Is The Hypnotherapy Industry Growing?
Are you considering a career in hypnotherapy, or perhaps you’ve arrived here because you’re struggling to find clients? The good news is that the hypnotherapy industry is booming, driven by a growing recognition of its potential to address various mental and physical health issues.
The disappointing truth is that most Hypnotherapists emerge from their training with very little instruction on how to market their business, find new customers and grow their practice. So it’s not surprising that many practitioners struggle to gain traction and build their customer base when they’re not given the keys to success.
However, before we talk more about why so many Hypnotherapists are struggling to find clients, and what to do about it, let’s first prove that Hypnotherapy is a thriving business that both you and your clients can benefit from.
Key Takeaways
The hypnotherapy Industry is growing, booming in fact.
New Hypnotherapists often emerge from their training without learning how to grow their business
What Are The Growth Figures & What’s Causing It?
A resounding yes! According to Grand View Research, the global hypnotherapy market is estimated at $12.16 billion and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.3% from 2024 to 2030.
What’s Causing The Hypnotherapy Industry to Grow?
This rapid expansion is fueled by increasing awareness of hypnotherapy’s effectiveness in managing conditions such as anxiety, depression, stress, and pain management.
According to the World Health Organisation, globally over 300 million people are affected by anxiety and Our World In Data estimates that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience major depression in their lives.
The Mental Health Foundation published research during Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 demonstrating that anxiety is dominating the UK Population. Here are some of their findings:
- Nearly three-quarters of the population (73%) had felt anxious at least sometimes in the previous two weeks, with one in five people (20%) anxious most or all of the time.
- Some groups of people are more likely to be affected by anxiety than others. Nearly all young people (18 to 24 years) in our research (86%) had felt anxious in the previous two weeks. For over half (58%), this had stopped them undertaking day-to-day activities.
This clearly demonstrates that younger people are more severely affected and for that reason, the statistics are only likely to get worse as the population ages.
It almost feels like the next pandemic is mental health and as Hypnotherapists we’re in an excellent position to help.
What Trends Are We Seeing Across the World?
United States: The U.S. hypnotherapy market is expected to grow due to rising demand for pain management, particularly for chronic conditions.
Europe: Holding the largest market share, the European market is driven by high stress levels among employees and increasing mental health awareness.
Asia Pacific: The region is witnessing significant growth due to rising cases of mental health issues and greater acceptance of wellness therapies.
What Are The Most Significant Recent Changes?
The most noticeable change came directly from the Covid-19 Pandemic with the rise of Platforms such as Zoom making it possible to treat clients remotely. However, this development created its own complications as clients, particularly at first, needed to be encouraged to create a suitable environment for a trance to take effect.
There is also a growing shift of modality. Practitioners who rely on traditional hypnotherapy scripts are on the decline with many opting to practice Conversational Hypnotherapy, however clients looking for solutions in isolation are flocking to platforms such as YouTube for Hypnotic Videos to reduce their anxiety, often with disappointing results.
Why is Conversational Hypnotherapy Delivering Better Results?
Traditional Hypnotherapy and platforms like YouTube are limited to a one-size-fits-all approach relying solely on conditioning and suggestion.
In contrast, Conversational Hypnotherapy weaves hypnotic techniques into everyday conversations and is based on the understanding that human beings have individual cognitive processes requiring individual attention and solutions.
Suggestions can be integrated into current thinking, or targeted to replace limiting beliefs. These limiting beliefs are often rooted in specific memories or trauma so it’s not surprising that a script would struggle to deliver lasting change.
Conversational Hypnotherapy is a conversation with the client’s unconscious mind and a skilled practitioner can target specific memories for long lasting results.
If you're interested in training to become a Conversational Hypnotherapist, then I'd be happy to help.
Alternative Technological Advancements and Trends
In addition to the rise of Zoom, the integration of technology is reshaping the hypnotherapy landscape. Technological advancements, such as AI and mobile apps, are driving growth.
AI-Powered Tools: There is potential for AI to assist in initial client assessments or self-guided hypnosis exercises.
Virtual Reality: Companies like BehaVR are developing VR-based therapeutic solutions for anxiety regulation, pain management, and addiction recovery.
Are these new technologies a threat to the industry? Personally, I believe that human connection, trust and rapport are essential to a successful trance.
People are attracted to the quick, cheap fix and there’s no substitute for an in person appointment (even if it is on Zoom) - it’s associating these products with Hypnotherapy that might be the real threat, as they push the focus back to traditional scripts and one size fits all treatment which we know aren’t as effective as Conversational Hypnotherapy.
