Training and making a living from hypnotherapy

Hi Star and welcome to HP.

As well as being a hypnotherapist, I also teach hypnotherapy and know how most of my previous students are getting along, as well as knowing several other hypnotherapists.

I hit the ground running, as have some of the hypnotherapists I've trained but I've come across many others who haven't done so well and either only work part-time or never go into practice.

I do find that the level of market saturation varies from area to area (I have three clinics in different areas), as does the level of marketing expertise from hypnotherapist to hypnotherapist. London is saturated with hypnotherapists but also has a lot of successful therapists and a dense population. It would be interesting to see figures on the number of hypnotherapists to head of population in a given area, but I would guess that Manchester, where my main clinic is, has a ratio not that far off London's.

I know much would depend on my own abilities, marketing skills etc

You've hit the nail on the head here. I personally believe that no matter the saturation of hypnotherapy clinics to population, there is a viable income to be made for anyone who is trained properly, continues to develop their skills, and who has strong marketing skills. In my old career, the company I worked for had a project from Coca-Cola which was very interesting, in partilcular the mentality of Coca-Cola. They had just been investigated by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and had been told they couldn't increase their share of the UK soft drinks market any further (67% at the time). So, we were given the task of increasing the soft drinks market in the UK while maintaining CCSB's 67% market share. Taking this on board, I divide my marketing activity between making sure that people who are looking for a hypnotherapist find me, and increasing the awareness of hypnotherapy and it's benefits. I've given talks/demonstrations a long way out of my areas but as far as I'm concerned, each time I've done this (for little more than expenses), I am potentially increasing the hypnotherapy market in general. Although these events might only have 50 people attending, if they each tell just two other people about it then that's 150, and if some of those have treatments then the multiplying continues.

The only difficulty I've found with hypnotherapy is that as it is a brief and strategic therapy that seeks to solve the persons problem, rather than alleviate it, there is little repeat business compared to "pamper" type therapies.

One of the biggest mistakes I've seen in other hypnotherapist's marketing is the way so many make a big deal of who they trained in hypnotherapy or NLP with. I constantly see websites that say "trained by **enter famous hypnotherapist name here**", or "I use **enter famous hypnotherapist/NLP practitioner name here**'s techniques". In other words, they are trying to be a clone of another therapist instead of making their own reputation in the field of hypnotherapy and/or NLP.

As well as spending a phenomenal amount of time (and in the past, money), on marketing/advertising, I also spend a ridiculous amount of time in honing my own techniques, as well as researching what other information is out there and what everyone else is doing. In fact, one of the treatments I'm most known for (and which makes up about 60% of my income), I'm about to book a CPD day with someone 120 miles away for. As far as I'm concerned, it's worth a day of my time if I come back with just one thing I hadn't thought of before that might increase my success rates even further. As with most other therapies, it's a case of constantly developing yourself but also to work on your own techniques and learning from experience, not just attending other hypnotherapist's CPD seminars.

I know I've waffled on a bit but the short version of my answer is that yes, there is a viable market out there. Aside from the financials, it's also a deeply rewarding vocation. Even the treatments that might seem small or purely cosmetic to some people, are life changing to others.

If you're not sure then look at it this way....... as a hypnotherapist, you will be changing people's lives for the better every day, at the same time as being paid anything from £40 to £250 per hour for doing so (forget the £40 bracket in London, I doubt there are any left that are under £60), less your overheads of course. To people looking from the outside in, the rates often look high BUT..... what price do you put on changing something someone may have spent 20 years suffering with? How rewarding does that feel, both for you and them, when those changes are made?

I left a successful career to work as a hypnotherapist and have never looked back. If you should choose to go ahead and train as a hypnotherapist then I wish you the best, I doubt that many people ever regret it as you will have skills that work as a full time occupation, or a well paid part-time one, or as skills to change your own life and those of your friends and family.

I cannot add much to what has already been said, it is such good advice.
Only I don't know how you plane to transition from one career to the other, but in the early days you could train as a hypnitherapist and start your practise around your current career. That way you will build up a client base before you make the leap. Once you have enough clients to support yourself you can give up your 'day job' so to speak.

