How to Have a Free Hypnotherapy Script for Everything

OK, I appreciate hypnotic scripts are a bit of a controversial area, since some people in the industry are quite ‘anti’. So, I’m going to begin with a quick look at why and how I think you might use them.

It’s just my view, but for what that’s worth, hypnotherapy scripts have their advantages, especially if you are a student, newly qualified, or working with an issue or technique for the first time. I’m also going to go out on a limb a little and say we all use them sometimes. It’s just that some of us have them written on a piece of paper. Others draw from ideas and phrases recalled from previous sessions.

The Advantages of Using Hypnosis Scripts

• You never go blank in a session.
• You can take time to craft your hypnotic language carefully. This is especially useful if you are inexperienced or not naturally quick or creative in this kind of thinking. (You can learn the skill, but it takes practice).
• They can give you ideas for phrases, words and concepts that you might not have come up with yourself.
• Well written scripts give you insight of what the industry leaders say to their clients, why re-invent the wheel?

Disadvantages of Using Hypnosis Scripts

• They can inhibit you from using creative ideas of your own.
• They may distract you from observing the client or relating to them as individuals.
• They don’t reflect your clients’ specific situations, character or interests.
• They can be a ‘prop’ for those who have received inadequate training.

If you’re interested to see these points developed further, have a look at my blog on the pros and cons of therapy scripts.

Using Hypnotherapy Scripts

I think both sets of arguments have some merit and would never suggest that a couple of inductions and a book of scripts makes you into a hypnotherapist. But my theory is this … even experienced pilots use a checklist when flying a plane. No-one suggests pilots should be left to fly a plane with the checklist and no other experience. But, alongside proper training, it helps to keep things on track.

In the same way, when appropriately personalised to your client, hypnotic scripts can have their place as a source of inspiration and ideas. (If you want tips on how to personalise them, get hold of a copy of my book, ‘Their Worlds, Your Words’. It goes through it step by step with examples. Or The Metaphor Toolbox, which has notes with each metaphor giving you ideas about adapting it to your client.)

One of the problems with scripts is not directly covered above, though it’s related to your ability to be creative. This is that your client may turn up with an problem that you can’t find a script for. It’s especially likely to happen if the client has an unusual issue, or less common habits and phobias. At that point, you have to get creative.

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do

• Have a few metaphors handy that adapt well to whatever situation the client is in. The Control Room, for example, is a classic and can turn pretty much any feeling or behaviour up or down, depending on whether the client wants more or less of it. And the joy of metaphors is that the client will make them into what they need to be, so they are very effective. This sort of session is not a ‘placeholder’ while you get advice, but should have a real impact. If you want my control room script, by the way, you can download it at the bottom of this page.
• Check out my other blog on where to find the best free hypnotherapy scripts.
• Go back to your training notes. Approaches like parts, swish, anchors, or regression adapt easily to whatever the client is facing, you just need to get the right information to use them with.

But once you’ve done that, where else can you get inspiration?

A Free Hypnotherapy Script for Everything

Having a free hypnotherapy script for everything is quite a big promise. I do want to deliver but, as you will have guessed, there are caveats. Remember that I have advised you to use scripts as a source of ideas to use alongside your training and professional judgement. Something to tweak and adapt rather than as a word-for-word text to read out exactly as they are. This opens up many places to get new ideas from that don’t advertise themselves as hypnotherapy scripts. All you have to do is apply your skills to frame them into suitable hypnotic language.

• Use the scripts you do have more creatively, a sort of hypnotic pick-n-mix approach! Combine ideas, phrases and words from several different scripts in one session to get what you need for your client.
• Ignore what your existing scripts say they are about. Look for similar patterns and triggers, and go from there. For example, a script for nail-biting may have ideas in it you can use for hair twiddling. One for confidence in public speaking will adapt to anxiety about an oral exam. And ideas from a social anxiety script may adapt to an upcoming interview.
• Blogs – there are blogs out there on any topic you care to name. Google ‘tips on how to … [do what your client wants to do]’ and a million or more articles will come up. ‘Tips on how to deal with presentation nerves’ for example, gave me 17,600,000 hits. Read a few and they’ll suggest coping strategies, affirmations and other useful information that you can use with your client.
• Get your client to provide information you can develop into a script. For example, set them homework to identify five appropriate coping strategies they feel comfortable with. You can use their list as future pacing (imaginative rehearsal) in your next session.
• Get ideas from self-help books, blogs, webinars, and courses. Unless your client’s issue is really unusual, there will be resources around. Even though these are aimed at clients, not therapists, they will give you ideas and insight. And studying them may count towards your CPD hours.
  Just be careful not to infringe the author’s copyright, especially if they include worksheets!
• Trust your training and intuition. Don’t be afraid to go ‘off-piste’ even if you usually work with scripts. Metaphors, ideas, and words that just pop into your head during a session come from your unconscious mind. They are responses to what your client has said and may use bits of information your conscious mind didn’t notice.
• Ask AI for ideas, it’s particularly good at coming up with metaphors. I recall in my first few years of practice (long before AI was “a thing”) I set myself the challenge of coming up with a metaphor for a client who wet the bed at the age of 15, and whose only interest was the game “Call of Duty”. It took me a week of thinking and tweaking to come up with one. I recently fed the situation into AI, just to see what happened, and had an outline within about a minute.
  If you’re curious about how therapists can use AI safely and ethically, have a look at Using AI in Your Practice: a Simple Guide for Therapists.

In the End, It’s Not Really About Scripts

So, is there really a free hypnotherapy script for everything?

Not exactly. But there are lots of resources out there if you’re prepared to think outside the box a little. Stories, current affairs, blog posts, self-help books, hobbies, training notes, and conversations with your clients can all become the starting point for effective session content. All you need to do is express them in appropriate hypnotic language patterns.

The key is remembering that scripts are tools, and they are not like film or play scripts that have to be learned word for word. They give you inspiration, structure and confidence, especially when you’re learning or working with a new issue. But the real skill lies in adapting those ideas to the person sitting in front of you.

Over time, as you gain experience, you will probably find that your “script library” grows naturally. Some of it may still be written down, but much of it will simply be phrases, ideas and approaches you’ve used before and know work well.

And when a client arrives with something you’ve never encountered before, you now know where to look for inspiration.

Disclaimer
The information and ideas shared on this blog are based on the author’s professional experience, research, and training. They are intended for educational purposes and to support reflection and professional development. Therapists should always apply their own professional judgment and consider the needs of individual clients when using any techniques or suggestions discussed here.
While every effort is made to ensure the information is accurate and helpful, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss, damage, or difficulties arising from the use or misuse of material contained in these articles.