Number of Sessions and Hypnotherapy
Today I thought I would talk about one of the most common questions a hypnotherapist gets, “How many sessions will I need for my issue?”I say hypnotherapists get asked, this is because my clients who present for psychotherapist almost never ask this question. The thing that I have always found interesting about this question is that very often the potential client does not even say what there issue is before asking the question.
Now, I will always say that therapy is not a race, and even if it were it would be a marathon not a sprint. In my own practice I only give a number of sessions needed is for smoking cessation, which is one session only. There is no way to determine how many sessions a person will need for an issue. One cannot even use other people’s experiences as a guide because everyone is different, with different motivations for resolution.
This question is exasperated when therapists will put down number of session needed in their fees section of their website. This builds a false sense of security and sometimes a false hope in potential clients. I know it is not particularly satisfying to hear, “therapy takes as long as it takes”. Despite this, it is the most honest answer a therapist can give.