If you're considering hypnotherapy or coaching, you're probably wondering how many sessions you'll need.
And it's a very sensible question. Maybe your concern is money; perhaps you have heard of people who spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on appointment after appointment, but never seem to see any improvment. Or maybe your concern is around time; you don't want to spend years in therapy, dragging yourself along week after week and feeling no better. Whatever your reason for wanting to know the number of hypnotherapy or coaching sessions you might need to resolve your particular problem, it's something that is going to be playing on your mind when you consider who to trust with your issue, whatever it may be. For me, I believe that everyone is an individual, and everyone "does" their problem differently...even if it's a very common problem.
For instance, many people come and see me for a phobia around flying...but how Sam "does" her fear of flying may be very different from how John "does" his fear of flying. Often, upon talking more about the issue, we'll find that the presenting problem (fear of flying) isn't the actual problem at all. For Sam, that fear of flying may actually be about not being able to deal with not being in control, and John's fear might be because he experienced severe turbulence.
Both Sam and John have the same presenting problem, but will require quite different help. Anxiety is another good example. Fred's anxiety might be around his health, and fear of death, while Helen's anxiety might be around other people dying and her being left alone. Both have anxiety, but it is very different and will require different help. How people respond to hypnotherapy and coaching is also unique. I've worked with some clients who have been completely at ease from the start of their first appointment and have been able to work with me from the start. But I've also had some clients who - despite really wanting change - have initially found working through their issue a little uncomfortable.
And finally, what some people want from hypnotherapy and coaching can also vary. Some people are happy with a small amount of change - it is enough for them to see that things can be different, and they are happy to work on their own self-improvment, using techniques at home. Others feel more comfortable with regular appointments to guide them through the changes they're experiencing as they start letting go of their old, unhelpful, negative thoughts, beliefs or behaviours. But none of this stops money and time from being a factor when it comes to considering coming to see me for help with your problem. So, as a guideline, I ask my clients to book a minimum of two sessions with me (you don't need to pay for both at once), around a week to ten days apart. I do this because all humans are creatures of habit, and it's easy to fall back into old habits, even when they are unhelpful or harmful and we really want to stop doing them. I want to make sure you don't do that. Far too often people feel that hypnotherapy or coaching has helped them for a while, but then "stopped working" - but actually what has happened is that they have had one appointment, felt great but then slipped back into their old, difficult, unhelpful habits, making them think that hypnotherapy "doesn't work" for them, and leaving them feeling more confused and frustrated than before.
You know that if you want to improve your physcial health, going to the gym once won't cut it - you need to train your muscles to work in the way you want them to, and that requires going more than once! Your emotional health is no different. You need to train your wonderful mind to think differently, to see things differently - and that's going to need at least two appointments.
Often, we can make significant change in just one appointment. But significant change isn't enough...we want to achieve significant, lasting change.
After you've come to see me twice, we can re-assess where you are as you progress towards your goals. You're always in charge, and if you decide that you have achieved enough change, that things are different enough now, that you've met your goals and you don't need to come back - well, that's wonderful! And if you decide that you feel better...but you're not quite there just yet, well, that's fine too, we'll just book again.
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