I spoke to a trainer, who told me that she knows of people who have given up their old job straight after finishing their training, and then run out of cash before they are able to build up enough work in hypnotherapy. She even knows one woman who gave up her job after a weekend course in hypnotherapy to start a clinic. A risky plan, to say the least.

There is a hypnotherapist in Coventry that charges £140 per hour - and when I was asked to join his practice as a Reiki healer, he wanted me to charge the same! It's not that Reiki isn't worth that much, but I felt I couldn't look my clients in the eye and tell them "I know I charged you £40 before but now I have to add one hundred pounds on to that".

Change of career

Hi

I've just completed my Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Hypnotherapy (Diploma) which took 12 months part time training/study. This followed a CPPD in Clinical Hypnotherapy which took four months. I've passed my clinical exam and will get the results of the two written assignments I had to submit in three months or so.

It's very daunting making such a big change in my life but well worth it. I may need to take a part time job as I build up my business and reputation but I'm confident it will work out. Most of all I've found something that interests me, challenges me and helps others.

My advice... go for it!

Aussie wants to learn Hypnotherapy

I'm so glad to find this thread, very interesting reading, thankyou.

I would like to study Clinical Hypnotherapy, its just so daunting finding a good school. Does anyone know a reputable school in Queensland Australia?

Or can you help by suggesting what to look for in a school? :confused:

I'm also pleased I found this thread. Thanks Bannick for your post - it answered several questions I have too.

I have been thinking recently about training in Hypnotherapy. I currently offer various complementary therapies - mainly massage - but also suffer with chronic back pain and wanted to work in an area which doesn't put so much strain on my body. I've done loads of advanced courses to learn techniques to take the pressure of my back and hands etc. but to no avail so I think its time for a change which is where the Hypnotherapy training comes in. I won't totally stop massage but just reduce the number of clients I see and increase the number of Hypnotherapy clients.

When i trained in massage, many of the other therapists on the course never went on to practice after they qualified - I was the only one in a group of 18! And I wondered whether this was the case with Hypnotherapy or not.

There are a lot of Hypnotherapists in my area but so are there a lot of complementary therapists and I have managed to build a good client base in this area so I think I wouldn't have a problem building a successful hypnotherapy practice. I suppose for me, I'm worried about the initial outlay of money for the course as it is quite a big investment but I suppose this money could be made back pretty quickly after qualifying.

I recently went for some Hypnotherapy and paid £50 an hour but had a free consultation beforehand and got a complimentary hypnotherapy CD. Hourly rates do seem to vary a lot though.

Since mentioning that I am interested in training in Hypnotherapy, my partner has said he would be quite interested in doing it too - I know of a married couple who have a hypnotherapy practice together and they seem quite successful - do you think that this could work? Perhaps specialising in different areas?

Here's a personal view from my experience.

I trained in clinical hypnotherapy in 2003, after successfully using it myself to give up smoking. I used a website and google ads to attract clients which worked for me back then, but I suspect using google ads for hypnotherapy may be quite expensive these days. I did lots of leafleting which was a complete waste of time and money.

I was focusing on hypnotherapy for sports and health, but at the end of the day had more people wanting to quit smoking than anything else. I had lots of success, but also some dissappointing failures - it all depended on the clients attitude (some people seem to think hypnosis is a magic thing that requires no commitment or effort on their part to achieve their goals).

I stopped practising for a few reasons, but mainly because I found that I wasn't enjoying it myself. I felt that I achieved more from just talking to the client than the actual hypnosis itself, so I came to see the hypnosis bit as an inconvenience. I felt that the training I had in hypnotherapy and NLP just wasn't enough, and that I really needed much deeper training in psychotherapy to really be effective. I started to feel like a pretend psychotherapist and therefore a bit of a fraud. Unfortunately, since then I've been too busy with our Pampering business to be able to pursue an interest in psychotherapies any further.

I don't regret training in hypnotherapy, but see it as just a tool that is useful in certain situations. Like anything, much depends on the therapist who is using the tool. I know one hypnotherapist in particular who is very successful, but I feel that has far more to do with her warm and down to earth approach than just the tool of hypnotherapy...

