It's one of those things... everybody wants to see everybody else make a fool of themselves, but nobody wants to be the butt of the joke.  At a party recently, I was asked to hypnotise someone and effectively turn him into the evening's entertainment.  The trouble with parties is that people don't go along expecting to be hypnotised or to watch someone be hypnotised.  Part of the fun of going to see a stage hypnotist is the build up, the anticipation of what you hope is going to be a fantastic and hilarious experience.

So, on this occasion I decided to turn the tables and agreed to hypnotise the gentleman in question, provided the girl who made the request also agreed to be hypnotised. Not surprisingly, her enthusiasm was somewhat curbed. I was somewhat relieved, because not only was I not in the mood to "be on stage", but it's not really what I do.  Sure the techniques are pretty similar, and if u mess up it's ok because you're among friends, but I much prefer my one-on-one therapy sessions where I know I'm making a difference to somebody's life. 

The sessions you find on this site are not remarkably different to the sessions I use in my private practice. The key difference is that in private practice you get a chance to know the person you're working with. You build up a rapport, and hoepfully deliver better therapy as a result. If someone has a peculiarity it can be useful to know and maybe use in therapy. I had a client recently who loved butterflies, and I noticed that if I somehow used butterflies during the induction she was a lot more relaxed, and subsequently went into a deeper trance as a result.  Perfect.

But by far the biggest advantage of face-to-face therapy is being able to track the client, and if need be change the direction of the therapy.  Hypnosis offers a number of options such as the use of metaphors, direct commands, and repetition. People respond to different approaches, some better than others, and as a therapist it is important to know which approach or combination of approaches works best, and tailor the therapy appropriately.

Whilst we're unable to do that with recorded sessions, many of the recordings use both metaphors and direct suggestion.  By listening to the sessions over and over, you get the repetition.