When the Client Says No to Regression Hypnosis

What if you have a client who just doesn't want to go there?  What if they’re resistant to regression hypnosis because the feelings are too intense?   What if they don’t want to confront their feelings? 

When a client is apprehensive about the process, they're simply not ready to proceed.  You don’t have a Contract with them, yet.  You need a contract before you can begin the hypnosis.

You Need a Contract

You might be tempted to negotiate with the client by offering to use a different approach.  But it's a bad idea.  You cannot let the client dictate the therapy and expect to be successful.  What you need to do is continue to educate them about the process until you get the contract. 

The contract needs to clearly state, “We go where we need to go to get the result.” Remember, the client doesn’t know how to resolve the problem.  You do. So, they need to be willing to let you guide the process.  If they’re not willing to do that, they’re not ready.

Avoiding Won't Work

Most of the problem you’re going to deal with are due to avoidance. That’s why nothing else has worked.  Most other approaches involve avoidance strategies. When that fails, they turn to hypnosis. But if they’ve already tried that approach, you need to remind the client of this.

They already know that avoiding isn’t going to work.  They’re just holding onto magical thinking.  To get a different result, you need to use a different approach.  That’s where you’ll find the healing. What’s the one place your client doesn’t want to look?

The one place you’re telling them that they need to go, right?

That’s resistance.  

Most of the issues we work with in regression hypnotherapy sessions are rooted in unresolved feelings from the past.  And most people were taught to avoid uncomfortable feelings and emotions. The problem is that all the stuff the client has been trying to avoid isn’t gone.  It’s right there, just below the surface. Whether the client realizes it or not, they’re already going there.  They’re reliving the same pattern of thoughts, feelings, reactivity and behaviour, over and over, again.  Day in and day out. 

That is hell.

So, that’s it. When a client says no to regression, realize they’re just not ready to proceed with the regression work.  Continue to educate them until you can establish a contract that says, “we go where we need to go to get the healing.”