Wellness Institute Blog

Many people appear to be skeptical when it comes to hypnotherapy and how it can have a positive impact on the way you think. There are many common myths about hypnotherapy which lead people to question its effectiveness. It has been used for over half a century to treat many dozens of issues.

From being used to control pain through hypnobirthing, to helping aid weight loss, treat addiction and also improve symptoms of anxiety and depression; hypnotherapy has been proven to be an extremely effective method of solution-focused therapy.

It's no surprise that more and more brands are taking their business online. In fact, marketing experts from Maryville University state that digital marketing is on the rise, sparking a demand for content creators and social media gurus. Nowadays, brands can no longer afford to ignore their online presence if they want to stay competitive and reach their target customers. This finding holds true across all brands — from fashion shops and nail salons, to cupcake stores and gyms. Of course, therapists can also find value in social media, but the rules are a little different.

While most businesses leverage their websites to promote discounts and lure customers into buying products, the ethics of these engagements are questionable for therapists. After all, you're dealing with mental health. Nonetheless, mental health providers can still use social media to increase their practice's visibility, and in turn, help more people. Here are some tips.

In today’s digital world, it seems like every therapist on the block has a website. So, what do you do to stand out in that crowd? How do you inspire your dream client to reach out and become YOUR client? Here are a few quick things you can do on your existing website to make that a reality.

I had double bypass open heart surgery two weeks ago. Here are some of the lessons I'm learning from this experience.

The deep subtlety of what my heart is telling me. For example, I resisted going to the emergency room when my heart was telling me to go because my experience didn’t match my image of a guy clutching his heart and screaming out in excruciating pain.

My symptoms were more benign, thankfully; light headedness, nausea, pressure in my chest. Fortunately, Diane made the decision to pay attention to my heart’s message and go to the emergency room.

Ok, you’ve set up a blog page on your therapy practice website. You’ve set aside an hour or two in your day for writing and you’ve cleared a calm, distraction-free work zone in your office. Now to write, letting the dazzling ideas flow from your therapy-expert brain onto the digital page.

Except, you have no idea how to get started. You thought this would be easier!

Don’t panic.

Writing and publishing blog content is a great way to market your private practice, show your voice and personality to potential clients, and establish yourself as an authority in your particular niche of psychotherapy. But blogging doesn’t come easy to anyone — not at first, anyway.

Your therapy textbooks were certainly not short on jargon. So you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that other groups of professionals love to throw around their own insider terms. The business world is especially guilty of this, and one of their favorite abbreviations is ROI.

Like most bits of jargon, ROI is a needlessly technical way to describe a simple concept. It stands for return on investment. Basically, when you spend money (or other resources) on something — hiring a new employee, an updated piece of equipment, a redesigned logo — you hope to get something back, preferably more than you put in.

The amount you get back from any given expenditure, positive or negative, is your return on investment. Smart business people calculate ROI for almost every decision they make.

Are you constantly thinking about food or your next opportunity to eat?
Do you see yourself as thinner or heavier than others see you?
Have you tried several weight loss/food control methods?
Do you feel shame about your eating or not eating?
Are you juggling multiple roles in your life?

As you take in these statements, are there any that resonate with you?  Perhaps you are a mother coordinating the schedules of your children while managing the title of wife and business woman.  Maybe you are a businessman traveling and you miss your family, so you reach for another serving of cake, at least it allows you to feel some sweetness while you are on the road?  Or maybe you are so stressed out from trying to people please that all you can think about is devouring your next meal?  Maybe you’ve gotten to a point in your life where food is love.  Your food or drink of choice might represent a substitute for emotional satisfaction.  Perhaps it helps you to drown out the pain of loneliness, fear, guilt, or shame?  Maybe you are stressed out and can’t quite put your finger on the ‘why’ of it?

You’ve learned all there is to learn about human psychology. You’ve dedicated countless hours to the intricate physiology of the brain. You’ve poured through the DSM-5.

But despite all the work you put into becoming a professional mental health therapist, all the classes you attended and all the hands-on practice you accrued, you’re still a neophyte when it comes to one critical element of achieving your professional goals: building, maintaining, and growing a private therapy practice.

No one ever taught you how to run a business.

Most therapists learn to build their practices through trial and error. They make mistakes, learn from them, make adjustments, and repeat the cycle until they have thriving practices, with stellar reputations and steady streams of new clients.

But there’s no reason you need to start from nothing — not when a community of successful professionals has paved the way.

Hypnotherapy is defined as, ‘Extraordinary quality of mental, physical, and emotional relaxation which by-passes the critical factor of the mind and thus the mind becomes highly responsive to suggestion.’

Hypnotherapy training provides a unique tool to possess as a professional.  When working with clients its diversity allows for a toolbox of effectiveness.  For example, through the process of hypnotherapy we can help clients access old conclusions and beliefs about the Self.  Clients identify these outdated ways of being and come up with powerful new conclusions and ways in which they would like to move forward in their lives. 

As a hypnotherapist, we help clients access the subtle suggestions that they are repeatedly replaying in their minds day after day. As our clients begin to tap into the power of the unconscious mind, they begin to gain access to their deeply embedded unacknowledged beliefs.  Listen to the wisdom of a seasoned hypnotherapist as he shares his insights on how this modality can usher in new methods of healing for our clients.  To begin answering how the practice of hypnotherapy can assist you in treating more client issues, I turned to my teacher and friend, Tom Gigliotti who is an experienced 30-year veteran in the mental health field.  He has a lively Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, and RoHun practice in Lyndhurst, Ohio.  Join me for a Q&A with Tom as he identifies how Hypnotherapy can help you to treat more clients. 

When people experience depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues, often their first stop is their family physician. Primary care doctors are often unequipped to treat these conditions at the level of care they require. Doctors can prescribe medication, but they can’t offer ongoing psychotherapy.

So, doctors make referrals. This is why, for private practice therapists, physicians are such a valuable source of new clients. If you can establish yourself as a go-to mental health resource for a local medical practice, you’ll be sure to see a steady stream of business coming your way.

But doctors are busy people who tend to get locked into their habits. If your practice is new to an area or just starting out, how can you endear yourself to local doctors?

Here are five tips for networking with doctors and other medical professionals: