AI Course - Reviews and Course Content

Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 6 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Module 1: Is AI Really Intelligent? What is AI? AI stands for artificial intelligence and covers a wide variety of different programmes, services and abilities. These include: the rules that decide who sees your social media posts, where your website comes up in potential clients' searches, voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, spelling and grammar checkers like Grammarly, and many more. Some AIs are specialists and focus on video creation, social media posting etc. and we’ll mention a few of them as we go. But we’re going to focus on ChatGPT which is a simple-to- use and multi-tasking option that can support you in many ways. It’s quite intuitive to use and will respond to you like another human so it’s non-technical and easy to understand. And it saves you from the task of learning, paying for, or integrating several different systems. I’ll be using a free account for the demonstrations and examples, and this will be all you’ll need for the support tasks I’ll set as we go through the course. ChatGPT offers a couple of options and will begin with a programme called ChatGPT 40. You don’t have to do anything to select this, it’s the automatic go-to. There’s a limit on the daily number of prompts you can give to ChatGPT 40 in the free account, but if you reach it, there’s a menu to allow you to swap to ChatGPT Mini and continue your work. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 7 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Jargon Prompts and Output As with any area, AI has its own jargon. The ones you need to know to get started are ‘prompt’ and ‘output’. A prompt, in this context, is the question or phrase that you enter to tell the AI what you want it to do. The output is what it gives you in reply, whether that’s text, images or anything else. Non-generative and Generative AI Traditionally, when we want a machine to carry out a task, we upload a programme (software) that tells it what to do. This approach is very limited in scope as it only gives instructions for one specific task or set of tasks. According to Mikey Shulman1, a lecturer at MIT Sloan and Head of Machine Learning at Kensho, this kind of programming is like a recipe. It can tell you exactly how much of each ingredient you need, how to combine them, and how to cook them. But it can’t help if you want a chocolate cake instead of a fish pie. This type of programming is ‘non-generative’ AI - it can use the information you give it to analyse or make decisions, for example, it can play chess if you give it the rules. But it’s just choosing from moves it already knows and can’t generate (create) anything new. ‘’Generative’ AI uses ‘machine learning’, a more flexible process that avoids the need to write separate instructions for each of the machine’s activities. It starts with a lot of data being uploaded, which can include pictures, numbers, text information, and much more. The machine uses this as a training system, from which it begins to programme itself. Instead of just following rules, it absorbs the underlying patterns of the information it’s been given and can therefore generalise this into new combinations and ideas. It saves a lot of programmers’ time and effort; therefore, it also saves money in product development. And it can be handy where a single programme needs to cover all possibilities in complex situations, like facial recognition. ChatGPT is a generative AI. 1 Cited in https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/machine-learning-explained Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 8 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. You can think of this as a being bit like a baby playing with a shape sorter. Here’s one. Imagine the shapes as the original data set, the holes as prompts and the box as output: when you choose a shape (make a prompt) the machine finds the right information (shape) to create relevant output (drop through into the box). Over time, it learns which shape best matches which hole and, from these experiences, the machine creates a set of rules, called an algorithm, which helps it make future decisions. If a prompt fits with a known shape, it drops through into the box. But if a prompt doesn’t match previously known shapes/information, non-generative AI is stuck. It can only work with what it already has. Generative AI will combine and alter the shapes from the original data set to make something new that fits. This can, of course, sometimes create strange and unexpected results, including a recipe that required ‘crushed sherry’, one that started with 31 lbs of cabbage, and another for Black Forest Cake which told users to cook the batter in the toaster2. Have a look at https://www.aiweirdness.com, a series of blogs on different AI uses which will show you just how odd it can get. 2 https://www.aiweirdness.com/ai-recipes-are-bad-and-a-proposal-20-01-31 Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 9 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. This all shows that a machine's learning can only be as good as the information it has been trained on and its output can reflect the biases of that information. Amazon, for example, had to scrap its trial of AI sorting recruitment applications because the initial data loaded for learning included more male employees than female ones. The computer therefore assumed that male employees were more desirable and tended to reject female applicants3. And programmers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained an AI on