Day in the life of
Hypnotherapist – Erwin Wils
I used to work as a hypnotherapist and still do next to my coaching business. I am a certified professional hypnotherapist, all-round master hypnotherapist, and master Soulkey therapist. When I started out 6 years ago as a hypnotherapist, I helped people overcome all kinds of mental challenges. From stop smoking, fear of public speaking, other fears and phobias all the way to traumas, PTSD, depression, and burn-out. I used to do live sessions, but after 25 years of hybrid training of live and online, there is little difference between live and online sessions. I usually leave it to the client whether he or she wants a live session or online.
What does a hypnotherapist actually do?
Have you ever started to read a book and got caught up in the story, that you wanted to finish it in one read? That you actually lost track of time, because you just wanted to know the ending of the story? Yet nobody is forcing you to finish it, a book is just a gathering of white paper with black letters on it, you can put it aside every moment in time. Yet the author triggered something inside of you that made you want to finish the story. For me, that’s the perfect description of a hypnotherapy session. Consider me being the storyteller that keeps your subconscious mind intrigued, and it’s your subconscious mind that keeps you in a trance. But at any time, you have the possibility to get out of it.
As a hypnotherapist, I work indirectly and directly with the subconscious mind. The session already starts with the pretalk. How deep a client goes into trance, is not of interest to me. That they transform is all I care about. The subconscious always has a positive intention. That doesn’t mean you’re happy with the behavior it uses to effectuate that intention. I empower the subconscious mind to come up with alternative behavior that the client will be pleased with. It is the subconscious itself that does the rewiring, I only guide the subconscious mind.
The funny thing is, when people experience a problem, they already know, unconsciously, what the solution is. They have a current situation, a desired situation, and the difference between the two is creating the problem. The challenge is that they cannot connect with the solution, or with the path towards the solution. I help them to connect with the resources inside of them to solve the issues they’re facing. I did that as a hypnotherapist and now I do exactly the same as a coach, and then some.
My typical day
A typical day back then looked like blocks of 2 hours I reserved to see clients: 10-12, 13-15, 15-17 hrs. When I started working internationally, I added evening blocks from either 20-22 or 21-23 hrs, to cover time zone differences. I never charged by the hour, because I do what’s needed during the sessions to help my clients. I charged per session. Usually, the 2 hours was more than enough, but sometimes I needed some additional time, and that was fine. I used to prepare my sessions, nowadays I don’t do that anymore, because if there’s one thing I learned is that the subconscious mind has a will of its own. That makes the work very challenging and fun. Not saying it can be difficult sometimes! Certain clients have experienced things you wouldn’t wish to your worst enemy, but the knowledge that I have the skills, experience, and tools to help them takes care of that.
Cons
If I have to mention cons about the job, I can mention 2.
Firstly, since I work with the subconscious mind of my clients, the clients must want the transformation themselves. People want to change, but not to be changed. So if anybody is sent by their loved one, a good pretalk is required to check whether or not the client wants to change. Especially when working with children that is very important. I always say to a child that their father or mother told me some things and that’s the reason why they are here, but I am there for them, not for their parents. And then they tell me what they want to change themselves. Another group that I need to mention here are the patients that have been visiting several professionals to “prove” they cannot be helped. Knowing the red flags to look for is very important in this business (like these cases, or certain drugs that can influence the session).
Secondly, hypnotherapy is a very effective way to help people. On average you need 3 sessions to overcome a certain challenge. I only sell packages of 3 sessions: first one to get acquainted with me and my way of working (and laying the first foundation), second session to transform the issue, and third session to tie up possible loose ends. So, in order to build a healthy business and make a good living, you need a lot of clients. And what I noticed, is that a lot of clients weren’t living their full potential. I helped them overcome a certain challenge and they went on living their normal, ordinary life again. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that! But I like to live my full potential and I wish that for my clients as well. So for me, that was the reason to change my focus towards coaching.
Pros
When I “have” to talk about the pros of this business, the list can go on and on, it easily outweighs the cons. Let me give you three:
First of all, like the con, hypnotherapy is a very effective way to help people. In 3 sessions clients are finished, on average. And since the change comes from within, you know it will last. Within 2 months clients can start living their new life again.
Second benefit is that every session is different. I challenge myself each and every time because each session is customer made. You work directly with the subconscious mind of the client and since every client is unique, you cannot expect each session to progress the same. When there is one thing I have learned, is that each session will progress differently as you might have prepared. You learn that by making the hours and doing the sessions and that’s what I love about it: each session is a new challenge for me, activating all my skills, tools, and creativity to help my clients.
Third benefit is that it can be a lot of fun as well. Since each subconscious responds differently, it can really surprise and amaze you. I can share a lot of stories about that, but that will go far beyond this story……. Let’s keep it that it is fun to do ?
I still do sessions when people come to me, even though I don’t advertise for it. But word of mouth goes far. And it is one of my key skills in my coaching business. Just consider this: it can take anywhere between 30-90 days to change a habit. Or one session with me. You choose.
