Is it my responsibility or my client's?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John Maclean on June 16, 2010 at 9:24am

Weight loss therapy raises very high expectations amongst clients and therefore the pre-talk is vital and it is so important you get this right. As for the follow-up, I always monitor clients progress for my own benefit as well as theirs. It gives the client a sense that they are not alone and also enables you to gauge your level of success.

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Permalink Reply by Aline Hoffman on June 16, 2010 at 10:05am

Yes, I do follow up with my clients to see how they are doing. Not only does it let them know that I am interested in them beyond their paid-for time, it also, on occasion. leads to sessions for other issues than the initial behavior(s) of concern.
I highly recommend it!
Aline

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Atkinson on June 16, 2010 at 10:42am

Funny how this topic would come up. I too have a dissatisfied client right now ... not because of weight loss, though ... she was being seen for emotional matters related to an eating disorder.

I have very mixed emotions on both ends of this discussion, because I have now had dissatisfied clients on both ends of the spectrum, and quite frankly, I am not sure what the "correct" answer would be.

I had a woman who I was seeing about 1 year ago for weight loss. She was progressing quite well, and enjoyed our sessions and was seeing results. When I had not heard from her for three weeks, I contacted her to see how she was doing. Apparently she had not told her husband she was seeing a hypnotist, even though members of her family had noticed the change in her ... weight loss and she was now more open with her feelings.

To make a long story short ... the sessions were terminated because she was upset with my having contacted her.

Also last year I was assisting a gentleman with cancer. Good results while in hypnosis, but he was becoming frustrated with not being able to obtain the same results at home. I sent him a video about visualization ... again, he became upset that I contacted him at home, and another client relationship down the tube.

So I made a decision NOT to contact clients unless they contacted me first and asked for me to call them. I now make it a point to tell all clients to contact me, and/or, email me if they have any questions or concerns and I will call them back. Seemed to be working well.

Then in Jan of this year I took on the client who said she had an eating disorder. Her sessions were progressing very well, although we had to have several sessions before she would even begin to get in touch with her feelings. She was good with "thoughts", but not in touch with her emotions. We made good progress, and at her request, I sold her a package of 6 sessions so she could receive a reduced price. She used one of those sessions, had good results (my opinion), and then I did not hear from her ... that is until the letter arrived the other day.

Apparently she was upset because I did not contact her and find out why she had not come in to see me. She felt her eating disorder had become worse, blah blah blah. The bottom line is she was now getting in touch with her feelings (yes the hypnosis worked), but was refusing to use new coping skills ... she still wanted to binge and purge. Had she finished her sessions, I have no doubt she would have seen huge improvements. I even was compared to the family vet who calls to see how the dog is doing - ouch!

So, given the scenarios I have encountered ... I don't know what the answer would be. I would just move on, use your best judgement, don't beat yourself over someone being unhappy, and just do the best job you can do.

I also would welcome any input people have.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Zappellini on June 16, 2010 at 10:43am

Hi Jackie,
I always follow up with every client for at least 6 month, in particular weight loss and smoking cessation,
I don't think is a responsibility but more a way to learn how efficient was your service and a way to improve it if necessary, if you don't follow up how would you know?
my usual 2 cents
Michael Z.

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Permalink Reply by Aline Hoffman on June 16, 2010 at 10:59am

At the end of a session I often ask the client if it is OK for me to call them at home. Dennis, that would resolve your issue about angry responses when you called home. It would also let you know about such desires as described by your eating disorder client. The medical profession has picked up on this - hospitals and private doctors have forms asking if it's OK to call home, and with whom messages can or cannot be left.
Aline

Dennis Atkinson said:

Funny how this topic would come up. I too have a dissatisfied client right now ... not because of weight loss, though ... she was being seen for emotional matters related to an eating disorder.

I have very mixed emotions on both ends of this discussion, because I have now had dissatisfied clients on both ends of the spectrum, and quite frankly, I am not sure what the "correct" answer would be.

I had a woman who I was seeing about 1 year ago for weight loss. She was progressing quite well, and enjoyed our sessions and was seeing results. When I had not heard from her for three weeks, I contacted her to see how she was doing. Apparently she had not told her husband she was seeing a hypnotist, even though members of her family had noticed the change in her ... weight loss and she was now more open with her feelings.

To make a long story short ... the sessions were terminated because she was upset with my having contacted her.

Also last year I was assisting a gentleman with cancer. Good results while in hypnosis, but he was becoming frustrated with not being able to obtain the same results at home. I sent him a video about visualization ... again, he became upset that I contacted him at home, and another client relationship down the tube.

So I made a decision NOT to contact clients unless they contacted me first and asked for me to call them. I now make it a point to tell all clients to contact me, and/or, email me if they have any questions or concerns and I will call them back. Seemed to be working well.

Then in Jan of this year I took on the client who said she had an eating disorder. Her sessions were progressing very well, although we had to have several sessions before she would even begin to get in touch with her feelings. She was good with "thoughts", but not in touch with her emotions. We made good progress, and at her request, I sold her a package of 6 sessions so she could receive a reduced price. She used one of those sessions, had good results (my opinion), and then I did not hear from her ... that is until the letter arrived the other day.