The Rise of Online Training for Hypnotherapists
As with many other industries, the technological advances of the last decade and the Covid-19 pandemic have created a fertile ground for convenient acquisition of professional development. However not all Hypnotherapy training courses are equal - cheap training courses are widely available and are promoted on social media as the answer to our dreams of achieving six figure incomes and financial freedom.
This is, of course, a perfect example of over promising and under delivering.
Very few of these courses include modules on how to find clients and grow your business.
As a business coach I knew it was my responsibility to include modules on business development, social media and marketing in general in my own Advanced Conversational Hypnosis course. Training a hypnotherapist to practice will be for nothing if the student’s business folds within the first year.
If you're already a conversational Hypnotherapist and you're struggling to find clients, then contact me about business coaching.
Why Some Hypnotherapists Aren’t Experiencing Success in A Growing Industry
As a Business Coach and a Hypnotherapist I’ve found myself perfectly placed to have a realistic view of why some Hypnotherapists aren’t achieving success. I’ve noticed four main reasons why Hypnotherapists, who should be successful, aren’t bringing home the bacon:
Treating clients with hypnosis scripts instead of Conversational Hypnosis.
Of course our first consideration should always be to get the best results for our client, so Conversational Hypnosis should be our first line of treatment in most cases.
But in context to what’s good for our business, we also know that it’s a lot easier to create a rapport with a client when in conversation rather than churning out a prepared script for smoking cessation. It’s the difference between talking at someone and talking with them.
Clients who have great results from your Hypnotherapy practice are more likely to recommend you to their friends if you’ve built up a solid rapport.
Conversational Hypnotherapy builds rapport from the first consultation call right through the end of the treatment.
People buy from people in the therapeutic industry. They don’t buy from your business. They buy from people that they know, like and trust and when they also receive a great service and amazing results they write testimonials on Google (check mine out) and recommend you to their friends.
The truth is that scripts don’t produce results at the same level for you or your client.
Their Hypnotherapy Course didn’t benefit from individual or small group feedback.
I hinted earlier in this article that the rise of online training in the Hypnosis Industry isn’t necessarily a good thing. Even some of the better ones don’t provide enough individual attention, and you see the same faces volunteering for the group practice session over and over again.
This inevitably means that the teacher’s attention is divided between too many students and there’s potential for missing areas for improvement such as missed resources, unconscious moments or pushing the client toward a conclusion that they’ve assumed is the problem, or the client isn’t quite ready for.
There’s also very little accountability on completing practice sessions with your fellow students, or worse still students are encouraged to fake it until they make it with real clients for free. This is not only unethical, it also undermines your reputation and makes it harder for you to charge what you’re worth in the future.
All my Conversational Hypnotherapy students are invited to join my WhatsApp group to practice safely with other Hypnotherapists on Zoom. Some even stay on to continue learning or to help others. It’s a safe space to fail and improve. We all know that it’s not possible to succeed at something without going through failure.
Their Hypnosis Course didn’t include enough training on Sales & Marketing.
This problem is widespread across the industry. Very few Hypnotherapy courses contain enough helpful information on how to market your business.
You wouldn’t sell a car to someone without an engine, so it follows that any Hypnotherapy Training Course would contain all the elements you need to be a success.
If you’re already adept at Conversational Hypnosis, but your sales & marketing needs a boost then contact me about Business Coaching and fill in the missing pieces.
They have a limiting belief that’s holding them back.
This almost sounds unbelievable, that Hypnotherapists who make a living from helping other people fix their mindset issues have problems that block their success - but it’s more common than you’d think.
Some find it difficult to ask for the money or charge a rate that’s going to make them profitable, others find it hard to leave their ego at the door and trust the client to tell them (unconsciously) what the real problem is. Just as each client’s problems are unique, so might yours be. It’s a locked door behind which your potential is bursting to come out.
Often students fix these problems in practice sessions to the benefit of all, others prefer to book a session with me to break that limiting belief in privacy.
Key Takeaways
The Hypnotherapy business is booming and is expected to grow by 30% in the next decade.
New Hypnotherapists often emerge from their training without learning how to grow their business
To have the edge and run a successful Hypnotherapy business, you need to:
Have the right skills
Practice the most effective modality
Be the best version of yourself
Confidently attract clients using sales & marketing techniques
