Terms and conditions for a hypnotherapist

A hypnotherapy practice needs terms that deal with the things clients actually argue about: the block of sessions paid for up front and abandoned after two, the stop smoking result that did not last, the bespoke recording that ends up on a file sharing site, and the client who discloses a diagnosis only after the induction has started. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Clinical and solution focused hypnotherapists in England and Wales, working from a clinic room, from home, at the client's home or by video. Almost all of your clients are consumers, with the protections that brings. Some of you also invoice employers for stop smoking or stress programmes, and that work is business to business, so one set of terms needs to handle both.

What matters in a hypnotherapist's terms

Session blocks, prepayments and missed appointments

Most hypnotherapy is sold as a block: four sessions for smoking, six for anxiety or weight, paid in advance. The terms need to say whether the block expires, what happens when a client stops after the second session, and on what basis anything is refunded. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, keeping a prepayment on cancellation without a matching obligation on your side is on the grey list of terms that may be unfair, and so is a default charge out of proportion to your actual loss. A late cancellation fee is defensible if the notice period is stated before booking rather than buried in a confirmation email.

What you can and cannot promise about results

Hypnotherapy is sold on outcomes, which is where terms and marketing collide. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats information the client relies on as binding, so a claim on your website about success rates or a permanent result can become a term of the contract you then have to meet. Your terms should commit you to sessions delivered with reasonable care and skill, record that results depend on the client's engagement between sessions, and make clear that hypnotherapy is not medical treatment and is not a substitute for advice from a GP. If you do offer a money back promise, it needs written boundaries.

Clients who book online, by phone or at their home

A booking taken through your website, by telephone or at the client's kitchen table is a distance or off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The client has fourteen days to cancel, which will often cover the first session. You can lawfully work inside that period, but only at the client's express request, and a client who then cancels pays a proportionate amount for what you delivered. If the cancellation information is never given, the period can extend by up to twelve months. Your booking form, your confirmation email and your terms have to say the same thing.

Screening, disclosure and clients you should not treat

Your intake form is part of the contract. The terms should oblige the client to disclose medication, diagnoses such as epilepsy or psychosis, pregnancy and any current mental health care, and should give you the right to decline or stop treatment if what you are told, or not told, makes hypnotherapy inappropriate. Say what happens to fees in that situation. Cover attending under the influence of alcohol, and driving or operating machinery after a session. No set of terms can exclude liability for personal injury caused by your own negligence, so this section works by allocating responsibility for information, not by disclaiming care.

Recordings, scripts and confidentiality

Many hypnotherapists send the client a bespoke audio recording between sessions. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 that recording and your scripts belong to you unless you agree otherwise, and the terms should give the client a personal, non-transferable licence to use it, with no sharing, uploading or resale. If the recording is digital content supplied within the cancellation period, the client's express consent and acknowledgement matter. The same section should set out confidentiality, the limited circumstances in which you would break it, and the fact that detail about your records is dealt with in your privacy notice.

Employer-funded work, complaints and the details you must publish

Where an employer pays for sessions for its staff, you have two relationships: a business customer on payment terms and an individual in the chair who still owes you disclosure and attendance. The terms should separate them, say who receives what information, and use payment terms that allow interest and fixed compensation for late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 require you to make available your trading name and address, your professional body and your insurance details, and to deal with complaints promptly. A complaints route also sits alongside your duty under the consumer ADR rules.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I advertise a money back guarantee for stop smoking sessions?

You can, provided you are prepared to honour it as written. A promise made in your advertising can bind you as a contract term, so the guarantee needs conditions set out before the client books: attendance at every session, use of the recording, and a defined window for claiming. A guarantee with conditions invented after the request arrives will not help you.

I see clients by video who live abroad. Does that change my terms?

It can. I draft terms governed by the law of England and Wales, which is what I am qualified to advise on. A consumer sitting in another country may still have protections there that apply whatever your terms say, so if overseas clients are a large part of your practice, that is worth taking local advice on before you market to them.

A client wants to record our sessions on their phone. Should I allow it?

That is a decision to make in the terms rather than in the room. Many hypnotherapists permit recording for the client's own use only, with no publishing or sharing, and require written agreement in advance. If you record for your own notes, say so and obtain consent. Either way, silence on the point tends to be discovered at the worst moment.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a massage or complementary therapist

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.