We only get one chance to make a good first impression, but we get far more opportunities to make bad ones!

Maintaining a professional appearance is not just about how we dress or if we have shaved or whether our hair is a mess. People can indeed look and dress how they like and some people look good no matter what they are wearing or what colour their hair is this week. But for the rest of us, maintaining a professionally casual look whilst at work is preferred. Smart casual, in my opinion, is an acceptable way to dress, a shirt, chinos and a jacket, gives the impression that we take care of ourselves and have a little pride. Ripped jeans, T-shirts, shorts and trainers, have no place in my the practice room. We should consider what we wear a uniform and get ready to work each morning looking professional and ready for the day.   

The way we act is also very important, we should ensure we behave in a way that complies with the codes of conduct of the societies that we are members of, for example the NCH and AfSFH. We treat every client with respect and at all times keep the client/therapist relationship at the upmost of professionalism. We commit to our code of practice to ensure that this is demonstrated. We must also be mindful to follow through with any promises made, avoiding promises that would never be fulfilled. We cannot falsely state cures, success rates or remedies that may not materialise, we can though give hope.    

Our working environments should be safe, appropriate, client focused and adequately comfortable to allow the clients to feel relaxed, whist promoting professionalism. We should maintain a high level of cleanliness and not work in a mess, if we can’t keep our work areas tidy, how can we be trusted to help our clients?

Our correspondences with our clients should be well written, spell checked and precise to ensure the client understands exactly what we are saying. Stationary, business cards, appointment cards, should give the right impression and not be tacky or advertising false hopes.

Our websites are often the first contact that we have with our customers, making sure they are updated with new information, news, blogs regularly, displays we are serious about our profession. The theme of the site too should portray the practice, it should give hope, show empathy and be professional.

Above all, how we treat our clients is of the upmost importance and makes a huge impression, we should treat them respectfully and professionally. They are our clients, not our mates!!

Hypnotherapy is a wonderful solution for reducing anxiety, fears, phobias and changing attitudes, it has a vast realm in which it is very successful, some of the conditions that can be treated are below,

• Alcohol addiction
• Anger management
• Anxiety
• Bruxism -Teeth grinding
• Chronic pain management
• Confidence/self-esteem issues
• Depression/low mood
• Drug Abuse
• Eating behaviours
• Exam/performance stress
• Fear and Phobias
• Gambling addiction
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Low motivation
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Panic attacks
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Public speaking
• Sexual issues
• Self-Harming
• Sleeping problems
• Sports performance
• Stop smoking/vaping
• Stress
• Substance addictions
• Unwanted habits
• Weight management
• Working with Children
• Working with Teens

All of the above have the potential to be treated without any other interventions from other practitioners, with the exception of IBS, (which medication can be prescribed), Drug abuse, (when the client may be on alternative prescribed drugs) and depression, (where the clients may be on prescribed anti-depressants).

We should always be mindful that we are not General Practitioners and cannot prescribe or recommend anything to do with medications. We can ask if a particular complaint has been diagnosed and mention that it may be helpful to get it checked at their GP to ensure that we can work safely and effectively with the client and compliment any medication that has been prescribed. If asked by a client, if they should seek a doctors opinion, we should ensure we support the clients decision to do so.

Many conditions are affected by stress, Psoriasis, IBS, heart disease, tension headaches even the common colds can be worse when we are feeling low and not producing the “happy” chemicals in our bodies to fight it off. Using Hypnotherapy, we can help to reduce stress levels and work alongside the treatment that the clients are already taking. Clients with terminal conditions or at the end of life can use Hypnotherapy to give them some relief and relaxation during their challenging times, allowing them to get temporary respite from their worries. 

As solution Focused Hypnotherapists, we adhere to a format which remains, in the main, consistent throughout all the sessions that we have with our clients. Initially, after building rapport with inconsequential language, we gather information on the client using an information gathering form.

This then gives us an understanding of what the client would like us to help with and any other issues that they may experience. Armed with this, we present “How the Brain Works” making it relevant to the issues the client may be experiencing.

We draw out information on how we can help and what are the client’s goal or goals if therapy is successful. This is vital as we have a starting point and an instant miracle question/ scaling conversation when we see the client at the next session.

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.

We must be fully aware of the client’s manner when they arrive at our practice. They may be extremely nervous, reserved, anxious or resistant to therapy. Our manner in return needs to be positive and we need to concentrate on building rapport, which will solidify the working relationship and build confidence in the client moving forward. The initial consultation is perfect for overcoming the initial barriers, as it is focused on the symptoms of the client and allows them to see what we can do and how positive we are in helping them.  We use verbal and non-verbal communication, we can mirror the client’s language and behaviours to allow them to feel we are just like them. The use of small talk to move away from problem talk will move the client from the fight or flight part of the brain, to the intellectual part, where they can make a rational decision of their future working relationship with the therapist. 

