Wellness Institute Blog

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  Clients identify these outdated ways of being and come up with powerful new conclusions and ways in which they would like to move forward in their lives.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:

You worked hard to earn your license as a mental health therapist. First, you went through four years of college. Then you survived your master’s degree, endured your post-degree requirements, and passed your state’s licensure test.

Now you can finally practice!

Not so fast. Yes, you can absolutely hang up your shingle now and strike out on your own as a therapist. All signs point to it being a growing field with a perpetual market of clients seeking solutions to their mental health challenges.

But if you can hang on for another six days of training (which, in the grand scheme of what you’ve already accomplished, isn’t all that much), you can enter the world of private practice uniquely suited to help a wide range of clients achieve long-lasting results. You can undertake hypnotherapy training.

In this article, we’ll explore three reasons why hypnotherapy training is worth it for both the budding and established professional therapist.

(If you have more questions about hypnotherapy, you’ll find your answers in our hypnotherapy FAQ.)

What committed psychotherapist wouldn’t consider adding hypnotherapy to their treatment repertoire? Hypnotherapy can unlock your clients’ subconscious minds, giving you access to the long-buried roots of their most persistent challenges: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder. If you’re passionate about understanding the human mind and providing real, lasting results to your clients, training to become a hypnotherapist is an exciting prospect.

But there are practical matters to consider. You don’t want to waste your limited training budget and valuable time on a modality that won’t net you new clients and help grow your practice — even one as fascinating as hypnotherapy.

Is there a demand for hypnotherapy?

In this article, we’ll take a look at what the numbers say about the market for hypnotherapy. Armed with these statistics, you’ll be in a more secure position to make an informed choice about your professional development as a therapist.

(Have more questions about hypnotherapy? Visit our hypnotherapy FAQ here.)

To understand the demand for hypnotherapy, you have to understand three current market trends.

Do you remember the day you booked your first full day of hypnotherapy clients? You had no idea how it happened. You did session after session and at the end of the day, you felt both satisfied and confused. How could you replicate your big success?

There's something invigorating about building your private practice — especially if you can find success in doing so. And success doesn’t have to be a mystery. You can learn to grow your private practice with confidence and ease. All you need is a solid plan.

There are three essential keys to thriving as a hypnotherapist — and an entrepreneur.

You’re gung-ho and want to set the world on fire after returning home from a marketing seminar. So you hire someone to build a new website and following the must-do advice you picked up over the weekend, you insist on having a blog. You imagine yourself crafting a beautiful essay, posting it on your website, and suddenly having thousands of readers.

Are you ready to level up your social media marketing?

For obvious reasons, Facebook is a good starting point for marketing your private practice on social media. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. internet users log in regularly. That means if your clients and potential clients use the internet, they’re on Facebook.

But where do you go after Facebook? Other social media sites may boast fewer regular users than Facebook, but the most popular among them can still be valuable channels for attracting and connecting with new clients.

It all depends on who you’re targeting. If you work primarily with seniors, for example, you may want to steer away from Instagram. Only 16 percent of adults over 50 say they use the site. On the other hand, Instagram is a hit among young adults; 71 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds say they use it.

If most of your clients come from a higher income group, LinkedIn might be the channel for you. Among those that earn more than $75,000 per year, LinkedIn beats out Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

If you’re ready to move beyond Facebook marketing or your market research has revealed opportunities on other social media platforms, read on. Here we’ll introduce the two best non-Facebook social media sites for marketing your private therapy practice.

With most of your clients, your friends and family, and everyone you meet on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar sites, social media represents an ethical minefield for private practice mental health therapists. For decades, the line between a therapist’s private and professional life has been sacrosanct. Social media tempts both therapists and clients to blur the line.

What will you do if a client attempts to friend you on Facebook? Would you share a client’s personal story with your followers on Twitter? What if a client pressures you to follow their Instagram account?

Some therapists decide it’s simply easier to give up on social media altogether — for personal and professional use. But for many others, that’s not an option.

First, social media has become so embedded in modern society, it’s almost impossible to live without it. Second, sites like Facebook are heavily trafficked online destinations. With the intense competition for therapy clients in some areas, it’s hard to turn your back on this ripe opportunity to market your private practice.