5 Practical Tips For New Hypnotherapy Students

When you are new to studying hypnotherapy, it can seem a vast world to get a grip of. This blog gives you 5 practical tips to help you get started.

At HypnoTC we are passionate about helping people to become the best hypnotherapist they can be, whether that involves great initial training or awesome upskill/ refresher training. To find out more about training with HypnoTC (which includes the use of rapid hypnotherapy), and becoming a professional hypnotherapist, click the button below.

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Tips for new hypnotherapy students

We recognise that there is a lot to consider when you are new to learning hypnotherapy. In addition to the helpful content in this blog, you are welcome to check out our YouTube series ‘Tips for New Hypnotherapy Students’, to which we regularly add videos. Some of those videos are linked here. You can also check out our other videos on the HypnoTC YouTube Channel.

Tip #1 – All about you and preparing to learn

Our first tip for new hypnotherapy students is focusing on you and how you can prepare to learn. It can be really helpful to understand the ‘big picture’ of hypnotherapy and where your training will fit.  You might like to start by doing some general research and ‘mapping the field’. You can look at the key theories that inform hypnotherapy (including behavioural, cognitive, analytical and regression) and popular approaches, such as Ericksonian hypnotherapy.

Read around the general topics and then review your course syllabus. Get an idea of where it fits into the map. In addition, find out what is coming up in each class and take some time to focus your reading around that. Also, if you get the course notes in advance, go through them, and make notes of any particular questions. Find out more, with our video…

Tip #2 – Preparing for your first day in class

Our next tip for new hypnotherapy students considers how you set yourself up to have a great first day in class. Ideally you will start to prepare well in advance of your first day, rather than leaving it to a mad scramble late on the night before. Have a really relaxed night before class, so you are at your best on the day.

Organise your leaning materials and pay attention to your preferences. Perhaps you do well with highlighting text, or using post-it-notes. You might like to keep everything in a lever arch file, perhaps even in punched pockets, or simply as loose paper in a file. Whilst organising your learning materials, remember to pack your course notes if you have them. At HypnoTC, we give our students their notes in advance, so they can look through and become familiar with them and their contents. As well as packing your leaning and course materials, you might like to pack some snacks, nibbles, or even your favourite water or soft drinks.

If you have time beforehand, you might like to check out your route to class beforehand. Travel there, locate the route to class, notice where the food and coffee vendors are and also find out alternative routes. This means that on the day, you are really reducing any risk of travel stress. Saying that, do leave plenty of time to get to class. Better to have time to relax, that arrive hot and flustered.

Finally, when you join class, stand up tall, be confident, make eye contact, smile, and be open and welcoming. Say ‘hello’ to the person next to you. Relax into the environment and be ready, willing and able to learn.

Tip #3 – Improving your hypnotic vocabulary

The third tip for new hypnotherapy students is focused on helping you to develop your hypnotic language as soon as possible. As a hypnotherapist, you will find it helpful to have a diverse vocabulary. Now is a great time to start to develop your linguistic versatility, including synonyms and antonyms for common hypnotic words, such as relax. This enables you to avoid being overly repetitive. In the instance of ‘relaxing’ you can then talk of releasing tension, becoming loose, chilling, lounging, de-stressing, mellowing, decompressing, unwinding, lazing, reposing, and even hanging loose.

A great way of expanding your vocabulary is to read books, both fiction and non-fiction, particularly books that are different to your usual reading material. Both hypnosis-related and more general. If you are not much of a reader, then this is a great opportunity to either watch movies, or listen to podcasts, either hypnosis-related, more general, or even vocabulary ones (they do exist!). You might even take a more high-tech approach and put a vocabulary app on your phone.

You can also read hypnosis and hypnotherapy scripts and notice the words that are used. In addition, you may like to listen to your fellow students, tutors and teachers, and even your clients. How do they refer to ‘relaxation’ for example. With all of this, you will soon be able to create alternative lists for reach of your common hypnosis words. Perhaps even consulting a dictionary and a thesaurus. Knowing the words is one thing, integrating them into your everyday language is another. You might like to play some word games with fellow students.