Apparently she was upset because I did not contact her and find out why she had not come in to see me. She felt her eating disorder had become worse, blah blah blah. The bottom line is she was now getting in touch with her feelings (yes the hypnosis worked), but was refusing to use new coping skills ... she still wanted to binge and purge. Had she finished her sessions, I have no doubt she would have seen huge improvements. I even was compared to the family vet who calls to see how the dog is doing - ouch!

So, given the scenarios I have encountered ... I don't know what the answer would be. I would just move on, use your best judgement, don't beat yourself over someone being unhappy, and just do the best job you can do.

I also would welcome any input people have.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Atkinson on June 16, 2010 at 11:09am

Thanks Aline ... great advice.

I have created a separate discussion just for me :) because I did not want to take away from Jackie.

Aline Hoffman said:

At the end of a session I often ask the client if it is OK for me to call them at home. Dennis, that would resolve your issue about angry responses when you called home. It would also let you know about such desires as described by your eating disorder client. The medical profession has picked up on this - hospitals and private doctors have forms asking if it's OK to call home, and with whom messages can or cannot be left.
Aline

Dennis Atkinson said:

Funny how this topic would come up. I too have a dissatisfied client right now ... not because of weight loss, though ... she was being seen for emotional matters related to an eating disorder.

I have very mixed emotions on both ends of this discussion, because I have now had dissatisfied clients on both ends of the spectrum, and quite frankly, I am not sure what the "correct" answer would be.

I had a woman who I was seeing about 1 year ago for weight loss. She was progressing quite well, and enjoyed our sessions and was seeing results. When I had not heard from her for three weeks, I contacted her to see how she was doing. Apparently she had not told her husband she was seeing a hypnotist, even though members of her family had noticed the change in her ... weight loss and she was now more open with her feelings.

To make a long story short ... the sessions were terminated because she was upset with my having contacted her.

Also last year I was assisting a gentleman with cancer. Good results while in hypnosis, but he was becoming frustrated with not being able to obtain the same results at home. I sent him a video about visualization ... again, he became upset that I contacted him at home, and another client relationship down the tube.

So I made a decision NOT to contact clients unless they contacted me first and asked for me to call them. I now make it a point to tell all clients to contact me, and/or, email me if they have any questions or concerns and I will call them back. Seemed to be working well.

Then in Jan of this year I took on the client who said she had an eating disorder. Her sessions were progressing very well, although we had to have several sessions before she would even begin to get in touch with her feelings. She was good with "thoughts", but not in touch with her emotions. We made good progress, and at her request, I sold her a package of 6 sessions so she could receive a reduced price. She used one of those sessions, had good results (my opinion), and then I did not hear from her ... that is until the letter arrived the other day.

Apparently she was upset because I did not contact her and find out why she had not come in to see me. She felt her eating disorder had become worse, blah blah blah. The bottom line is she was now getting in touch with her feelings (yes the hypnosis worked), but was refusing to use new coping skills ... she still wanted to binge and purge. Had she finished her sessions, I have no doubt she would have seen huge improvements. I even was compared to the family vet who calls to see how the dog is doing - ouch!

So, given the scenarios I have encountered ... I don't know what the answer would be. I would just move on, use your best judgement, don't beat yourself over someone being unhappy, and just do the best job you can do.

I also would welcome any input people have.

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Permalink Reply by John Maclean on June 16, 2010 at 12:41pm

On my intake forms I have a section that asks for permission to contact clients at home or work. Some clients, especially weight loss clients, often do not tell their partners they are having therapy.

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Permalink Reply by Jackie Spencer on June 17, 2010 at 10:53am

Dennis - thank you for being so thoughtful. Of course, you wouldn't be taking anything away but you will get (or have gotten) more direct input from a separate discussion.

I've a quite a few clients who hadn't told anybody they were using hypnosis. I've been careful sending holiday cards and thank you cards to only those who might not be upset and even then not using my title...only my name as a personal card. Then they can make up whatever story they want to their families.

Regarding this particular situation, my client has responded favorably. I've offered her a couple of free sessions to help her toward her goal. I now hope her frame of mind is not guarded when we begin.

From now on I will ask clients if they would like me to follow up with them or if they would prefer I didn't contact them outside the office right up front.

Thank you everybody for the wonderful encouragement, and Dennis for sharing your experiences.

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Permalink Reply by Brandon May on June 18, 2010 at 5:28am

I was also thinking that perhaps you should re-work your pretalk, as this may be a contributing factor. I don't know you or your methods, and you could be excellent at building that expectation, but it's just something to consider and something that another has already mentioned.

Following up on my clients is important for me. Sometimes I don't, however, for smaller things that need to be solved quickly (such as passing a test, developing confidence for a particular issue, etc.), but for weight loss, I think it would be good to swap contact information. Also, I try to point them toward good nutritional and fitness education in the form of books, videos, websites, articles and if desired, nutritionists in the area.

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