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Clients should not be treated without written consent. Consent to hold the information gathered and for receiving Hypnotherapy. This ensures clients are willing to proceed with therapy and to understand its uses and benefits.

If a client doesn’t want to be hypnotised, this could be classed as without consent.

If you’re not sure you can help them, if their presented problem is not one we can help with, it would be unethical to take them as a client

If the Therapist is underqualified, they would need referring to a more qualified therapist.

If a client wants help with a medical ailment that has not been diagnosed by a GP. For example, IBS, severe headaches or skin conditions.  Underlying reasons for medical complaints need checking by a GP, to ensure that the correct treatment is given. We are a complimentary therapy and cannot diagnose and therefore assume that the complaint is anxiety related..

Clients with Psychosis or a personality disorder. If it is identified at the initial Consultation that a client is or has been diagnosed whether currently taking medication or has previously taken it, then at these times we should contact their GP and our supervisor for advice. We should get clarification that what we can do for the client, will do no harm. I strongly believe that if the Solution Focused Hypnotherapist has even the slightest reservation regarding dealing with a client with a diagnosed Mental Illness, they should refer to a colleague with the experience to give the level of support the client needs. We should always work within our limits of experience to give the best possible care. 

We should also not treat a client who may show signs of making physical harm to themselves or to others. Although we work to reduce stress and anxiety levels in our clients, if the situation is potentially dangerous, we should inform the appropriate resource.

Common sense should come into play regarding this issue. Remembering we should do no harm and have the clients’ best interests at heart will guide us to make difficult decisions when we feel that treatment cannot be given safely and effectively.

In Solution Focused Therapy, we used scaling to measure how clients are feeling. 

By ensuring the scale is a positive one, we encourage use of the clients left pre-frontal cortex when discussing how we may go up a number or two in the scale.

In most circumstances, the scale is from 1-10, I choose not to use 0-10 as I believe starting at 1 already puts a very slight positive aspect to the scale. A client could be asked, if the scale was on Happiness, a simple question, for instance “on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the happiest you have ever been and 1 being the lowest you have ever been, where are you on the scale now?”

This then gives us the opportunity to measure how the clients see themselves at the start of therapy and monitor this over the next few sessions, using any positive shifts as discussion points. We also use the scaling score to drive our Miracle question, by asking questions such as “Let us imagine we have a magic wand and you can wave it and change anything you want to change and you wake up tomorrow morning definitely a 3 and perhaps a 4. What would be the first thing you would notice that is different?” This allows the client to visualise a positive shift in their progress and therefore helpful in finding solutions. Tiny steps forward are all it takes to make a difference and we need to keep an active ear and notice these positive little gems of information.

Clients generally take longer to move forward at the lower end of the scale as they are at the begging of their journey and may be in a negative frame of mind and maybe thinking positively is something they haven’t done in a long while. As progress is made, it becomes less difficult for clients to think positively and they often find coming up with solutions to move forward on the scale far easier.

Scaling can also be used to ascertain when therapy should stop, a 10 is a very difficult number to achieve, the client may feel like an 8 is good enough and aim to end their therapy when they achieve this.

Any aspect of behaviour can be “Scaled” but positive scales are more often used in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy.

As therapists, we reserve the right to choose who we work with. The reasons for not working with clients, should never be made on reasons of discrimination, if this would be the case, the therapist is in the wrong profession and is in breach of the code of ethics for the NCH and AfSFH.

There may be times when a therapist chooses not to work with a particular client for some of the reasons below,

If the therapist feels the clients’ needs are above his/her experience level.

If a client is aggressive or behaves inappropriately.

Clients that don't actually want to see a therapist and show extreme resistance to the process

Clients under the influence of drink or drugs.

Those clients taking medication that would need referring to a GP before the sessions continue.

Clients with strong beliefs that go against the therapists’ moral codes.

Clients that continually cancel appointments at short notice or don't settle their bills

Friends where it could be considered to change the dynamic of the future relationship.

It could be the client doesn’t want to attend and is being forced to attend sessions.

Those in a relationship with the therapist

All clients should be referred to another more suitable therapist in the event of any of the above and discussed at supervision to ensure we do not turn away anyone that needs our help. Helping them to find alternative therapy, could be more beneficial to the client in the long run.