images of murder and death and later found it interpreted random inkblots in a negative way 4. Humans can, of course, tweak the model to help it get more accurate results, but all this shows that AI is not really intelligent at all, artificially or otherwise. It’s simply responding to a very sophisticated set of rules. AI-generated and AI-assisted The distinction between AI-generated and AI-assisted material is based on who (or what) created the original content. I’m taking these definitions from the Amazon rules for Self- Publishing, as they are nice and clear. If AI was used to create the first version of the content, then it counts as AI-generated, ‘even if you applied substantial edits afterwards’5. If you have ‘used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas [and/or to] edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve’6 content you have initially written yourself, it is AI-assisted. There are some places where the differences matter, both legally and ethically, and we’ll point them out as we go through the different applications in later modules. But we can say that AI is usually best used as a sort of combined secretary, personal assistant and researcher rather than to produce vast amounts of content with no human input. 3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-45809919. 4 Ibid. 5 https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200672390#aicontent 6 Ibid. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 10 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Module 2: Developing Effective Prompts Chat GPT is easy to play around with if you’re new to the field as it is relatively simple to use and will produce words, images and even music from your prompts. That should make it obvious that one of the key skills in working with it – or any AI - is knowing how to develop effective prompts. It’s a lot like a sausage-making machine. The quality of what you get out (either sausages or AI output) depends on the quality of what you put in. The more specific you can be, the more likely you are to end up with what you want. General Tips for Writing Prompts: Be Clear and Specific: If you’re asking Chat GPT to generate a social media post, for example, be clear about the topic, the audience, and the format. Example7: see the illustration on the next page. 7 OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com 22.12.24 Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 11 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Prompt: Create a tweet aimed at helping Create a Twitter post in no more than social anxiety. 280 characters including spaces, aimed at helping professional women with social anxiety. Social anxiety weighing you down? Networking anxiety? Try this: Try this: Prep 2-3 topics you enjoy discussing. Prepare Ahead: Practice small talk topics or questions to ease Focus on listening - it takes the nerves. pressure off you. Start Small: Begin with brief interactions, like a smile or hello. Remember: Confidence grows with practice, not perfection. Self-Kindness: Be patient with yourself—progress is progress! You belong in the room—own it! #SocialAnxiety You’re braver than you think. #WomenInWork #NetworkingTips #SocialAnxiety #MentalHealth As you can see, the first column shows a general interest post, whereas, in the second one, both content and hashtags are aimed more specifically at a target audience – professional women. This is especially useful if you have a niche. But adding the character limit makes a difference too – ChatGPT doesn’t automatically know what a ‘tweet’ is, and the first option is longer than you’d be allowed to publish unless you have a Twitter Blue account. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 12 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Provide Context: Chat GPT works best when it is told the reason for your request. Example prompt: ‘Create a short handout for therapy clients explaining the basics of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in simple, accessible language.’ This clarifies that the main purpose of the handout is to explain the basics. If that part of the prompt wasn’t there, you might find yourself with content that’s too advanced or technical for your clients. You can see the output for this one on the next page. Define the Format: If you have a preference, include the structure you want for your content, such as bullet points, paragraphs, or step-by-step guides in your prompt. Example prompt: ‘Generate a checklist of six tips about using mindfulness in bullet point format for therapy clients who have never used mindfulness before.’ Use Keywords: Focus on the main points you want the content to include. For instance, if you're creating a guide to mindfulness, include relevant keywords in your prompt. Example prompt: ‘Create a short guide to mindfulness for therapy clients explaining general principles and include an exercise to help them practice relaxation, focus or mindful breathing at home.’ If you aren’t happy with the output you get, you can either reword your prompt or ask Chat GPT to switch models to get a different result. The AI will also respond if you put in an informal follow-up prompt such as ‘Keep the content more or less the same but use a friendlier, less formal tone’ or even ‘How could this be improved?’ Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 13 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Output for example prompt: ‘Create a short handout for therapy clients explaining the basics of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in simple, accessible language.’ Understanding Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) What is CBT? Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a practical, evidence-based approach to understanding and managing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It’s about breaking unhelpful patterns and building healthier ones. How Does CBT Work? CBT focuses on the connection between: 1. Thoughts: What we think (“I’ll never get this right.”) 2. Feelings: How we feel as a result (Frustrated, anxious). 3. Behaviours: What we do (Avoid trying). By changing how we think or act, we can influence how we feel. Key Principles of CBT Thoughts Aren’t Always Facts: Sometimes our minds trick us into negative or distorted thinking. CBT helps us identify and challenge these thoughts. Small Changes, Big Impact: Adjusting even small behaviours can lead to noticeable improvements in mood and well-being. Skills You Can Use for Life: CBT teaches tools like problem-solving, relaxation, and thought reframing to handle challenges effectively. What to Expect In CBT, you’ll work with your therapist to: Identify patterns causing distress. Set goals for change. Practice new strategies between sessions. Why Choose CBT? CBT is collaborative and goal-oriented, making it effective for managing anxiety, depression, stress, and more. Ready to take the first step? Let’s explore how CBT can work for you! We’ll discuss copyright, accuracy, and similar issues with this kind of output soon, but you can see that it would at least provide you with a good start in just a few seconds. By pasting the wording into Word, or a design package like Canva, you can add images and tweak the layout into your practice style. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 14 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Activity: Practicing Prompts: Client Handout: ‘Create a one-page (A4) handout explaining to therapy clients how to use deep breathing to aid relaxation. Include a step-by-step guide and two examples of situations where this technique can be helpful.’ Social Media Posts: ‘Create a series of three social media posts for Facebook about self-care during stressful periods at work. Each post should offer one tip and be approximately 150 words long. Include suggestions for an image to accompany each post and relevant popular hashtags.’ Email for Clients: ‘Write a follow-up email template to send to clients after their first therapy session. Include a summary of what we discussed and suggest three self-care activities they can use before the next session.’ Register for a free account at ChatGPT.com Part One: Enter at least one of the prompts above (if you use more than one, enter them one at a time). I have suggested a topic for each one, but if that doesn’t align with your practice niche, change the words in blue for something that does. Tweak the prompt to be more specific to you, for example asking the AI to work in a particular tone – formal, informal, friendly, professional etc, and re- enter it. Compare the two outputs. If you can’t think of a specific tweak, tell the AI what you like and don’t like about the output and ask it to try again. Edit the material to suit your practice style. For example, you could leave in the icons or take them out; correct any American spellings to British; reword, omit or add phrases or details. Part Two: Create some prompts of your own using the principles laid out in this module and go through the same process. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 15 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Module 3: Legal, Ethical, and Practical Considerations Please note that the following is based on the situation in England and Wales. If you live elsewhere, it might be different. I hope that you’ve already noticed from our work with prompts that it’s possible to ask AI to provide you with pretty much any kind of content or writing you need. But before you get too carried away with enthusiasm, we need to look at the legal and other boundaries that apply. Firstly, it’s important to note that the law on the use of AI is currently vague and constantly changing. As is often the case, it’s impossible for legislation to keep up with technological changes as they happen and there are not enough test cases to form a precedent in most situations. Few, if any, formal codes of ethics deal with the use of AI, so we will need to rely on pre-existing regulations and rulings and draw what inferences from them we can. Data Security and Confidentiality The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lays down rules about how you collect and store personal data. You need separate consent, or another legally acceptable reason, for each separate use you make of your clients’ data. Entering their details in an AI-based system is a separate use from offering therapy. For example, if you automatically add clients’ names to a newsletter list administered via a mailing platform, it may enable you to optimise the time and day you send messages, perfect the subject line, and even personalise newsletter content and adverts based on a recipient’s previous purchases from you. This is done by using AI tools to track the behaviour of individuals on your list so, if you’re using these options, you need to let people know. Example – have a look at how Mailchimp uses AI = https://mailchimp.com/newsroom/announcing-email-content-generator You could place the information in your Data Protection policy, in the section about sharing information. