heard, considered and digested. When we are listening, we should always look at our clients, not spending too much time making notes, this gives us the opportunity to see what they are saying and how they are saying it, they may be saying one thing, but their body language could be saying something else. We should always be attentive and interested and we should never interrupt and always allow the client to come up with their own solutions.

When we ask questions, we should accept what the client says and then maybe use their answer as a question to check understanding. It is all to easy to ask a question badly and of course get an answer that wasn’t aimed for, by checking that the client understands the question, we should get the required response.

Facial expressions are so important, we can tell if someone is just saying what they think they should say by looking at their face, or maybe saying something that they don’t truly believe. It’s very hard to hide emotion, unless our client plays poker for a living.

One of the ways we communicate is through repetition, we have a set format and we revise the workings of the mind metaphor, we discuss scaling and the miracle question at every session, this is affective in allowing the client to absorb what we wish that they understand.

We must always adopt an open posture when receiving answers to questions, it shows we accept what the client is saying, we may choose to fold our arms when we may not agree, but this should be done selectively and without any confrontation, just a little subconscious message being sent to the client, without mentioning it.

Effective communication is the key to the Solution Focused Hypnotherapy process and we must use all that we have to ensure we demonstrate it.

Our practice rooms, should be fit for purpose. We spend time in conversation and time where we are encouraging our clients into a relaxing trance, having a good environment to do this in is very important. We need to try to eliminate anything that will cause a distraction to our sessions, although sometimes things will be outside of our control, for example if a fire alarm activates or if we have a power cut or other emergencies.

But the things we can control, we must make sure we do so with our client’s comfort and wellbeing in mind. Noisy environments, are best avoided, constant chatter and voices from outside of the therapy room can be off putting to the client and therapist, passing traffic strangely can sound reassuring and isn’t quite such an issue. Cramped rooms can feel like we are invading a client’s personal space and rooms that are too large feel, cold and clinical, we need cosy, but enough room to feel relaxed and to be able to sit comfortably at an appropriate distance to the client. Too hot or too cold, heating must be set at a nice ambient temperature, we really don’t want clients shivering or feeling too hot.

Clients need to feel that our sessions are private, we need a practice room that gives this feeling, free talk is always encouraged and if a client thinks they may be over heard, this will be a difficult thing to achieve. I also believe that the entrance needs to be discreet, no big bold signs stating the nature of the business inside, clients may feel that passers by will know why they are entering the building and this may put them immediately off guard.

Common sense is the key, we should question, whether we as therapists would be comfortable to receive therapy in the room we are proposing our clients will use, if not, we change it, if so, we use it. 

Communication is the sharing of information between two people. It is important that communication works in both directions.

A communication barrier is something that prevents either person from understanding the information they are being told.

A client who is experiencing a concern may find that this experience alone makes it difficult to communicate.

They may:

• find it difficult to concentrate
• be distracted by their emotions
• have strong reactions in response to what you say
• be taking medication that affects their short-term memory
• not have the confidence to speak
• feel that they have nothing of value to say
• not feel safe
• rather be alone.
• Be uncomfortable with the surroundings
• May be forced to therapy by someone else
• They could be in a negative frame of mind

Barriers to communication can be overcome by:

• checking whether it is a good time to have a session with the client
• being clear and using language that the person understands
• communicating one thing at a time
• respecting a person’s desire to not communicate
• checking that the person has understood you correctly
• communicating in a location that is free of distractions
• acknowledging any emotional responses, the person has to what you have said.
• Not making any judgements about what the client is experiencing
• Find common ground to talk about, just chat about something else
• Make the practice room comfortable and welcoming
• Show the client you are just like them using Mirroring and common language
• Be Human, not a robot!
• Nudge the client into conversation and give them time to answer.

We also need to appreciate that clients are sometimes less communicative, which we must appreciate. It could suggest that we are yet to build a satisfactory working relationship with them and therefore the therapist needs to ensure they try harder to achieve this.   

It is far too easy to assume that clients understand what we are saying, regular checks should be made to make sure that the language we are using is easy to understand and what we are saying is relevant. We should ask questions, for example “does that make sense” or “does that sound familiar to you” we should look out for body language, the client may nod, smile or show emotion at a particular section of the Initial consultation, they may even offer suggestions to the similarity to themselves during the presentation.

Reviewing “how the mind works” from the Initial Consultation, on sessions 1 onwards, helps to ascertain if the client has remembered the previous presentations and is a measure of their understanding.

I encourage questions at all times and suggest that if there is something that the client doesn’t understand, then it is my lack of care in explaining it correctly that has caused them to not understand.

The more the client understands, the more tools they have to find solutions!

We work towards developing a working alliance from the very first interaction with the client, this could be on the phone, in person or by email. The initial consultation is where we can make a big impact, we can show that we understand and appreciate what may be going on in their minds by customising the workings of the brain presentation to suit the clients needs, which shows we have listened and understand.