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There and many benefits to working online, it allows or clients to receive therapy in the comfort of their own homes, they haven’t got to drive to us and park and get dressed, they can wear what they want, sit where they want and have a therapist on the other side of the world. They save money in fuel and we can save money too, buy not renting a therapy room for the session. During the Covid Pandemic, it was the only way to receive therapy and many Hypnotherapists embraced this and now only work this way, some say it is equally effective as face-to-face therapy. Payments can be taken by sending payment links and accepting credit cards, making the process very easy.

Working online does pose some questions.

Are the conversations we have with our clients confidential? we have no control who else may be listening to our sessions, you would assume that it would be a family member or friend of the client that may overhear, but this is totally out of our control. We should advise the client to find a comfortable, private area to receive therapy, one where they will not be disturbed or potentially over heard, this allows the client to be in control of their environment with our recommendations.

How do we gain consent? Verbal isn’t good enough and we will not be recording the sessions, so we will still have to resort to sending consent forms to the client to complete prior to the session. Sending a signature link to sign a consent form is a possibility, or accepting an email stating the client agrees to hypnotherapy is another option.

Are our client’s “Tech Savvy”? will they be able to log on to sessions, do they have a good enough connection or broadband speed and what happens if the internet goes down? Is the session rescheduled at no cost, or lost? Allowing extra time for the first session is wise to allow for a little first time set up. We may have to instruct clients in the use of the online system the first time they use it. Agreeing in advance of what will be done if the line goes down is important as we do not want the client to feel that they have paid for a session ands lost it through no fault of their own.

What happens in an emergency? How could we deal with something that could be happening many miles away? What if the client doesn’t come out of trance and falls asleep? Rules would have to be in place as to whether the client would like to be woken up at the end of the session, if they do, we should ensure we have access to their phone numbers to give them a wake-up call. We need to know where they are and have the address and phone number, in case of an emergency.

Are we missing something? Can we gauge their expressions properly? Can we see their breathing pattern? Can we tell if they are in trance or not? the question is, do we actually need to?? We only rely on the client being in a light relaxed trance for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, so this may not be such an issue for us. But of course, being aware of body language helps greatly and the more we can gauge how our client is behaving, the better it is for their session.

So, we have pros and cons to Online therapy, as long as we can confidently offer a beneficial service that adheres to the codes of conduct that we subscribe to, is in line with GDPR and we have emergency contact information, it would be wise to offer as an alternative to face to face sessions and gives the clients a free choice. If our clients are comfortable and happy, their therapy will start on the right foot.

In my experience, online therapy has produced very similar outcomes to face to face sessions, so whichever method the client is happy with, you can rest assured that it will provide them with what they need.

The initial consultation is one of the most important stages of the time we will be spending with our clients. It is an opportunity to build rapport and gather important information to ascertain what we will be helping them with and how we will deliver it. We utilise a specific information gathering form to complete this. Information gathered is used to adapt our workings of the mind presentation to allow us to make it relevant to the client’s needs, offering suggestions as to why they may be feeling like they do and what we can do to help. We follow the same structure, for the most part, with every Solution Focused Hypnotherapy session, but use client specific information to make it relevant to them.

We draw out information on how we can help, what is the client’s goal or goals if therapy is successful. This is vital as we have a starting point and an instant miracle question/ scaling conversation when we see the client at the next session. We can also review this goal regularly to keep the sessions on track and show them how they are moving towards that goal in a positive way.

Details on their immediate family is taken, which allows us to understand the workings of the family and to bring questions to the client for example “what would your husband John think if he saw you less anxious” “how would your children react” etc, allowing us also to understand the support network of our client.

Phobias, addictions, habits, sleep patterns are noted, as these could be causes, or side effects, of the issues that the client has decided to come and see us about. We know that poor sleep is a factor in reducing the brains’ ability to empty our “Stress Buckets” the more stress in that bucket, the less likely our clients are to have the capacity to lose their phobia or addiction or reduce general strass levels. Knowing these pieces of information give us clues to the direction to take.

We need to know details of the Drs Practice and whether the client is on medication, also what the medication is used for, there may be situations where therapy may not be continued until clarification from the GP is sought as to the suitability of our sessions, Psychotic or clinically depressed clients, for example.

It is also wise to find out what previous therapy they may have received, to enable us to build on this, or try something different.

We have to be sensitive in gathering information, we should take whatever is offered by the client and use what is helpful only. We should appear inquisitive, but not overtly nosey! If the client wishes not to give us the basic levels of information, we should be curious as to why, as they may be hiding something that could prevent us from continuing therapy. A discussion with our supervisor on this matter would be the best course of action.

Solution Focused Hypnotherapists can work without knowing all the facts, but having a basic understanding adds to our resources to ensure the best possible way forward for our clients.

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