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 16 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. You also need to ensure that any AI platform where you enter other people’s data is GDPR- compliant – or whatever other regulations apply If you are outside the UK. This would include mailing platforms as above, but also any cloud storage or online systems you use for client records, booking appointments, online forms, etc. The provider’s privacy policy should help in identifying if it’s compliant, but if it’s not clear, contact them and ask before uploading anyone’s personal information. Keep a copy of their reply safe in case of future queries. If you use AI to analyse client data, make sure the data is anonymised to protect people’s privacy. GDPR doesn’t apply where the AI system has no access to your client’s personal information. For example, if you prompt ChatGPT to help you create the wording for an appointment confirmation message, and then copy and paste the output into messages to send to clients. Copyright There are three main problems as far as copyright is concerned. Accidental copyright infringement Some AI systems have been trained on information ‘scraped’ or ‘mined’ from the Internet. This means that information is obtained from websites and other online resources, often without the owner’s knowledge or consent. It’s a tricky situation, as you can imagine. The information is freely available to anyone who visits the original site but can also be used by the AI system to create derivative or even identical content without acknowledging the source. This is, of course, both a legal and an ethical problem for those using the output, who might be unaware that they are infringing someone’s copyright. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 17 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Liability for copyright infringement The second problem is identifying who is responsible for any copyright infringements that might happen: the owner of the AI that produced the offending material, or the person who published it (you). A few companies, like Adobe, have said that users will not be held liable for any copyright infringements arising from the use of their AI tools,8 but most do not. Most AIs have a clause in their Terms and Conditions that says you own the output you create. That means you can use the material without paying royalties, but you would have to defend the output against any infringement claims. Who holds copyright over material created on AI? In theory, there are three options – the owner/developer of the AI programme, the user who enters the prompt and generates the content, or the AI itself. At present, under UK law, only a human can hold a copyright which narrows the choice down to the first two. But as AI gets more sophisticated and complex, some people feel the law should grant AIs legal capacity and their own rights over the material they produce. Against this, it’s argued that AI-generated content shouldn’t be copyrightable at all, because it’s derived from other works accessed during the machine learning process. This view is particularly strong in the art world, about AI-generated images. Read more about this debate and where future changes could lead us. https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/blogs/security-and- risk/chatgpt-what-the-law-says-about-who-owns-the-copyright-of-ai- generated-content 8 https://www.fastcompany.com/90906560/adobe-feels-so-confident-its-firefly-generative-ai-wont- breach-copyright-itll-cover-your-legal-bills Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 18 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. At present, this is a very grey area in law. Section 178 of the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA 1988) allows AI users to have limited copyright protection in computer-generated works in some circumstances.9 However, to be copyrightable, the owner of the material (you) must show it was produced using skill, judgement, labour, and originality. Whether putting a prompt into an AI meets these criteria is a matter of interpretation. It’s very likely that if you let AI do all the work for you, or even let AI do the initial work and then edit it, the resulting output is not copyrightable and can be legally taken and used by others. That might not be an issue for a social media post, for example, but it is a concern if you are writing books, blogs, and courses. On the other hand, if the AI is used to support, edit or improve material produced by you using your skill, judgement etc., the chances are that it’s copyright, subject to infringement regulations. This is another reason it’s best to use AI-assisted material rather than AI- generated. SEO (search engine optimisation) SEO is the trick of getting search engines to ‘like’ your website by using relevant keywords and phrases etc. in constructing the pages. The more SEO-friendly your site is, the higher in relevant search results it is likely to come. Search engines have algorithms of their own to help them decide where your website comes in the list when someone searches. Ideally, you need to come up on the first page, or at least in the first couple of pages, because most people don’t check further than that. There are at least two ways in which using AI-generated content can get your site sliding down the list to a page no one will ever see. Google, and many other search engines, penalise duplicate website content. So, if your page or blog is identical to someone else’s, either because the AI has lifted their content or because someone else has entered a similar prompt and got the same output, then both sites will be penalised. 