Do You Even Accept Single Session Only Clients?

Permalink Reply by Pierre Benoit, CHt, RCCH on December 1, 2011 at 1:50pm

Hi April,

When people call me I tell them that most problems can be dealt with between 4 to 6 sessions, some faster some take more sessions. It all depends on the individuals. When they ask about 1 or 2 sessions only, I ask them the following question: Do you truly believe that you can fix in 2 hours what you put so many years to build? This usually brings them back to reality. If they answer yes, then I will do my best with the time frame they give me but I always create a possibility for using more sessions.

This approach has been doing very well for me.

Hope this helps.

Pierre Benoit, CHt, RCCH

Permalink Reply by Cindy Locher on December 1, 2011 at 2:55pm

April, for all the reasons you listed, I do not do single session work. My rate structure supports this and makes it a "no brainer" for the client to do multiple session packages. Oftentimes, the "real" reason that the client is seeking help doesn't show up until the 3rd or 4th session, when rapport has deepened to the subconscious level.

Thanks for posting a thoughtful and worthwhile topic string! I too am interested in hearing others opinions and approaches to this.

Cindy

Permalink Reply by docregal.com on December 1, 2011 at 3:09pm

For a temporary fix or simple solution one session can suffice, however this is typically limited to non-emotional situations and IMO not the best approach to offer. In general, I suggest that we offer follow up sessions, and most often, they are essential for the client to sustain lasting success. Remember, repetition is the mother of learning. ;-)

From this link:

Repetition is the mother of learning.

Think about the things you remember from school. We remember our friends, our teachers, how the hallway looked, where we played at recess and dozens of other non-academic experiences. Most of us do not actually remember the moment we learned anything in school. If you think back you can probably identify the moment you learned some specific skill or some unusual fact, but the overwhelming majority of what we learned in school we learned through repetition. You probably don't remember any isolated moment where you learned 6 x 7, but you do know the answer.

You know the answer because you practiced your times tables over and over and over again. You used them in context while solving other, more difficult problems. You saw them, you heard them, you wrote them down. It may have been brutally boring, but repetition was the process that helped transfer the answer "42" from your short-term (working) memory into your long-term memory.

While there are a number of ways people the learn things, the basic process boils down to two steps. Step 1: You are introduced to new stuff. Step 2: That new stuff is transferred from your working memory to your long-term memory. I would describe step 1 as "exposure" and step 2 as "retention".

If I watch a concert pianist play something by Rachmaninoff, I am not really learning how to play piano, I am simply being exposed to that knowledge. I can see fingers hitting keys, I can hear the sounds that correspond with those keys, but all of that information is stored for mere seconds in my working memory. If you ask me years, or even hours later what keys he hit with what fingers in what sequence, I will not be able to tell you. I won't be able to tell you because I did not retain that information.

On the other hand, if I learned how to play piano and got the sheet music to that same piece of music, I could practice Rachmaninoff every day. Over time, I wouldn't even need to look at the sheet music any more because I would be able to pull the next sequence from my long-term memory. In other words, I would be learning the piece. Repetition helps us retain skills and knowledge and frees up our working memory for other things. When information is stored in our long-term memory whatever process we are trying to recall becomes automatic. Cognitive scientists call this "Automaticity." Once a person achieves automaticity, they are able to critically think, problem solve, gain a deeper understanding and create on a higher level than someone who is burdened with juggling new information in their working memory. If Rachmaninoff had to Google the answer to the question, "What key do I hit next?" before each note, we would never even know his name.

As a technology teacher I come across a famous quote from Alvin Toffler quite a bit: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Many people in the Educational Technology world misuse this quote as a justification for substituting Google searches for repetition. Based on this concept, some people believe that retaining information is an obsolete facet of education. I think Toffler's quote has truth to it, but only if we understand how important retention of information is to our ability to "learn, unlearn and relearn."

If you believe that the words "learning" and "retention" are synonymous, take a look at that quote with fresh perspective: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot retain, forget, and recall from long-term memory." When viewed from this angle, Toffler's quote is in many ways an indictment of substituting Google searches for genuine retention. The more we retain, the richer and more complex our schema becomes. We learn more quickly and easily when we can attach the new information to information we already have. That's why a rich, complex schema is vital to learning new things.

Permalink Reply by Donna Carter on December 1, 2011 at 3:10pm

I only start with the idea of a single session....but for some pesky reason...some people tend to want to continue to come back for one reason or another.

