So you have decided to invest in hypnotherapy to help you understand your thoughts and behaviors that are affecting your life negatively, and to improve yourself. You now have to decide on which hypnotherapist can help you best facilitate the process. A good hypnotherapist will be able to help you unlock your personal inner resources, and the benefits that follow through can be limitless!

All hypnotherapists should have the required certifications that qualifies them to practice therapeutic hypnosis. But how else can one differentiate between several therapists?

Here are some tips to keep in mind when selecting a good hypnotherapist:

1) Educational Background and Experience of the Hypnotherapist

Obtaining a therapist certification takes far less effort and time as compared to a university degree. A good hypnotherapist will draw upon his/her educational and professional experiences to build on the therapist certification training. It will give you an indication how much knowledge the therapist has acquired through his/her prior education and professional experiences, which good hypnotherapists draw upon and supplement the therapy work they do.

2) Length of Practice vs. Length of Experience

Often times, potential clients will want to know how many years of experience the hypnotherapist has had. This profession has a high turnover because it can be demanding. As such, there are hypnotherapists who have been certified many years ago, but who do not practice therapy on a regular basis, nor do they see as many clients as a full-time hypnotherapist does. What you want is a hypnotherapist who is certified and sees many clients on a regular basis – a good question to ask then is how many clients on average does the hypnotherapist take on in a typical month.

3) Recent Client Feedback

Ask for recent client feedback as that will be a good indication that the hypnotherapist is practicing regularly, and has had satisfied past clients. Results are the best measure of any successful therapy.

4) Hypnotherapy as a Passive Process?!

If a therapist suggests that hypnotherapy is a passive, quick fix solution, be wary. The benefits are plentiful, but it is hard work and requires active participation, commitment and practice for this to result in a mindset shift.

5) Direct Suggestion vs. Therapy

An old fashioned approach to hypnotherapy is the use of direct suggestions. Any results achieved by such methods are usually short-lived as they do little to change your underlying behavior or thought patterns. Examples are ‘you will stop smoking’. This is clearly not useful in addressing the underlying needs, motives, fears and desires of a smoker. A good hypnotherapist should be able to work so that you are consciously unaware of most of the change work that is happening. Ask what approach the hypnotherapist will take in addressing your desired change.

6) Trust and Rapport

You will be working with your personal issues during the hypnotherapy sessions. So you will want to pick a hypnotherapist that you are able to trust and form a good rapport with. The hypnotherapist facilitates you to get what you want from the experience. A good hypnotherapist is professionally trained to be entirely focused on you, and what you want. Her/She should respect and accept you completely, without bringing personal judgement into it.

We always encourage potential clients to meet face-to-face with our hypnotherapists so that they can determine how comfortable they are in proceeding. You may not be able to make an informed decision otherwise.

Please contact us to schedule your free hypnosis consultation today! Come meet with our hypnotherapists and judge for yourself.