A Day in the Life of a Hypnotherapist: With Rahul Jain

How does your day typically begin? Do you have any routines that help you centre yourself before clients arrive?

My day begins as a dad – getting the kids ready, making the breakfast and lunches, doing two separate drop offs that turns my seven minute journey from home to the office into an hour!

When I enter the office, I am no longer dad. I am now whatever I need to be in that moment, in that time, in that space.

As a family man, how do you balance your roles as a parent and hypnotherapist, and what does a normal weekday look like?

Yes I am very much a family man. I love my children and they are my source of energy. I often work around school pick ups and drop offs, and my wife and I work together to sort out the logistics depending on our diaries. Sometimes I will need to leave the office by 4pm, sometimes I am there until 7pm.

I am still involved in other businesses that are pretty much self managed, however hypnotherapy is time consuming as sessions directly require my time. I prepare for my sessions, I do follow up calls and emails and I am constantly studying and learning more techniques to always stay at the top of my game.

What’s your morning or midday routine for preparing mentally and emotionally for client sessions?

As I have a very in-depth consultation before starting therapy with a client, I am well prepared for the session so I’m mentally fairly relaxed when the session starts. Now and again, I will take a few minutes just to sit down, calm my mind and let any personal issues drift off just for a while.

Ultimately I tell my client either out loud or in my head the following whenever I am starting a session - "in this time and space, in this very moment, you are all that matters to me. I care about you, and I want you to be well, and I am going to help you”.

At this point I let everything else go, nothing else matters to me apar from my client.

How do you tailor sessions throughout the day?

I know who I’ll be working with and already have my session prepped to a point. A session can never be fully prepped as anything can happen within that session and sometimes whatever I thought I was going to do get thrown out the window as soon as a client says something that needs to be dealt with NOW. As a highly skilled therapist I know what to look for and how to adjust my work accordingly.

Working online vs. in-person doesn’t really make a difference, just my induction to hypnosis has to change a little but ultimately the work is the same and the results are the same.

When I work with children, it really depends on their age, maturity level and how open they are to therapy. I generally don’t do much prep work with kids as they can be unpredictable. The main thing is I need to build rapport. I need to be funny, friendly and show them some fascinating magic tricks! Then the therapy is easy!

Can you share a standout moment from a day where two very different clients surprised you with their outcomes?

Many standout moments come to mind, but to be honest, I am never surprised by an outcome. I have an 80/20 expectation – 80% of my clients will get a positive result, in 20% we won’t get the desired outcome.

I remind my clients that nothing is guaranteed, but the success rate is high – possibly higher than the success rate of medication or surgery in some situations.

What’s the busiest or most demanding part of your workday?

When it is time to go home I realise I’ve still got prep work to do, emails to send, clients, to call back – so home time is never really home time!

How do you wind down after an emotionally intense or transformative session?

I am very resilient. I hear the worst possible stories from my clients but I do not get emotionally involved. Empathy and remaining non-judgemental is important, but I need to stay calm and clear in my mind as to how I am going to help this person instead of feeling sorry for them.

I do experience resistant clients who are difficult to work with, despite proactively wanting to change, and this is most often on a subconscious level. This can frustrate me, but when my day is finished, I accept that they were part of the 20% this modality perhaps isn't suited to - it’s as simple as that.

How do you continue your own development as a practitioner, do you still attend training, retreats, or workshops?

Most certainly, and I think I always will. Every day I learn new techniques, approaches, and inductions. I love to continue learning and it’s great to connect with other therapists at workshops and retreats. We learn from each other, help each other and mentor each other.

One of the nicest things about this industry, from the connections I have made personally, is that we aren’t competing with each other for business. We generally care about our clients and want the best for them. If a client comes my way but I think someone else will be best placed to help them, I will refer them on for their benefit.

Outside of your therapy work, what brings you joy or is something that recharges you?

Honestly, I don’t have much time for hobbies with my busy work schedule and family commitments, but I am very fortunate to find joy in my work and my family – not everyone is blessed enough to be able to say that. I count my luck stars every day.

If I had more time I would focus more on music, something I grew up with and still love to this day.

Lastly, do you have any tips for others who want to work or train in this area?

Absolutely. Find a good training school where you will have direct contact with your trainers and classmates. My advice would be to avoid online video training only and find something at least hybrid in nature.

Also, practice, practice and practice some more. You can't even think about charging clients until you know you are changing peoples lived for the better, and you've got the clinical skills and experience to deserve to deliver real outcomes.

Remember – this is a business. Don’t expect to make lots of money just because you have a qualification. You need to invest – branding, marketing, networking, advertising, business setup.

Put your time and effort it, believe in yourself, with a central focus on helping people. The financial outcomes will follow.