Hi Star

I would say that you have to be very careful which training school you use. I did a lot of research before choosing me school. I had a lot of things in my criteria. Firstly, I wanted a school that was accredited by the National Council For Hypnotherapy. There HPD gives you credits with the Open University so if you want to do further education psychology degree for example you already have credits towards it.

Secondly, I wanted training where they had proper training facilities not just in a hotel or a rented room. I wanted a school that was also a successful clinic and was happy for me to talk to passed students.

Thirdly, I wanted a school that let me work with real clients during the course.

Finally, I wanted a course that was heavily based in practise rather than academia. It took a while but I got there in the end. So decide what you are looking for and make sure the school meets your requirements before handing over your cash.

Tara

I think the reason a lot of hypnotherapists don't make money in this country is that the healing arts are not seen as real alternatives that probably won't work anyway because certainly in hypnotherapy - most trained people don't actually know how to hypnotise and contact the subconscious mind to change the behavioural patterning. This has been fuelled by the glut of (certainly in hypnotherapy) training out there. It is seen that training people offers a better living because therapists only charge anything from £15 a session to £140.

What I don't understand is that if you train in something that has the potential to be life altering why don't those same therapists believe in what they are doing enough to charge a proper amount for it. Think about the value it is if you change someon'es whole life by clearing up a lifelong phobia that has kept them a prisoner for years. You come along change their mind's and their life in a few minutes and then turn round and say, that will be £35 please. What then is the perception and value you are placing on yourself. That a lifechanging event is then only worth £35 - so when somebody does charge more for the service the perception is that they can get it cheaper elsewhere. It becomes a market place and devalues the worth that people place on their lives or the quality of their lives.

I can't speak for Reiki or other therapies but I know that in hypnotherapy you are dealing with people's heads, how they think and behave, it is a responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly or charged for lightly.

I'm not a hypnotherapist but am linked to Mind Therapies.

One downfall for hypnotherapists are the stage shows which could have altered the public's perception that it is more entertainment rather than a therapy.

There's no doubt there are hypnotherapists making a living purely from their practices but with so many course available nowadays it seems anyone can become a hypnotherapist. Years ago when they were few and far between and the anti-smoking campaign kicked-off they had a roaring trade.

All that being said, "go for it", you will never know unless you try.

Hi - I recommend you look up The Performance Partnership.

If you are wanting to combine therapies, then adding NLP, Time Line Therapy and Hypnotherapy will give you a great tool-set. If you train to the Master Practitioner level you will have the skills you need to deal with most issues that any client could wish to deal with.

I trained with them and am very happy with the methods and training.

Getting clients is another issue!

There are MANY people out there that can benefit from what we can offer them - but getting them to realise AND be willing to pay (as another poster here noted) is another issue.

I believe that if people FULLY understood how life changing this methods can be, they would be willing to pay accordingly - but many are used to people they know seeing a counsellor or psychologist and NOT getting the results, so worried to pay ... in case it doesn't work.

I guarantee my results, since I know that if I get as far as taking a client on, that I will get the result with them - this is something that some are uncomfortable with, as a therapist. If I don't get the right result with a client, then don't really deserve to be paid anyway, in my book!

USA Hypnosis Pro

Hi Everyone:

I'm an Ericksonian hypnotist and trainer in the USA, I have invested a great deal of time and money in my education and training as a hypnotherapist, I have, as yet, been unable to recoup even a fraction of the money i've invested in my profession. How does one go about generating a realistic living from the practice of Hypnosis and NLP? I'm looking at several online courses, but i'm very wary of spending more money that may not come back in the form of return on investment.

Can you make some recommendations for how I can make my training profitable at long last?

Osgaldor J,. Storm
FL USA

Hi Osgaldor - you have posted on an old thread - it will be interesting to see if some of the participants come back and give an update about their progress in the therapy.

How long have you been a therapist/teacher? Do your students go on to work in the 'industry'? Do you have a second 'job' to help maintain your standard of living? Are you a member of the Institute of Hypnotherapy?

I see you are in The Sunshine State - do you cater for certain demographics with your therapy?

Hi Osgaldor - you have posted on an old thread - it will be interesting to see if some of the participants come back and give an update about their progress in the therapy.

