Why Choose Online Sessions?

The Benefits

It is often said there is no one more evangelical than a convert and I was initially not a fan of online hypnosis. It took a while for me to truly appreciate the potential of how online hypnosis sessions work.

Firstly, I ran two ‘bricks and mortar’ clinics providing the type of in-person hypnotherapy I had trained in and practiced for almost two decades. Secondly, there was a fear that the technology and people’s fluency with it would let sessions down and make them awkward and clunky. This lead to my frequent rhetorical question:

“Why would anyone want to do hypnosis online when they could have a face-to-face session?!”

Clients who had moved away from London would often ask me if we could do a session over Skype / Zoom and though initially resistant, once I started providing these sessions, I never looked back. They were so effective, often more so than in-person sessions. Once I too had moved away from London, the more of these sessions I did, the better they became. I was still hesitant to offer them more widely since the technology still remained a barrier that was often difficult and frankly irritating to try and overcome.

The pandemic was the game-changer for this. Suddenly, the technology improved and individuals became more fluent in using systems like Zoom and understanding how to make them work smoothly. Online hypnosis as a genuine, often better, alternative to in-person sessions had really arrived.

Some of the reasons why online is so beneficial include:

• Being in the comfort of your home / choice of location – As much as we can make a hypnotherapy clinic welcoming, it will still never make you feel as relaxed, safe and secure as being in your OWN space. This is definitely a huge factor in what makes online sessions so effective, especially for eyes closed work like hypnosis. Clients generally attain a deeper state than during in-person appointments which is a sign of this increased ability to let go during online hypnosis sessions.

• Flexibility & convenience – No travel, no parking tickets, no waiting in reception rooms. You can the most of your time and schedule sessions around your existing commitments. For those using sessions to prepare for a particular event it means that they can be provided very close to the date or time, for example someone having hypnosis sessions in the run up to a business presentation might have a online session even a couple of hours before the event itself.

• Better for shy / anxious / nervous people – My in-person clients used to travel all the way to London’s Harley Street to meet me (a complete stranger) and then descend into a basement office to experience the unusual (and often misunderstood) experience of hypnosis. To some, this is of course an exciting great adventure. However, for those of a more nervous or anxious disposition, this setup alone could be a barrier to a client both enjoying and benefitting from the session. Again, being in your own physical space and thus more in control makes a huge difference to allaying such feelings.

• Affordability – In-person sessions have to carry a premium to account for the costs of running a physical location. This can definitely be a barrier to clients benefiting from more regular sessions. By eliminating a lot of these costs I can provide sessions that are accessible and affordable, especially where clients take advantage of my discounted multi-session packages. 

What are the downsides / potential challenges to online sessions?

• Technological challenges – I can do as much as possible at my end, but if a client struggles to use Zoom, their PC or has a poor or unstable internet connection then this could negatively impact the effectiveness of the session. This can largely be overcome by potential clients taking responsibility to ensure they can use Zoom over a stable connection BEFORE booking and attending sessions. Where connection problems are out of either of our control, this will usually be evident in the initial chat on the call itself. If this is the case, the easiest solution is to switch to phone, 4G/5G or ‘audio only’ for the eyes closed part of the session. At this point you only have to be able to hear my voice so there is usually a way to make the session work.

• Distractions in your personal space – Alarms, phones, pets, kids, etc. all the have the potential to disrupt a session, but again they can all be managed by good planning and organisation on the part of the client.

• Not viewing online sessions as an ‘event’ – There is definitely a sense of attending an in-person session feeling like an EVENT. This can be an important psychological marker when making a more sudden or binary transformational change. e.g. “Today is the day I visit the clinic and become a non-smoker”, etc.) I overcome this in my work by using the concept of a ‘Day 1’ for this type of change, with creates a similar psychological and narrative context. The flip side to this potential challenge is that by not being the type of in-person event suggested above, there is less pressure on individuals who are prone to ‘all or nothing’ thinking.

• Fixed perception of online sessions as ‘second best’ – If you have experienced great in-person hypnotherapy, it is understandable that you might view online hypnosis sessions as somehow lesser. I once shared these same reservations as a practitioner, but as I have already explained, I overcame them and have since found online a wonderful way to experience such sessions. If you can’t shift from this mindset and it is too fixed it could be an obstacle to even trying online sessions as a valid alternative. If we expect something to be less effective, then we often seek to confirm this bias, whether consciously or subconsciously. However, I would encourage any client to open their mind to the potential of a format that I have found truly excellent and immensely beneficial.

As you can see, most of the potential downsides are relatively straightforward to overcome and, for the majority of people, are outweighed by the various benefits of online sessions.

You can read some of the most Frequently Asked Questions I receive about my sessions and if you have any additional queries please contact me. Alternatively, to get started and arrange a session, you can book here.