WHY I INSIST ON A PRE-CONSULTATION

Some people – and I have to admit they are mostly other therapists – ask me why I always insist on a pre-consultation meeting. Well I’m going to tell you...

I don’t insist on a pre-consultation discussion because I have nothing better to do with my time. I insist on it because it provides an opportunity to assess whether you are right for me, whether I am right for you and whether hypnotherapy is what you need. And, crucially, if now is the right time to begin working together.

If we get any of that wrong then, quite simply, it won’t work. The result would be you risk making a poor investment and I risk getting lousy feedback. Therefore it’s got to work for us both. It really is that simple.Hypnotherapy has been described as both an art and a science, and the more of it I do, the more I appreciate how accurate this observation is. But part of the art is ensuring that the timing is right for the individual concerned, so that they are setting themselves up for success and not failure.You need to come along under your own steam and not following pressure from a partner, parent or a child. Most of all ‘deep down’ – that’s the subconscious to you – you need to be genuinely ‘up for it’. Above all else. I cannot stress that enough.All too often I have met someone who is convinced that now is the time, that they are ready, willing and able, only to discover, at the pre-consultation stage, something’s not quite right. That doesn’t mean we will not work together and achieve a successful future outcome. But maybe not just yet.It is only through conducting a pre-consultation that I can gain an accurate sense of an individual’s subconscious as well as conscious level of motivation. It’s the vital research part of a ‘work project’, if I suggest you think of yourself as a ‘work in progress’. You wouldn’t start decorating a living room without consulting paint charts and perhaps daubing a series of colour swipes on the walls, also looking at fixtures and fittings, taking time to make sure a new look has all the elements planned out, even if things alter as the room begins to take on a new look.Sure, hypnosis can help expand that motivation to succeed, but it cannot conjure it out of thin air; I’m a hypnotist, not a miracle worker! The fact remains that no matter how skilled the practitioner, hypnosis will not work if there is a part of you which is resisting. You have to be completely open to trusting the processes we may use in the sessions, open to how and when change will occur (because everyone is different) and to taking truly positive steps.That’s it, in a nutshell. I insist on pre-consultations because it maximises the chances of both of us achieving success. It’s what we both want, but I will admit I really love meeting new people and the engagement which occurs when I am looking at how to help someone new.If you think you are ready for change and ready to work with me to achieve that, then join the others who have made a change for the better and get in touch.

Page updated

Report abuse