Professionals will be eager to refer individuals to you once they know you and are comfortable with the quality of work you provide to those whom they refer. So the challenge is to get those initial referrals that will allow you to “prove yourself” as a certified hypnotherapist. We’ve all received a mass-mailed letter of introduction from a therapist in the area, asking for referrals – and we’ve all probably discarded them without a thought. But if one of their clients recommends you, that professional is much more likely to consider referring to you. 

Referral Sources for Practicing Hypnotherapists

There are many professionals who can become good referral sources for your practice:

• Attorneys always have clients that are in need of mental health intervention: a car accident victim suffering PTSD; an individual embroiled in divorce; the under-achieving children of a business client.
• Physicians have patients who need to stop smoking or release forty pounds or reduce the stress that is escalating their high blood pressure.
• Dentists have patients with TMJ who may be able to relax through hypnosis and hypnotherapy enough to avoid surgery, and patients who could benefit from hypnotherapy to deal with their panic attacks that occur in the dentist’s chair.
• Physical therapists have clients who may benefit from hypnotherapy to obtain better compliance with their prescribed therapy.
• Massage therapists can refer clients who are unable to relax or to tolerate physical touch.
• Other psychotherapists, of course, have clients with whom they are at an impasse, and may welcome the opportunity for a referral for a single hypnotherapy session with you – perhaps one that the referring therapist would attend with their client.

When you gain added opportunities to demonstrate your proficiency as a certified hypnotherapist, you will soon have the reputation as the “wonder worker”. You will work with a wide variety of presenting issues, more than most psychotherapists. And some of the areas you are prepared to work with after rigorous hypnotherapy training have few other therapists capable of offering services. For example, utilizing hypnotherapy you will be able to work with referrals from physicians on psychosomatic disorders, autoimmune deficiency, TMJ, pain relief, smoking cessation, or weight loss. You will also receive referrals from other therapists for consultation with their clients who are at an impasse, who cannot seem to access their emotions, or who are unable to remember crucial events from their childhood.

Read our related blog article for more information on getting referrals and other methods of marketing for therapists.

We have just introduced a new resource guide for practicing and aspiring hypnotherapists entitled, "13 Ways Hypnotherapy Certification Can Start and Increase Your Practice."

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