Question:

Is it genuinely possible to make a good living as a professional hypnotherapist? I’m curious how realistic it is to go fully professional rather than just treating it as a hobby. What do sessions typically cost in practice, how does that tend to break down hourly, and what’s the situation like these days when it comes to finding clients? Is work usually steady, slow, or booming? I’d really like to hear some real-world experience.

Answer:

It is possible to do, but it’s far from guaranteed.

I remember hearing a stat of 75% of all hypnotherapists starting up are no longer in business a year later. I think if anything that number may be a little low. The main issue is, running a successful hypnotherapy business is not what most people expect it to be. There are two words in ‘hypnotherapy business’ but the vast majority of people totally forget the latter exists. The business part is far and away the most important bit. It doesn’t matter if you are the greatest hypnotist to ever walk the Earth, if you have no idea about how to run a business you are doomed to failure. Unlike other talk therapies, like psychoanalysis for example, hypnotherapy gets results VERY quickly, so instead of milking the same clients for years (or even decades in some cases), you need to constantly be on the hunt for new clients.

It’s completely pointless listing session rates or how they break down as everybody’s needs will be different and different places have different pricing norms. You need to work out if you can live on what you make, not if somebody else can live on what they make.

If you’re new here, find out more about this section on the About Ask Dr. Mex page.