Hypnotherapy consent forms: what to include

A hypnotherapy consent form should explain what hypnosis is and what your sessions involve, state that it is not a substitute for medical or psychological care, list the limits of confidentiality, set out your cancellation policy, ask separately for permission to record, and be signed by a parent or guardian when the client is a minor. Have the client sign before the first session, keep the exact wording they signed, and ask them to renew it once a year. A sample wording block you can copy is near the end.

This is not legal advice. Rules for hypnotherapists differ from state to state, and a few states register them directly (see below). Check your state’s rules, and have a lawyer read your final form if you can.

What makes consent “informed”?

The client should understand what they are agreeing to before they sign. For hypnotherapy, that means the form covers:

1. What hypnosis is. A focused, relaxed state in which the client stays aware and in control, and can stop at any time.
2. What a session involves. Length, a short talk first, the hypnosis itself, and how you bring them out of it. Say if sessions are online.
3. Who you are. Your training and certifications, and whether you hold a state license. If you don’t, say so plainly.
4. Realistic benefits. What clients often work on with you, without promises. Never guarantee a result.
5. Possible side effects. Short-lived effects such as feeling drowsy, dizzy or emotional afterward, or a headache. A review of unwanted effects of hypnosis describes them as common but mostly short-lived.¹
6. Alternatives. That other options exist, including seeing a doctor or licensed therapist.
7. That it’s voluntary. They can ask questions, stop a session, or end the work at any time.

How should you word the scope disclaimer?

This is the sentence that protects both of you. Keep it short and specific:

Hypnotherapy is a complementary approach. It is not a substitute for medical care, psychiatric care or psychotherapy, and I do not diagnose or treat medical or mental health conditions. Please keep seeing your doctor or therapist, and don’t stop or change any medication without talking to them.

If you hold a license (for example as a counselor or psychologist) and use hypnosis within it, your licensing board’s rules on consent apply instead, and this wording will need changing.

Pair the disclaimer with a promise from the client: that they have told you about their health conditions and medication, and will tell you if anything changes. Your intake form collects the details.

What should a recording consent cover?

Ask for recording permission separately from treatment consent. A client should be able to say yes to sessions and no to recordings.

There are two kinds of recording, and the form should say which you do:

• Recording a live session, for your notes or for the client to replay. Get written permission first, say who will hear it, where it is stored and when it is deleted. Check your state’s law on recording conversations before you start.
• Audio made for the client, such as a personalized track they listen to at home. Say how you will send it, that it is for their personal use, that they should not listen while driving or operating machinery, and that they can withdraw permission.

In Hypnocube, the recordings permission is a separate, optional agreement. Until a client has given it, the Send button on a recording reads “Ask permission first” and emails them a link to give that one permission. See recording hypnosis sessions for clients for the rest.

What are the limits of confidentiality?

Say what you keep private and when you would have to break that. Common limits:

• Suspected child abuse or neglect. Every state names in law who must report it. According to the federal Child Welfare Information Gateway, about 38 states list counselors, therapists and other mental health professionals as mandated reporters, and in about 17 states any person who suspects child abuse or neglect must report it.² Assume you are a reporter unless you have checked your state’s law.
• Abuse of a vulnerable adult, where your state requires a report.
• A serious and immediate risk of the client harming themselves or someone else.
• A court order or other legal requirement.

Add one line on how you keep records and for how long. If HIPAA applies to you, your Notice of Privacy Practices covers this in detail; see HIPAA for hypnotherapists for whether it does.

What should the cancellation policy say?

Make it short enough to read on a phone:

• How much notice the client must give to cancel or move a session for free (24 or 48 hours is common)
• What they owe inside that window, or for not turning up: nothing, the deposit, or the full fee
• How to cancel: a link, an email or a phone number
• What happens if you have to cancel

Pick a policy you will actually enforce. If you always waive the fee, write a softer one. Reducing no-shows covers reminders and deposits.

How do you handle consent for minors?

For a client under 18, get the signature of a parent or legal guardian, and keep a note of who signed and their relationship to the child. Beyond that:

• Check your state’s rules. States set their own age rules for consent to counseling-type services, and some hypnotherapists don’t work with minors at all.
• Ask for the young person’s agreement too, in words they understand, even though their signature may not be legally required.
• Decide what you will share with the parent. Agree it with both of them at the start. Tell the young person the confidentiality limits above.
• Keep records longer. Washington’s rules for counselors, a group that includes registered hypnotherapists, require keeping a minor’s records for six years after they turn 21.³

Are electronic signatures valid?

Yes, for most consent forms. The federal ESIGN Act says that a signature, contract or other record relating to a transaction “may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.”⁴ It defines an electronic signature as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”⁵ A checkbox plus a typed full name, with a clear statement that typing it is signing, fits that definition.

