Other than how much hypnosis costs, the most popular question I get from prospective clients is how long does hypnosis take? The answer depends on you and your issues. Having successfully treated nearly 1,000 clients from NYC (and, frequently, from NJ) for 37 years, I’m versed in dealing with different rates of progress.
The beautiful key thing to keep in mind is that hypnosis is a short-term treatment with long-term or permanent results. That doesn’t mean hypnosis is quick and easy, however! In-depth and flexible? Yes. Unlike psychology and psychiatry, which often take two sessions per week for an open-ended time frame (often years), hypnosis treats any issue in a realistic number of sessions. You and I will always have your goal in sight, and because of the immediately suggestive nature of therapy, your efforts will be effective right away. That is one of hypnosis’s chief appeals.
You’ll find that smoking, drug addictions and alcohol abuse take shorter time because these problems are instantly defined. You’re looking at anywhere between three to six sessions. While some substance-abuse stems from repressed psychological pain, a great deal of cases have grown into dependencies rooted in the present. This means that whatever has to be mended, in order to stop the destructive behavior, can be mended directly. There’s nothing too mysterious and abstract in the way! Again, I want to stress that I don’t see my clients as one monolithic group—you each have a unique relationship to your problem, and should receive a distinct and tailored treatment. I can’t emphasize this point enough.
On the longer side of the spectrum, you get anxiety, depression, mental illness, phobias, and dating/relationship skills. Often these issues build upon themselves and have complex ties to past relationships (often with people who aren’t even around anymore, or whom you shouldn’t be contacting), traumatic events, among other factors. With these issues, you’re looking at something between three to seven or eight sessions.
Weight-loss is its own distinct category: Your session number is contingent on your weight-loss goals. If you come to me wanting to lose 100 pounds, it might take four to ten sessions (realistically). But if you’re coming to me in Spring looking to get a beach body in order, then you’re looking at over five sessions or less with plenty of effort. Don’t ever worry, though: I will put you on the right supplement plan that you can rely on even after you’ve stopped seeing me.
Wrapping up with the basic facts: A single session is fifty minutes long. I also offer “sessions-and-a-half” and double sessions. Interested? Call my office at (212) 599-3195, and let’s get you on the ball.