I don’t actively seek feedback from clients, but have had two great comments this week, both from young men with gambling habits.

The first didn’t come to me to address his gambling issues, he wanted to stop smoking. But when I asked what he would spend the £12 a day he was saving on, he mentioned it. He was sure he didn’t want to spend the cigarette savings at the bookies. So with his consent I weaved in that he would spend the money he saved from not smoking on positive things, and definitely not on gambling. That was 12 weeks ago, and he tells me that not only has he not smoked since, but he hasn’t gambled either. At all. He estimates that the two together equate to £200 saving a week, money which he is putting towards a dream family holiday.

The second client came to me specifically for gambling. He had a bigger habit. Much bigger. He has agreed to me quoting him here, although I have chosen to remove the sum he has saved so far in case anyone works out who he is. He wrote:

“That hypnosis has done the trick. I've not gambled since. I was very sceptical and thought 'she's f**king barking if she thinks this shit works' but I gave it a try because I was a) desperate and b) trying to be open minded. I'm pleasantly surprised. Thank you. I bet I've saved wasting XXX so far....”

There are no guarantees with any therapy, that it will have such a swift outcome (I only saw each of these clients once.) So to some extent, it’s a bit of a gamble. And with both smoking and gambling it is so binary; either the client stops, or they don’t. I’m glad that both of these men invested in themselves, and are managing their own habits so much better now.