Two parts of the Act matter in practice:

• Extra consumer disclosures. When a law requires information to be given to a consumer in writing, an electronic version counts only if the consumer agreed to receive it electronically after a set of disclosures. This applies to legally required written notices, not to every form.⁴
• Keeping records. Where a law requires you to keep a record, an electronic copy counts if it accurately reflects the original and stays available to reproduce for the whole retention period.⁴

So, for each signature, keep the exact wording the client saw, the name they typed, the date and time, and how they signed. In Hypnocube, clients tick the privacy and cancellation agreements when they book online and sign treatment consent with their typed name at the end of the intake form. Each record keeps the wording as signed, and you can download it as a PDF from the client file or record a paper signature with a scan.

Which states regulate hypnotherapists?

Most states don’t license hypnotherapists. A few register them, and these are the two we checked against the state’s own sources:

State	Rule	Source
Washington	Practicing hypnotherapy for a fee requires registration with the Department of Health. The counselor rules, which include hypnotherapists, require reporting suspected child abuse and keeping records six years after the last visit.	RCW 18.19.035;6 WAC 246-810-010, 246-810-0131, 246-810-0353
Connecticut	Anyone who practices hypnosis must register with the Department of Consumer Protection before doing business. People licensed for health care or mental health services are excluded. Registrations expire each October 31.	Department of Consumer Protection7

Other states may have rules that apply to you through their counseling, psychotherapy or consumer protection laws. Check with your state’s licensing agency.

How often should consent be renewed?

Ask the client to confirm consent again:

• Once a year, for clients who keep seeing you
• When you change the wording in a way that matters (a new fee rule, a new recording practice)
• When the reason for coming changes, since they agreed to work on something else

In Hypnocube, each agreement lapses a year after signing. From a month before that, the client’s next session reminder asks them to renew it. When you edit an agreement, you choose whether clients who signed the old version must sign again.

Sample consent wording

Adapt this to your practice. Replace the bracketed parts, delete what doesn’t apply, and check it against your state’s rules.

CONSENT TO HYPNOTHERAPY: [Practice name]

About hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis, a focused and relaxed state, to help with goals
such as sleep, stress, confidence and habits. During hypnosis you stay aware
and in control, and you can stop at any time. Some people feel drowsy,
lightheaded or emotional afterward; this usually passes quickly. Results
vary and are not guaranteed.

About me
I am [name], trained in hypnotherapy by [school], [certification]. I am
[not licensed by the state of ___ as a health care provider / registered as
a hypnotherapist in ___].

Not a substitute for medical care
Hypnotherapy is a complementary approach. It is not a substitute for medical
care, psychiatric care or psychotherapy. I do not diagnose or treat medical
or mental health conditions. Please keep seeing your doctor or therapist and
don't change any medication without talking to them. I have told [name]
about my health conditions and medication, and I will say if anything
changes.

Confidentiality
What you tell me is kept private and shared only with your permission,
except where the law requires it: suspected abuse or neglect of a child or
vulnerable adult, a serious and immediate risk to you or someone else, or a
court order. Records are kept for [7] years after your last session and
then securely deleted.

Recordings (optional, tick to agree)
[ ] I agree that [name] may send me private links to audio recordings made
for me. They are for my personal use. I will not listen while driving or
operating machinery. I can withdraw this permission at any time.

Cancellations
You can move or cancel a session free of charge up to [24] hours before it
starts. Inside that time, or if you miss the session, [the full fee / the
deposit] is charged. To cancel, use the link in your confirmation email or
contact [email/phone].

For clients under 18
I am the parent or legal guardian of the client named below and consent to
their sessions.
Client's name: ______   Parent or guardian's name: ______
Relationship: ______

Agreement
I have read this form, had the chance to ask questions, and agree to take
part in hypnotherapy sessions with [name]. I understand I can stop at any
time.

Type your full name to sign: ______        Date: ______

Footnotes

1. Gruzelier J — Unwanted effects of hypnosis: a review of the evidence and its implications. Contemporary Hypnosis, 2000;17(4):163-193. DOI ↩

2. Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children’s Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services — Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (State Statutes, current through May 2023). PDF ↩

3. Washington Administrative Code — Chapter 246-810 WAC: definitions (246-810-010), reporting abuse or neglect (246-810-0131), record requirements (246-810-035). app.leg.wa.gov ↩ ↩²

4. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act — 15 U.S.C. § 7001(a), (c), (d). govinfo.gov ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act — 15 U.S.C. § 7006(5). govinfo.gov ↩

6. Revised Code of Washington — RCW 18.19.035, Registration required: hypnotherapists; see also RCW 18.19.020, Definitions. app.leg.wa.gov ↩

7. Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection — Hypnotist Registration Information. portal.ct.gov ↩