How long have you been a therapist/teacher? Do your students go on to work in the 'industry'? Do you have a second 'job' to help maintain your standard of living? Are you a member of the Institute of Hypnotherapy?

I see you are in The Sunshine State - do you cater for certain demographics with your therapy?

I certianly couldn't make a living here i the UK with JUST hypnotherapy - although I know of several who do. It is probably my marketting skills that need brushing up. I doubt if any experience I ahve i the UK is really relevant to you in the USA. But I also havent' even begun to recoup the cost of my training.

However I am lucky in that I have a pension (2 pensions as from 6th january!) and no mortgage. That could be why I haven't really focussed on building a client list - as I don't have a pressing financial need to!.

Hi Everyone:

I'm an Ericksonian hypnotist and trainer in the USA, I have invested a great deal of time and money in my education and training as a hypnotherapist, I have, as yet, been unable to recoup even a fraction of the money i've invested in my profession. How does one go about generating a realistic living from the practice of Hypnosis and NLP?

I'm looking at several online courses, but i'm very wary of spending more money that may not come back in the form of return on investment.

Can you make some recommendations for how I can make my training profitable at long last?

Osgaldor J,. Storm
FL USA

Hi, what's so special about these online courses that is going to help you build your business??

One of the unfortunate aspects of being a therapist is it doesn't matter so much how many paper qualifications you have, it's your abilities, persona and business acumen that is vital to be successful in a given field. It takes time for any new business to grow and develop. Happening overnight is for business guru books and fantasists.

You also have to look at it from the clients point of view. Trust and rapport has to develop between a client and a therapist. How can you develop this essential trust? Why should anyone interested in mind therapies from you over anyone else?? Experience is also vital, is there opportunities where you live for voluntary work? The more experience and success you get, the more people will be interested in your services. But then you have to develop business acumen and your unique selling point (USP) to take advantage of this increasing success.

So what's your plan and where do you see yourself in 5 years time? This will help you focus. No focus, no practice!!

And don't under sell yourself either. A good therapist shouldn't offer buy one, get one free.

Osgaldor, there was a bloke called "Bannick" who used to post a lot on this site, he was a very successful hypnotherapist in Manchester. If you look up all the posts he ever made in the Business and Marketing section, you will get some very useful pointers.

Two things to look at to get you started-

1) Google Adwords. This is the only cost-effective form of paid advertising that I've discovered. It's cost-effective because you only pay when someone actually clicks through to your website.

2) Personal recomendations. Do you actively encourage your clients to tell other people about you, giving them an idea of what other problems you can help with besides whatever they've come about? The biggest number of recommendations come from people who've been helped to lose weight or quit smoking, because these are visible behaviours, ie people see that someone's lost weight or quit smoking and they ask how they did it. NB, however good you are, the majority of recommendations will come from a small number of highly-connected people.

The hypnotherapists who succeed are the ones who are motivated and don't expect it all to come to them. They learn about marketing as well as helping people and they overcome any issues they have with charging.

The hypnotherapists who succeed are the ones who are motivated and don't expect it all to come to them. They learn about marketing as well as helping people and they overcome any issues they have with charging.

To be honest that is true of ANY therapist - or indeed any self employed person

It is. As well as helping people, and a vocation, it is a business. Some people struggle with this, thinking you're either someone or cares about people OR you're a business person. This is Either/Or thinking. It's more helpful to think Both/And. If you charge well and make a living from it, you help more people in the long run than charging little and not being able to afford to continue.

It is. As well as helping people, and a vocation, it is a business. Some people struggle with this, thinking you're either someone or cares about people OR you're a business person. This is Either/Or thinking. It's more helpful to think Both/And. If you charge well and make a living from it, you help more people in the long run than charging little and not being able to afford to continue.

Its interesting. I became a hospital pharmacist rather than run my own high street pharmacy because I didn't want to do the business side.. Now I am a therapist I am HAVING to confront the business aspect. And my son paid me a back handed compliment the other day when he said I was too nice to make a financial success of the business because I wouldn't charge people enough....

I have a real problem being both - but you are quite right it shouldn't be either/or .....

This might help Tashanie. It is a form of Cartesian grid I just created. One variable is 'nice/nasty person', for want of a better phrase. Another is 'charge a fair price/undercharge'. Is it possible for people to fit into all of the following possibilities?

