This blog is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about training as a hypnotherapist. I recently saw a post in a facebook group that posed the following questions to it’s members. 

How lucrative is the field? How much energy did it take to start a practice? Is finding clients a lot of work?

Many of the responses were as expected. Instead of answering the questions honestly, the post was seen as an opportunity to spout the usual tropes and spurious claims and indulge in the predictable chest-beating big-dickery that too many hypnotherapists feel the need to participate in. Sadly, the profession is awash with people who are economical with the truth to say the least.

I began reading some of the boastful replies and, when done shaking my head, decided to contribute with my own sobering observations.

What follows is an edited and expanded version of my own response.

“A word of caution. Be wary of exaggerated or outright dishonest claims. The hypnotherapy business can indeed be lucrative, however, the fact is – the profession is awash with more than it’s fair share of trainers who lie. In fact, there are a lot of them, and they tell a lot of lies between them and when they are not telling outright fibs, they are being deliberate dishonest, disingenuous and economical with the truth.

So what are the lies and false claims being shared to prospective students, clients and their professional peers?

Well let’s see, they are dishonest about the number of clients they see, have seen, have helped, how busy they are, their success rates, what they charge, and their scope of practice (what they can work with). One thing many of the trainers also fail to tell potential students, is that they themselves are not, and many have never been, busy therapists. They rarely disclose that their income comes from either other revenue streams (main job, pensions, partners etc.) or primarily from the training and workshops they offer (which ironically will include selling outdated or unsuccessful ‘how to get client’ programmes that haven’t worked for them).

Trainers will say to potential students things such as “you can get 30/40 clients a week”, when they have never run a prolific practice themselves,  and for the few that can claim to have that amount of weekly footfall through their doors, the practice normally consists of a number of hypnotherapists working in it (a detail many choose to omit).

Having created and run the country’s most successful hypnosis convention, I got to observe, know, befriend and mentor lots of hypnotherapists, trainers and numerous individuals trained by the people behind the claims. I also have been invited to numerous trainings by the individuals guilty of perpetuating some of the guff and nonsense . So, I have been well positioned to see and hear things as they are, both from the people seduced by the false claims and the ones making them. 

Sure you can make a nice few quid from the hypnosis business. But what most of the people making money won’t ever tell you is that where it’s been a moneymaker for them is, the disingenuous selling of the dream to trusting people in exchange for money that will never bear fruit (unless they pass on the bullshit to their own future victims).

The reality is, just like any business, it can be very lucrative, but there are no shortcuts and you need to be patient and pragmatic because, finding out the path to a hypnosis career is paved with far more bullshit than it is gold, may zap your energy, spirit and resolve.

Before you begin, set yourself realistic goals, budgets, targets (in terms of client numbers) and relative amount of time to allocate to growing your business as you succeed or fail. Be honest with yourself as a therapist and business person and set time aside at the end of every day for self-reflection and the reflective processes involved with running businesses well.

Also be mindful of how much money you invest in continued training. I will be honest, I’ve spent a lot of money on utter shit over the years, when my time and money would have been better put to use self-studying, self-reflecting and actually finding some of the cost effective resources freely available. Nothing depletes the energy like an ever depleting bank account and a trainer and training that creates more questions than answers.

Think long and hard about any claims being made and be especially cynical as to whether any ‘marketing’ training from a certain type of hypnosis or NLP trainer, is going to be of any actual value in setting up a practice, and how watertight and congruent their claims actually are. 

Your success will be the best way to find the next client through referrals and the right kind of referrals. Following up on clients for referrals and feedback is a good way to keep that referral process alive.

Disclaimer. I am a good businessman and a great business coach. However, I am or at least I was, a pretty poor hypnosis businessman because I helped too many people for free. I gave good advice to others but, always struggled taking money for many of the issues I was helping clients with, sometimes because of the client’s personal circumstances, but also because of the other revenue streams I was enjoying at the time. Even when I was fully focused and feeling less charitable, I rarely saw more than ten clients a week on average. This suited at the time, but I think, even with my results speaking for themselves, doubling those figures would have taken a lot of time and commitment.

In summary, yes training as a hypnotherapist can be lucrative, but be sure to objectively question those who tell you it is and ask them to demonstrate where their actual income comes from. Yes it can be a drain on energy so be economical, pragmatic and measured when you are starting out. Be a good hypnotherapist, don’t try to imitate people who tell you they are great hypnotherapists, and the clients will come – over time.