Should You Use Hypnotherapy Scripts in Your Practice?

Whether hypnotherapy scripts are a useful tool, an occasional prop, or something to avoid altogether is a topic that comes up regularly in discussions among therapists. Opinions on the use of hypnosis scripts can be surprisingly strong, so in this article I’m going to look at the main arguments for and against using them in practice.

I’ll start by exploring the advantages and disadvantages of hypnotherapy scripts, along with some practical considerations. Then offer some help to decide what is best for your own way of working.

Advantages of Hypnotherapy Scripts

• If people who are at the top of the profession are prepared to tell you what works for them with their clients, why reinvent the wheel?
• Your session is structured and complete, and you say everything you wanted to say in perfectly crafted suggestions
• It avoids any blank spaces while you struggle to know what to say next
• It gives you confidence; especially if you are a student, newly qualified or dealing with an issue for the first time
• By preparing in advance you have thinking time to make more effective suggestions for your client

Disadvantages of Hypnotherapy Scripts

• It inhibits the creativity and spontaneity which should be an integral part of a hypnotherapy session
• It’s not personal or relevant to your client. They may as well listen to an audio which is cheaper than a therapist
• It sounds stilted when you are reading instead of extemporising 
• It’s a safety blanket used by therapists who are not very good at their jobs
• You can’t observe your client’s reactions closely enough if your attention is on a script

Should You Use Hypnotherapy Scripts?

I started this discussion, and I’ve attempted to be fair to both sides. But now, I need to climb down from that famous metaphorical fence and offer my own views.

First, let’s get the confession out of the way. I give out scripts when I am training students or running a CPD course. But I don’t generally use them in my therapy sessions with clients. I do use a hypnotherapy script in most sessions with young children. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I have probably spent time learning about the offside rule or their favourite super hero and creating a metaphor. So I want to make sure I get it right in the session! Secondly, I have an exact record of what’s been said if parents ever want to see my client notes. Or if the child demands my metaphor as a bedtime story.

Having said that, I used them regularly with a variety of client issues when I first qualified, and I still sometimes read them,. Not to commit them to memory, but for general ideas, phrases, stories, and metaphors. I can then work these into some of my sessions in my own words.

I think the problem is that both sides of the argument have some good points to make. Perhaps the question we should be asking is not ‘should you use scripts?’ but ‘how should we use them?’ to provide the best service possible to our clients. After all, isn’t that what everyone wants to do?

How to Use Hypnotherapy Scripts Effectively

• If you want to use scripts, write original ones -or adapt other peoples’ to your own style. You’ll sound much more confident, compelling and natural when using your own words and ways of expressing your ideas. (This, of course, means knowing something about hypnotic language. If you’re not so confident, you’ll find lots of tips for crafting effective suggestions in another blog on this site.)
• Use scripts from books and websites as a basic framework or outline if you’re short of ideas. But try to avoid simply reading one to your client. Take bits from more than one script, and personalise it. Weave the client’s own words and ideas in there as much as you can. This is why in my books Their Worlds, Your Words, and the Metaphor Toolbox, I’ve included not just hypnotic scripts, but also ideas about how to make them your own.
• If you want to avoid the rustle of paper, have the script on an iPad or tablet. Then you just scroll down. However, you don’t really need to hide scripts as if you are ashamed of them. If you can’t justify them to any clients who ask, you probably shouldn’t be using them at all.
• Practice and become confident using at least a couple of inductions and deepeners without scripts. You should also be able to deal with an abreaction and bring a client out of trance.
• Know a few general-purpose, adaptable metaphors or techniques by heart. Then, you can be flexible and confidently provide clients with effective therapy, even if they turn up with an unexpected change of direction. Things like ‘fork in the road’, ‘control room’, and so on provide an excellent framework for working with most issues.
• As you get more experienced, shorten your scripts down to bullet points of keywords and phrases. It keeps you on track and stops you from drying up, but leaves you more able to observe your client and say what your intuition tells you is the right thing.
• Most important of all, don’t be afraid to go ‘off script’. Trust your intuition when ideas just pop into your head. These come from your unconscious mind, which may have picked up clues and details that your conscious mind didn’t notice.

Script Free Hypnosis

I was trained to work with hypnotherapy scripts and admit to having had some confidence issues about giving them up. (Perhaps hypnotherapy could have helped.) I was finally forced into it about a year after qualifying. A smoking cessation client arrived unexpectedly at the centre where I worked and asked if I could fit her in that day. She’d slipped up and wanted to act immediately to stop it happening again. I’d just finished telling the receptionist I’d had a cancellation, leaving me a big empty gap in the middle of my day, and she said ‘yes’ to my client before I could think of a graceful way to refuse. 

I had no time to panic or overthink it. We went straight into the session, and I was surprised by how naturally it flowed. I found myself drawing on phrases I’d used before, adapting ideas in the moment, and responding directly to what the client had just told me.

That experience shifted my view of hypnotherapy scripts. They can be a useful starting point, especially when you’re learning, but they don’t have to define how you work. With practice, most therapists find they can move more flexibly between prepared material and their own ideas.

So if you’re unsure about moving away from scripts, it may be more a question of confidence than competence. Like most aspects of hypnotherapy, it’s something that develops with experience.

And whether you use scripts in every session, or sometimes, or move beyond them altogether, the most important thing is that your approach works for you and your clients.

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.