Perhaps I’ve just been lucky and have had people who actually do have similar issues.

I do think that they probably get less value from a shared session than an individual one, which is why I charge them less, but as you say, the option is always there to do a subsequent individual session.

The other factor is that in NZ (don’t know about the UK) it’s a client’s legal right to have whoever they want in the room with them as support. If I thought it was going to hinder the process, of course, I would request that they wait elsewhere, but if the client wants them there I’m obliged to allow it. Again, so far I haven’t had an issue either from people who were also getting therapy or from those who were only observing.

I am a firm believer that if you work with people together, it’ll have to depend upon the nature of what you are working on for me to agree to such a thing.

If it as a simple behavioural change, then maybe that’s ok… I mean, if two women have a similar smoking habit and the session is going to be similar and delivered by an automatron of a hypnotherapist who reads scripts… Then I guess it is just about ok.

However, in the most part, if they are coming for therapy and want to be treated as an indivdual – as people cannot not communicate – the presence of another is always going to effect and influence the therapy… Maybe even hinder the progress and stop the individual being totally congruent or even honest about the core issues.

If a client wants mutual support, then they can go and have coffee together… Heck, the mutual support can sit in a room in the same building as an indicator of support… The therapy room is an intimate and delicate place that I mostly don’t want being contaminated with inter-personal dynamics…

It seems they are more comfortable coming together for a shared issue, and they can provide mutual support.

irony used to be a British comedy staple…