 ‘The round’ word game

In this game, ideally with several students, start with a word such as ‘relax’ and each person has to come up with a similar word. When they can’t, they drop out of the game for that word. The winner is the last one speaking. Everyone joins back in for the next word. The overall winner is the person with the most individual wins.

‘The round’ phrase game

This is similar to the word game, but using a phrase, such as ‘heavy and tired’.

The continuous story game

In this game, there is a theme, such as a progressive relaxation, and each person takes turn to deliver a phrase, without repeating what the previous people have said.

Tip #4 – Getting practice

The fourth tip for new hypnotherapy students considers how you can get lots of practice. It is certainly something you can be proactive about. Getting lots of practice will really help you to understand and learn the hypnotherapy techniques that you are taught. You can, of course, simply dive straight in to working with friends, family, or even clients. If you feel that you would benefit from a little more preparation before doing that, then the following actions may be really helpful.

Firstly, read through the technique from start to finish. Then, learn the technique. Break it down into process components, so you have an idea of the overall flow. Next, read or say the technique out loud. Notice the words and the pacing of what you are saying. When you are comfortable with this stage, record the technique and either listen to it back and/or experience it yourself. The next stage is to hypnotise a ‘something’. A teddy bear is ideal. It has a face. It makes more sense than simply hypnotising a pillow. This gives you the opportunity to say your technique out loud and direct your intention.

Now, you can move on to hypnotising people. The first step here could be asking a friend to ‘pretend’ to go into hypnosis. This takes the pressure of them and you. If possible, practice with a range of people and take time, after each person, to reflect on their different responses. You can learn so much from this. Finally, if you are able, observe others delivering the technique and also receive the technique from other students or hypnotherapists. Notice what you can and take any useful learning.

Tip #5 – How to deliver hypnotherapy scripts

Our final tip for new hypnotherapists in this blog is about your delivery of hypnosis and hypnotherapy scripts. As a hypnotherapy student, you will, at some point encounter hypnotherapy scripts, particularly at the start of your learning journey. These may be provided by your training provider, or you might find them on the internet or in hypnotherapy books. There are some easy steps that you can take to elevate your delivery and help the client (or your practice partner) to get the most out of the experience.

Firstly, consider the material you are going to be holding. If the script is in a book, maybe use a bookmark, so that you can easily find your place. If the script is in loose paper format over several pages, then perhaps staple together, or collate in some way, so that you follow the script in the correct order. This also helps reduce paper rustling sounds. Next, read the script all the way through, either silently, or, better, out loud, so that you get used to forming the words and have an idea of pacing.

When you are ready to use the script with your client, avoid having the script in your lap. Instead hold it to the side of the client, so that you can look at the client, and just glance across at the script. For the client, this will then feel as though you are speaking directly to them; rather than you hypnotising your lap.

As you are already a little familiar with the script, read ahead as you go, and think carefully about the words that you are using. If you find that there are words that could better be replaced, you can do so as you go. For example, if a client uses ‘chill’ instead of ‘relax’, then swapping the word out personalises the script.

Finally, think about what the words mean, and use your voice to be congruent with their intention. For example, saying ‘slowly’, slower, and ‘quickly’ more rapidly. This all helps a client to connect more fully to what you are saying.

Our hypnotherapy course

If you would like to help others make positive enhancements to their lives and become a professional hypnotherapist,  we recommend you check our awesome Professional Hypnotherapy Diploma course.

Finally, if you would like to find out more about the awesome Professional Hypnotherapy Diploma that HypnoTC , do please visit our Diploma page and have a browse through the information about our world-class, award-winning training.

Find out more about our Hypnotherapy Diploma course

– written by Dr Kate Beaven-Marks
(HypnoTC Director)