I don't have any packages.

I deal with the issue they bring to me each time.

Interesting...isn't it?

D.

Permalink Reply by docregal.com on December 1, 2011 at 3:43pm

This response sounds like it came from a spiteful retorting hobbyist. I'll just leave it at that.

Donna Carter said:

I only start with the idea of a single session....but for some pesky reason...some people tend to want to continue to come back for one reason or another.

I don't have any packages.

I deal with the issue they bring to me each time.

Interesting...isn't it?

D.

Permalink Reply by Bill Kennedy on December 1, 2011 at 4:43pm

Donna,

It would be hard to measure this, but do you sense that any of your single session clients may give up after that first session and not call back, when they could actually have accomplished their goal with one or two more sessions?

Thanks.

Permalink Reply by April Braswell on December 1, 2011 at 6:21pm

Bill & AJ, I think Donna was aiming for a little bit of dry humor when she said, "For some pesky reason...." indicating (Donna, did I get your intention correctly?) that she has the intention of single sessions and accepts those but that being in the Flow of Things and receiving and trusting, clients return to her without her having to per se establish that expectation. Yes?

Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on December 1, 2011 at 7:09pm

Very interesting...

=^..^=

Donna Carter said:

I only start with the idea of a single session....but for some pesky reason...some people tend to want to continue to come back for one reason or another.

I don't have any packages.

I deal with the issue they bring to me each time.

Interesting...isn't it?

D.

Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on December 1, 2011 at 7:16pm

You and me, Donna. How am I to predict how long it takes for clients to heal themselves?! I just sit there, relaxing, while they do all the work. They let me know when they are done.

Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on December 1, 2011 at 7:17pm

Hi April,

I was born in April and I love your name-

I adjust my offerings based on the potential and actual client - I am happy to utilize a one session or multi-session approach and offer clients both options and let them decide what approach works best for them --

Today's clients are far more stressed. They are eating far less real food, while eating and drinking far more junk. For many clients just eating less and exercising more is not enough to produce and maintain meaningful weight loss because their self-regulatory system needs time to re-adjust. A series of sessions is likely to be more helpful for these clients . Other clients come in and I sense that they are ready and able to actualize and maintain their weight goals in 1/2 of a session and I run with it.

Hi Bill,

When I trained more than 30 years ago -- One session was all that was needed for weight loss, smoking cessation, etc. and the world has changed dramatically. That's why I offer both options and let my clients choose... Interestingly, most of my stop smoking clients opt for one session and If the client believes and expects to stop smoking in one session and I have excited their imaginations about the benefits and advantages of looking and feeling great - They stop smoking. On the other hand most of my stress related and weight related clients opt for a series of sessions...

Hi AJ-

All of Alan Barsky and my guided self-help programs are based on developing the habits of mindfulness and intentional relaxation -- We agree about the benefits of repetitive actions.

On the other hand -- people can and do experience something that changes their lives in a instant with or without conventional hypnotic assistance -- I run into clients who have reached and maintained their goals 20 years after our one session thingee...

Just saying...

@ Kelley -- I love the way you think and express yourself

Permalink Reply by Bill Kennedy on December 1, 2011 at 8:54pm

Yes, April, I detected the note in Donna's words and I was balancing that against the people I have met who say, "I tried hypnosis, but it didn't work for me." I know that there are a number of reasons why a person might feel that way and I was exploring one of them.

Permalink Reply by Janet Boursier on December 2, 2011 at 5:15am

I first offer new clients a free consultation. In that consultation they complete a checkbox questionnaire of issues that may be affecting them and rate them on a scale of 1-3 in how much that issue is interfering with the inner or outer life they would like to have.

After reviewing their form with them, I give them an estimate of how many sessions it may take to address all of their important issues and offer a package to those who may require more than 5 sessions. I have partnered with other holistic practitioners so their package also includes a consultation with a holistic healthcare practitioner, an aromatherapy consult, a Reiki session, a meditation class and a massage.

I started the package a little more than 2 months ago and have had only one client (stop smoking) decline the package. The great thing about the package is that it gives them 8 sessions; after resolving the big issues, they decide to go ahead and just clean up the rest of their issues as well.

So, in answer to the question, yes, I will certainly take a one-session client. If appropriate, I also recommend they continue. It is up to them to decide how much change they are ready for.

Janet Boursier, RN, CHt