What is ToolBox?
AHSM’s ToolBox is an online resource available exclusively to AHSM members containing conditions, treatment plans, tools, processes, techniques and a wealth of ideas to support both new and experienced stress managers and hypnotherapists in their work – from how to set up and market a new practice to alternative ideas for experienced therapists, from how to record and monitor a client’s progress to guidance on accounts and tax returns.
ToolBox is designed to expand over time to encompass new ideas contributed by AHSM members for the benefit of all members. ToolBox is not a pretty website full of pictures and products for sale, but is filled with hard, practical content to support members in their work.
Whether an experienced or newly qualified Hypnotherapist or Stress Manager, you will always remember your first meeting with your first client! Fresh out of training, consulting room newly set up with furniture and equipment? Brain full of new facts and techniques but no experience? Anxious as to whether you will be able to help your client? Desperately hiding the fact that you are more nervous than your client? Your client may begin to speak about their perception of their problems. Chances are you sympathised, related their problems to your own experiences in life, tried to take meaningful notes and formulate relevant questions to ask. You tried to understand the underlying issues whilst asking yourself, can I really help this person and how best to proceed? Have I been trained in dealing with this particular set of issues?
Of course, as you see more clients, your confidence grows, sympathy changes to empathy and understanding. Certain client issues repeat and familiar approaches to their treatment can be used. Regular CPD training widens your range of approaches, but however experienced you are some clients will present new issues and some will fail to respond to your tried and tested techniques.
With ToolBox by your side, the next time you meet a client, whether for an initial assessment or ongoing help, as well as expressing empathy and understanding for the client’s issues, consider what additional treatment plan, tools, processes and techniques you now have at your disposal to help your client.
ToolBox contains contributions based on practical experience from many past and current AHSM members who have dealt with both individuals and organisations suffering from stress and a range of other conditions. Whilst hypnotherapy processes feature in the treatments, ToolBox also contains a range of other relevant tools and techniques, including life balance analysis, task prioritisation, communication processes and more.
A user guide is included to help members navigate ToolBox to find the materials relevant to client treatments for a wide range of conditions. Much of the material is available in PDF format so that forms and scripts can be printed for use during client sessions. Advice on background music, recording client sessions, dealing with clients remotely as well as face to face, can also be found within ToolBox.
To summarise, ToolBox will provide a comprehensive, easy to use online reference library to support stress managers and hypnotherapists in running a successful practice and will continue to grow and develop for our membership.