[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak|remove link|no_popup[/img]Forgive me, but I am gong to rant this morning. Even a hypnotherapist has feelings and thoughts.

I am expected to be available to clients when they need me. Why do they not extend me the same courtesy? Clients book sessions well in advance. Suddenly, they forget or something comes up and they neglect to call and cancel. Worse, when I charge a missed session fee, they become upset.

I set aside time to see the client. At sixty years of age, my time is becoming increasingly valuable. Clearly I have fewer days left than I already have lived. If I reach 75, only 5,475 days left for me, which is why each hour takes on more importance.

I always text a reminder 24 hours in advance, and still they say they forgot. Amazingly, not one of these people would treat a dentist, doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist this way. They always will make their appointments or cancel in time because those professionals are crucial to personal health. A dentist I used to see would charge $50 if I missed an appointment. He would not relent regardless of reason. If you did not cancel 24 hours ahead, he charged a missed appointment fee.

With some of my clients, there are legitimate reasons short-notice cancellations. I usually forgive the missed session fee since they generally rebook a session for as soon as possible. Those miss and do not rebook are charged the fee. Without exception, the client is annoyed. Sometimes those cases end up in collections. This is what I hate most about being a hypnotherapist.

Can You Accommodate Me?

Occasionally clients show up late and expect their session to be extended to the regular length. l. They are irate when I end the session at the normal time, failing to realize time had been set aside for them. Other clients expect to meet me at the appointed hour.

Am I wrong?

As a hypnotherapist I am here to help my clients gain vocational and avocational changes that they want. I am happy to have achieved great success for most of my clients. Some persons enjoy the hypnosis. They do nothing else to resolve their issues.

This can be frustrating. I am here to help clients. If they won’t help themselves, they will not attain their goals. One woman wanted to quit. She had not planned on doing anything else to quit, and her plan had been to lie there while I made suggestions. Hypnotherapy is more effective when a client puts in effort.

With smoking, the person should not have come to see me, obviously, if he is unwilling to participate.

Heavy Responsibility

A gentleman came to see me to lose weight. He asked me to help with motivation. I gave him a diet. He refused to follow it. “Too much trouble,” he said. It was understandable. He was a busy man. Ultimately he was successful because he purchased his food from Nutri systems, which gave him everything that my diet offered but was prepackaged. This saved him from preparing meals beforehand. While preparation was his problem, he genuinely wanted to lose the weight and used hypnotherapy effectively with the pre-packaged foods. He dropped 50 pounds.

Another client suffered extreme panic and anxiety. I knew I could help. By following instructions, I told him, and by showing up at the appointed times for sessions, he could expect to be panic and anxiety-free within a short time. After two sessions, he was feeling better. Panic was reduced quite well. He cancelled his third session, rebooked, cancelled again, rebooked and cancelled again, saying he was not getting better after all.

He truly would have been fine had he just shown up for his sessions. Desensitization and conditioning were required to eliminate his panic and anxiety. I know he didn’t show because getting better meant that his personality and family dynamics would change. Life was better for him when everyone’s behaviors remained the same. I feel sorry for him that the benefits of getting better were, in his mind, far less than by maintaining his panic and anxiety.

I have ranted, yet I remain positive. Let me help you to be the you whom you want to be. We can achieve that if you show up at the promised hour.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net