Clients need to feel welcome, we always thank them for coming to see us, we can make our practice rooms comfortable and welcoming, a nice private space where they can feel free to discuss their issues. We smile, we show we are happy that they chose us to help them improve their lives.

We remain non judgemental at all times, we can ask why clients, feel or think in the way they do and show interest, but we never take the moral highroad and judge their views negatively. We have to show that we are playing for the same team, not against each other.

Even though solution focused Hypnotherapy follows the same format at most sessions, we also must ensure we have planned and organised ourselves to accept our clients, having everything we need close to hand. A file specifically for the client shows them that they are unique and that their therapy sessions are designed just for them, which shows we care.

We ensure we ask what the clients wants from the session and at the end of the session ask if there is anything we have missed, this adds value to the session and shows the client that we are working with them.

Having an interest in things other than therapy is important, we can make notes of hobbies the client is interested in, or things that have planned to give us something light to talk about to ensure the correct part of the brain is being used in the sessions. This also shows a genuine interest in the client’s life.

Humour is important, but only when the relationship is at a stage where this is appropriate, we should make therapy fun when we can.

We focus on the clients needs at all times, they are driving our sessions, we are just a temporary passenger that just happens to be sitting beside them on their journey.  A good working alliance takes time and shouldn’t be forced, it should be as natural as two people just getting to know each other with no pressure.

Verbal communication is using speech to exchange information, emotions, and thoughts. Non-verbal communication is conveying and exchanging messages without the use of spoken words.

Our communication with our prospective clients starts at the very first interaction that we have, whether in person, on the phone, email or text. The first opportunity to communicate, may not be verbally or written, it could be when we first see our client walking towards our practice, the way we look and behave at this very first instance, has an effect on the communication that will follow. If we are smiling, with an open posture, maybe we raise our hand to wave, we are giving a positive, welcoming image, which we hope would encourage the client, through the subconscious mine mirroring us, to do the same. A client would find it difficult not to smile in return as the brain would be matching the therapists’ actions in a positive way, allowing the left pre frontal cortex to start to take intellectual control.

Positivity, is the key to positive communication. The therapist should at every opportunity, seek the good in everything and not dwell on the bad. We of course show empathy and we wouldn’t have a smile glued to our faces whilst a client tells us what we can help them with, but we would find the good and compliment them on how strong they have been to take the first steps to making their life better. We would put their minds at ease when they tell us their symptoms and explain how the mind works and why they are feeling like they do and what we can do to help, this in itself lifts the clients’ spirits.

The way we question is important, we can use open questions, when we would like the client to tell us something, for example “how did you find the strength to do that “this allows a broader answer than a closed question when we just need a short answer, for example “are you fearful of dogs”. When we question and receive answers, we use non verbal communication, we smile, we keep eye contact we nod when we agree, we may mirror the clients’ behaviours discretely to reinforce that we are just like they are. We show through body language that we are interested.

Facial expressions are very important, if a client says they are an 8\10 on the happiness scale whilst they are frowning and looking at the floor, then this answer may need a little more questioning. On the other end of the scale, if a client is 1/10 and smiling like a Cheshire cat, this may be a nervous smile, hiding embarrassment, the eyes will often give this away, they will often dart around when a client is not saying what they truly feel. Our facial expressions are important too, we need to show what we feel when we are not speaking, we haven’t always got to have a smile, but an open inquisitive look encourages the client to speak.

Sometimes, saying nothing and looking at the client in an open way encourages the client to speak, no one likes silence and we need the client to do the talking and fill the gaps.

Even when we are communication in a written format, positivity is key, if we are making appointments, we may add at the end of the email or text, “looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday” or “great to see you yesterday, would you like the same slot next week” subtle little comments that are positive and welcoming.

Rapport is an essential part of a healthy Client/Therapist relationship. It contributes to the client feeling safe, respected, understood and important and this helps them achieving their goals in therapy. Rapport refers to the caring and shared understanding of issues between a therapist and a client. It helps clients to feel we are on their team and not playing against them. Good rapport lets the client feel that their therapist "has their back" in a way that will allow them to find solutions to their challenges. Likewise, the therapist in a setting with good therapeutic rapport feels respected in a way that allows them to speak clearly and freely. The goal of developing a good rapport is to improve your chances for a successful outcome, along with developing mutual trust and respect.

The process of building rapport begins with the initial consultation and the workings of the brain presentation, where the therapist and client get to know each other, learn more about the issues the client is facing, and work on showing than what we can do to help. Inconsequential language, talking about what the clients like and showing interest helps build report as it shows we are interested in the client and not just about their challenges.

Our body language is important, mirroring in a verbal and nonverbal way, helps the client to feel we are similar to them which aids rapport. Checking understanding, giving feedback, smiling and being genuinely interested in their road to success, all helps.

We have a huge advantage if we have a good level of Rapport with the client, the client has a far higher chance of moving forward in a positive way with someone they like. The more we can develop this, the more influential the therapy will be on the client’s wellbeing.