What is Different About Online Hypnotherapy?

Face to face will always be my preferred therapy environment - but Online is often better for some clients and better for some issues too.

I will always try to use the therapy environment that is best for each individual client, just as I will always seek to use the best technique for each individual client.

Practice and experience always helps. I've been fortunate enough - right from the start of my practice -  to have had a number of overseas clients and client's who travel extensively for work and needed to work with me online.
Skype and various conferencing services were part of these clients daily routine, so I quickly found myself working with online experts who helped me become expert.at using online platforms and helped me to learn how to adapt my techniques for this environment.
So well before the Covid-19 Lockdown I'd learned how to manage online consultations with both adults and children.

Zoom, Skype, Teams and Facetime all require so much more focus for the therapist and a day of face to face consultations is much less tiring for me than a day of Zoom meetings. Face to face lets me pick up both facial and whole body non linguistic communication and to adjust my interventions faster.. I didn't become either a nurse or a hypnotherapist to practice solely in an online environment - I love being with people and always have.

I've now been offering My Hypnotherapy as an on-line service ever since I began to practice in 2012 - and - I can honestly say I've become very skilled in managing therapy on-line, even though I generally preferred face to face consultations.

Both environments have become equally  important for safe and effective hypnotherapy. Because My Hypnotherapy relies on visual clues, body language and facial expressions as much as what you are saying, and because your body language will always highlight any difference between what you are saying and what you actually feel, in person, face to face hypnotherapy is a whole lot easier than hypnotherapy online. Each environment offers advantages and disadvantages

Being in your own space for therapy takes away so much of the stress, driving to your appointment, getting there on time settling into a new space and so on...For me as a therapist the more relaxed you are the quicker I can get to the heart of your issue.  Where I'm looking for visual clues from facial expression your face will always be closer to your computer camera than either you or I would be comfortable with in a consultation in my therapy room. That really helps me refine my approach and helps resolve your issue so much faster.

Online is great for children and young people They spend so much time in a screen environment it often feels more real than real life to them and they engage naturally. .Most shy kids and teenagers really do feel more at ease online and this helps them to engage a lot faster.

Online is also really useful where parents have to be at  different locations but want to engage with their child's therapy. Zoom allows me to manage their engagement to maximise the benefits to my young client.

The same is true for family and couples therapy - armed with the mute button I can ensure that those who need to talk can talk and those who need to listen are given every opportunity to do so.. It is appreciably easier to do this online that when both clients are sitting in my office.

About the author

Annie Winfield-Shearer

Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Registered Nurse and Coach