Do you always feel safe with clients in your office?
How to enhance the safety and comfort of yourself and your clients in your office
How to screen clients for safety concerns before you meet with them in person
Hello there, this is Brenda Titus, and Erika Flint and I are back together today at Hypnosis, Etc. to discuss an important topic that many of our fellow hypnotists might not have thought about- personal safety.
I begin the episode explaining that this is an important topic for both male and female hypnotists to think about as they select office space, plan office hours, and communicate with clients for screening. Erika points out that when we take our own personal safety into account, we are also making the environment more conducive for the client to feel safe and comfortable. Fear is the number one thing that can prevent our clients from achieving the hypnotic state, so taking safety concerns into account can greatly impact our success with our clients.
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1- Office Considerations- We discussed working with the public in isolated office settings and some things to think about when setting up your office.
2- Client Considerations- next, we talk about the importance of hypnotists doing some self-evaluation and thought about personal safety when it comes to screening clients and working with them in our offices.
3- Listen to your gut- we talk about the most important thing when it comes to personal safety in the office- following your instincts!
We close out the episode encouraging viewers to take several important steps right away.
Learn More at the NGH Convention! I will be talking about some of these issues, and taking them even further at the upcoming NGH Convention. Yes, I have a one-hour session on Sunday at 2pm where I will talk about “Establishing healthy and professional boundaries with your clients.”
In fact, Cal, Erika and I will all be presenting at the Convention this year! Here’s where you can find us:
See and Learn from Cal at the NGH Convention
Cal has a one-hour session on Friday morning at 9am on how to use the Universal Patter Script. He also has a two-hour talk on Age Regression on Friday at 11am. He will also have a 2-day Age Regression Certification Course after the convention. Be sure to call the NGH at 603-429-9438 to get registered!
Meet and Learn from Erika at the NGH Convention
Erika has a one-hour session on Sunday at 12pm, where she will talk about the best ways to use the internet, and online advertising using Google’s AdWords and other online methods to bring in new clients.
We hope to see you there!!
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Brenda & Erika,
GREAT TOPIC!
I’ve got a couple thoughts to add to this…from thinking back on my Law Enforcement time. It certainly makes sense as Brenda noted that if you feel that the situation is at the point where you need to use a weapon, be sure to know how to use it.
With that said, remember as hypnotists we often work within small enclosed spaces. If you use pepper spray, you could inadvertently end up incapacitating yourself as well.
One option might be a personal high-volume alarm. If you feel physically threatened an alarm like this is so loud that it can cause confusion and make the perpetrator flee. They are very small and many gun stores have these things. I have one that is very small and is connected to a lanyard. You could wear around your neck or have it hang nearby within reach. Just pull it from the lanyard and it goes off. It is so loud (and only powered by a small battery) that it kind of freaks me out because when I tried it, it had a paralyzing (I gotta get out of here) kind of scream to it.
I think this is likely a safer option that spraying pepper spray into a small office or getting engaged in close-quarter fighting situation.
Even in my practice as a man, there are boundaries that I set. In fact, in my terms and conditions form I establish that right away.
It says, “I understand that if I (as a Client) suggest any behavior deemed unethical or sexual in nature, the session will be immediately terminated without refund.”
Thank you for doing this podcast. It is very useful and it’s important to remember that we are living in some odd social networking kind of world where people easily allow themselves to become fixated or confused into thinking that a person who takes time to listen to them or help (like we do as hypnotists) are interested in some mistaken personal relationship. It’s important to acknowledge this for all hypnotists. Years ago after I published a book, I was stalked by a female. Confused people can come in all shapes, sizes and sexes.
Thank you again. Great podcast.
Tony Davis
Healing Hypnosis
Charlottesville, VA
Thank you so much Tony for your additional information, I really appreciate it! I especially appreciate your input about pepper spray because I truly didn’t think about that when we recorded it, but so important to keep in mind (I didn’t think of it for the very reason that I don’t personally use it myself) I think this is one of those “overlooked” topics, but I think it is so important, for both men and women. In fact, since we recorded this episode, I had a couple of people ask me questions that were ultimately addressed here, so it was timely as well!!
Thank you again!!
Hi Brenda,
You’re very welcome. I think the topic You and Erika covered is very timely and important. We all bring various skills with us to the table and I believe that collectively we can help keep our peers in the profession safer.
Thanks again for all the great work you do.
Tony Davis
Hi Brenda,
Thank you for this great topic. My office is in a professional building across the street from the police station. I see clients in daytime and evening hours, and many evenings I’m the only person in the building. This is something I’ve considered many times, and basically if someone raises the hair on the back of my neck, I will refer them out during or at the end of my “interview/consultation” portion of the session. I have had one elderly gentleman make repeated flirtatious comments in one session and I just kept redirecting him, because of my years of experience in hospitals I read him as trying to be flattering, but not personal and completed the session. I had another client who was a little unnerved by the fact I record all sessions for my safety and theirs (this is in my informed consent)and he no-showed for his second appointment. Which I was happy for because something was just a touch off, but not necessarily putting me on edge.
My only regret about my office would be that the layout prevents me from having my chair/desk where the client can block my exit from the room if they hopped out of the hypno-chair! Due to the location of the closet and receiving area, there is not a way to arrange the desk and hypno-chair in a fashion that facilitates my egress without making the client feel ‘trapped’.
Thank you Tony! See you at the convention!!
Hi Penny, I think that you’ve been able to set really good boundaries with your clients, and you have a good way of listening to your instincts, which is so important, thank you for sharing that. I was trying to get a visual in my mind of the layout of your office, and one of the things that I thought I’d mention is that once your clients eyes are closed, they don’t really know where you are sitting and whether you are blocking them in. So I was thinking that maybe it would be good for you to take a look at it and see it through different eyes. Can the way that the chair is positioned make the client feel safe because they’re facing the door (which feels powerful). Just a thought that I wanted to throw out there. Since you cannot do much about the layout, maybe changing how you see it will help your experience and your clients experience.