How to Choose the Right Practitioner

It’s important that you choose the right Practitioner for you – one that you can trust and feel comfortable with. So, it’s a good idea to speak to a few Practitioners on the phone and preferably in a free initial consultation. You can then be ready with a few questions:

  • What are your professional qualifications?
  • What do the letters after your name mean?
  • How long have you been in practice? (some may be newly qualified without much experience)
  • What experience do you have with my kind of problem?
  • What testimonials can you provide?
  • What professional bodies do you belong to?
  • Do you have professional indemnity insurance?  
  • Where can you see me?
  • What are your fees?
  • How many sessions will I need? 
  • Is there a free consultation? 
  • How soon can I make an appointment? 
A Word about 'Hypnotherapy' and 'Clinical Hypnotherapy'
When you see the word 'clinical', it's easy to think this is some kind of medical hypnotherapy or that the hypnotherapist is specially trained in mental illness and therefore more qualified than an ordinary hypnotherapist. Some are, but this is not always the case. Clinical hypnotherapy basically means the use of hypnosis as a conduit for therapy.  Check out a Clinical Hypnotherapist's training and background to see if they are trained in mental illness.  If you have a serious mental illness, talk to your doctor or psychiatrist before approaching any kind of hypnotherapist. Hypnotherapy in the UK is currently unregulated and anyone can lay claim to the title Hypnotherapist or Clinical Hypnotherapist after just a few days' training. This is why it is important to find the answers to the questions above. 
 
What will the Practitioner ask?
The Practitioner is likely to ask you what kind of issues you want to work on. This is to help them decide whether the methods they use are appropriate to you at this time. In the initial session, the Practitioner should make it clear to you how much they charge, how long sessions last, how often they are, whether there are any cancellation fees, and discuss confidentiality with you.  If you are seeking Hypnotherapy, the Practitioner will need to ask you some health-related questions, as there are a number of important contra-indications for Hypnotherapy, such as breathing problems, early pregnancy, heart/stroke history, epilepsy, psychosis, substance/drug/alcohol misuse. If a hypnotherapist does not ask these questions before beginning hypnosis - think twice before working with them.
 
What will it cost?
You are unlikely to find a Practitioner charging less than £40 an hour, and some charge a lot more than that. Most people should be able to find a properly qualified practitioner at £50 to £80 per hour. That may sound like a lot of money, but if you think what you spend on your own wellbeing, such as holidays, entertainment or eating out, it’s not such a great amount to spend on making your life a whole lot happier.
 
How to decide
When you meet your Practitioner, you’ll get a feeling about whether you feel comfortable with them and how you will feel about sharing personal information. If you have to decide between two Practitioners who have respectable qualifications, have been in practice over two years, belong to at least one professional association, have insurance and have testimonials from satisfied clients, then go with the one you feel most comfortable with, even if they charge a bit more and are further away.
 
Here’s what Jenny Lewis of Aspire2Change can offer:
  • Jenny’s professional qualifications and what they mean:
    Dip.Hyp. (+ Distinction)– (Recognised qualification in Hypnotherapy)
    GQHP (General Qualification in Hypnotherapy Practice validated by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council)
    INLPTA NLP Practitioner– (International qualification as an NLP Practitioner)
    ANLP NLP Business Practitioner - (She's qualified to apply her NLP to business settings as well)
    INLPTA NLP Coaching Practitioner - (International qualification as an NLP Coach)
    TPM Master Practitioner - (Certified Master Practitioner of Thought Pattern ManagementTM)
    Dip.PLR(General Hypnotherapy Standards Council validated qualification in Past Life Regression)
    B.A. Gen. Hons.(1st Degree in Psychology & German)
    Diploma in Applied Social Studies: (+ Distinction) – (Post-grad Diploma in Social Work)
  • Jenny has been in practice since December 2004
  • Testimonials: There are several testimonials on the website for you to see. 
  • Professional bodies Jenny belongs to:
    GHR registered (General Hypnotherapy Register)
    NHS Registered (Registered with the NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners) 
    INLPTA Graduate Member (Graduate Member of the International NLP Trainers Association)
    ANLP Practitioner Member (member of the Association of NLP) 
  • Professional indemnity insurance – Yes, and Public Liability insurance.
  • Where? - Jenny sees most clients in Rudry, near Caerphilly. She also hires consulting rooms in Cardiff and Risca, all in South Wales. People have come from as far afield as Carmarthenshire and Somerset to see her.
  • Fees: £50 an hour for therapy; £60 an hour for coaching
  • How many sessions will I need – That depends on your issues; usually between 2 and 6 sessions.
  • Is there a free consultation - Yes, a completely free, no-obligation appointment of roughly half an hour
  • How soon can I make an appointment – often within a week, at a time to suit you.
  • Jenny's specialisms: Jenny uses a range of skills interchangeably, combining Hypnotherapy with NLP, Thought Pattern Management and Past Life Regression Therapy. She prefers not to work with smoking cessation or weight loss. Although she has social work experience in the mental health field, she has not been trained to work with people with serious mental illness.  That's not because she doesn't want to work with you - she just thinks it's important for you to get the best practitioner for your circumstances and other practitioners may specialise in these areas.

  

Aspire2Change – achieve your aspirations, change your life.

Get in touch now for your FREE no-obligation appointment.

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