1. Charge a fair price and be a nice person?
2. Charge a fair price and be a nasty person?
3. Undercharge and be a nice person?
4. Undercharge and be a nasty person?

If so, they are independent variables. It's a choice.

Also, the client is paying for the value they receive and some of the changes are truly life-changing. And they are choosing whether to part with any amount charged. I'm a trainer and it is so sad for me when I see great therapists I've taught disappear from the profession due to this problem. We've both invested so much. I think I'll address this topic in my newsletter. Any feedback on the grid or anything else would be good.

To be a financially successful hypnotherapist you need to be very good at marketing yourself. You can be the best hypnotherapist in the world but if nobody knows about you then you are going out of business. I work at marketing every single day and my clinics are always full but it takes lots of time and effort. The pay off is that when you market successfully you get noticed by the media which brings in more customers.
I run marketing courses for therapists because my methods work. In particular I utilise social media, SEO, blogging, ads and localised marketing. I also treat my practice as a serious full time business. I work weekends and evenings to make the business successful. This month my confidence hypnosis tips made the front cover of Natural Health Magazine. In November I appeared on LBC radio as a hypnosis expert. The month before that I filmed a TV pilot. I could go on but my point is that many therapists could do with attending business school in conjunction with their courses as it would make all the difference.

As someone exploring the idea of becoming a hypnotherapist, my main concern is how realistic it is to make a decent living. Seeing the many training courses available makes me think there may well be more money in training people to become hypnotherapists than in being a hypnotherapist.

Though many people who enroll on training courses may not necessarily want a new career from it or may subsequently decide it isn't for them etc, there must still be a lot of potential new hypnotherapists trying to do so.

Perhaps an impossible question, but I wonder how many people succeed in making a viable career from hypnotherapy, and how many people who train are able to make a living from it.

Not that making money is my main concern, but it is important and I at least need to be potentially able to make a reasonable income before taking things further.

The views above are very useful but any other opinions or more recent experiences much appreciated.

I can give you the stats. At least 85% of newly qualified hypnotherapists will go out of business in one year. I don't know how that compares to other businesses but yes it is difficult to make a living unless you are great at marketing.

I make a good living out of hypnotherapy but that is because I work hard at marketing. I have a number of websites, do SEO, talks, respond to forums such as this, engage in social media, use paid advertising etc... Clients will not simply fall in your lap you need to get found. I run marketing classes to help therapists get clients. These give you the basics to get you started.

As for training courses in hypnosis don't think that is easy either. In order to get clients for your courses you have to attract enough people to make them viable. Often you are booking rooms in advance and have nobody to fill them. If you are an ethical practitioner you don't spam people with your courses. You have to build up an audience over a period of years before you have a great business. Also many of the training courses you see advertised aren't worth the money. There are actually very few great training courses out there which are approved by the big professional bodies. If they look cheap and last a few days then don't waste your money.

Hi, we are running professional clinical hypnotherapy training courses on the Sunshine Coast. I'm not sure if I can post our web address on here so will try anyway for you
Please contact me if it doesn't show for more details.

Aussie wants to learn Hypnotherapy

I'm so glad to find this thread, very interesting reading, thankyou.

I would like to study Clinical Hypnotherapy, its just so daunting finding a good school. Does anyone know a reputable school in Queensland Australia?

Or can you help by suggesting what to look for in a school? :confused:

The training courses are very useful to understand and successfully applying techniques. There are different institutions providing training courses and online information on different issues.

I think that you have some great advice here! I would also mention that TeeTyalor did not have a bad idea when they mentioned to maybe stay in your old career until your hypnotherapy career takes off. Maybe work on it as a side job until you know that you will find clients and be a success. As with any new career, it takes time to get started, but if you put in the work you will succeed. Good luck with everything!

Hello Courtney, welcome to Healthy pages. Great place to learn and receive information that is thought provoking

Ive been a practising hypnotherapist for many years not and have to say it is one of the most rewarding things that I have done. Like you, I have found it challenging to keep it as a full time living. Nowadays my work has evolved, though I still use hypnotherapy in my work as well as meditation.