9 https://pec.ac.uk/blog_entries/copyright-protection-in-ai-generated-works Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 19 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Google has this to say about AI-created content: While AI can be a helpful tool for generating content ideas or even drafting text, it’s essential to ensure that the final output is of high quality and original. Content that appears spammy or automated without meaningful human oversight may be penalised. Integrating human touch is crucial. This means reviewing, editing, and refining AI- generated content to ensure it meets the high standards expected by Google and your readers. Be transparent about the use of AI in content creation when applicable. This builds trust with your audience and aligns with Google’s guidelines on content authenticity. In broad terms, it is happy enough to list AI-assisted content, but AI-generated content is likely to be penalised in search results. And it has extremely good AI detectors! So, now let’s move on to how best to address these issues. Using AI ethically Transparency Be open and honest. Acknowledge where you have used AI and how. Some of you may have noticed I have done this at the beginning of this course, which is AI-assisted. AI will help with the disclosure wording if you’re not sure how to phrase it. Check the rules if others are involved Within your practice, of course, you can choose how much to use AI. But most course providers, CPD and otherwise, have policies saying whether they accept AI-generated work. Even if AI-produced submissions are not allowed, you may still be able to use it to: suggest suitable research etc to include in your work, help with an essay plan, access AI services like Grammarly to check spelling and grammar in your original work. Always check the course provider’s rules carefully and ask for advice if the rules aren’t clear. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 20 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Commercial use Check that you are permitted to use the content you generate for your business. Not all AIs allow this. Chat GPT output can be used commercially10, although their T&C states that if you are a business or organisation, you must indemnify them against risks and damages arising from your use of their service11. This confirms what we said about you being the one to defend the output against any copyright infringement claims. Consider insurance Some professional insurance offers optional cover for accidental copyright infringement. Especially if you use AI a lot, it might be worth asking your insurer about adding it to your policy. The important word here is ‘accidental’, so keep a brief note of the verification checks you’ve done with each piece of work to prove you did your best to avoid problems. Stay updated AI best practices, laws, and regulations change frequently, so make sure you stay up to date. A quick Google search should be all you need. Verifying AI Output Before using AI-generated or AI-assisted material it’s a good idea to run a few checks. Ask the AI about its sources I prompted ChatGPT ‘If I ask you to create an output, such as a handout or blog for clients, can you provide me with the appropriate citation for the content?’ It responded, ‘Yes, I can provide citations for any external sources or references I use to create content. If the content is based on general knowledge or my training, I’ll clarify that as well. If you need specific references or citations, just let me know the preferred format (e.g., APA, MLA) and I’ll include them where applicable!’ 10 https://chatgpttrainer.co.uk/am-i-allowed-to-use-the-output-from-chatgpt 11 https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/ Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 21 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. So, you can include this request in your prompts or ask for the information after you receive an output that you’re happy with. Always verify with a quick internet search that studies or resources the AI cites are real and that they say what the AI claims they say. AI can get rather too ‘creative’ now and then and hallucinate information that doesn’t exist. Plagiarism Detection: text There are several plagiarism-detection tools on the Internet, some are free of charge. They are not 100% accurate but are reasonably so, and much better than not checking at all. You enter your AI-generated text, and it’s scanned for similarities with existing content on the web or in academic sources. If any matches are found, the checker will highlight the sections that might require attribution or revision. Have a look at this one and try it out with a random paragraph of text. https://plagiarismdetector.net Grammarly has a plagiarism option, as does the Editor that comes with Word. If any potential issues are picked up, look at the original source/s and decide if the text is a direct copy. If so, you can rewrite it in your own words and/or indicate that it’s a quote and properly reference the original. https://www.mybib.com/tools/harvard-referencing-generator will format a reference for you from a URL, if you’re not familiar with how to do this yourself. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 22 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Plagiarism-Checking: images If you are using an AI-generated image, perform an image search before using it, to make sure it’s not being used elsewhere. We’ll talk about how to generate images later in the course. Go to https://images.google.co.uk Click the camera icon indicated and upload your image to perform the search. AI images are AI-generated, not AI-assisted, and therefore probably not copyrightable. But if it’s identical to someone else’s image, I recommend changing it anyway to protect yourself if the rules change. Activity: plagiarism checkers Copy and paste some information from your website into a text plagiarism checker and see if it picks up your original content as the source. Upload an image from your phone or PC into Google Image Search and see what it finds. Don’t rely on the AI to be accurate Check any information or advice the output includes that doesn’t fit with what you know, or that you haven’t seen before. You might have learned something new, but you might also have the therapy equivalent of cooking cakes in the toaster! Carry out an internet search for any statistics, so you can properly cite the source if the AI doesn’t give it. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 23 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Read it through for style and logic Sometimes the AI might use words or phrases that simply don’t sound like you. Even if the content has passed all our checks so far and you intend to use the output as you received it, make a final check-through for these and quickly reword them. Check that the content makes sense. When I was initially playing around with Chat GPT to see what it could do with hypnotic scripts, it produced one that was fine in all ways except one. It had the client sitting in a cosy chair in a comfortable room with a stream trickling through it. Conclusion In my opinion, the best approach in most situations is to use Chat GPT as a personal assistant rather than a mass producer of content. Construct a prompt that tells it what you want to create and who your audience is. Ask for ideas, and a plan or outline, including any resources it has used. If you want to include evidence to support your views, ask for relevant research. Use the resulting output, in combination with your expertise and experience, to write the piece yourself. Then you know it’s original, and unlikely to cause a copyright problem. Or an SEO one if it’s going on a blog or website. It will also have your unique voice, which is essential for web pages, blogs, coursework submissions, etc. This will take time, of course, but much less than starting from a blank page. In addition, as we’ve seen, you will also need to spend time on any output you want to use verbatim, to ensure it is accurate and that any original sources used to create it have been acknowledged or referenced. So, you will still save plenty of time and effort by using AI as a support rather than a sole producer of content. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 24 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Activity - compare using AI as a researcher and as a producer of content. Go to Chat GPT Choose a task you want AI to help you with. Use prompts to ask for different levels of help with the same task from the AI, as in this example. You can use our example prompts or create a resource you want to use with your clients. Part One – AI-assisted Keep a note of the length of time you take to complete this task. Example Prompt - Create an outline for a 1-page worksheet for clients on managing stress with self-care techniques including ideas for what topics to include. Include citations for any external sources or references you use in Harvard style. If the content is based on general knowledge or your training, please clearly identify this. Check any sources cited. Create the worksheet yourself using the output as a guide. Part Two – AI-generated Keep a note of the length of time you take to complete this task. Example Prompt - Create a 1-page worksheet for clients on managing stress with self-care techniques. Include tips on sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness. Include citations for any external sources or references you use in Harvard style. If the content is based on general knowledge or your training, please clearly identify this. Carry out the checks suggested in this module: o check the sources, o run the content through a plagiarism detector, reword or acknowledge if needed, o read through for accuracy, logic, and style, and adapt if needed. Part Three – evaluation Did the AI meet your expectations? Which took the longest? Which method of working did you prefer? Which final version did you prefer? Use your preferred version for its intended purpose. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 25 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Module 4: Practical Ways to Use Chat GPT in Your Practice Hopefully, you will have already picked up some ideas of how Chat GPT can help you in your practice and, in this module, we’ll look at some of those ways in a bit more detail using examples that I have generated to show you what can be achieved. Creating Resources for Clients Instead of spending hours writing handouts or worksheets for clients, you can use Chat GPT to generate them very quickly. A well-designed prompt can create pretty much instant content to get you started. For example, you could use Chat GPT to: Develop a self-care checklist for those recovering from burnout. Create a mindfulness guide for clients dealing with anxiety. Write a grounding exercise for clients struggling with trauma symptoms. Here’s the prompt I used. Create a one-page self-care checklist for therapy clients experiencing burnout. Include citations for any external sources or references you use, presented in Harvard style. Or clearly identify if the content is based on general knowledge or your training. The result is on the next page, and it could be used after just a few quick checks and tweaks. I’ve made the type a bit smaller to fit it onto one page, the alternative is to remove or reword bits of the content. Change phrases that don’t fit with my writing style, for example, ‘maintain physical and cognitive function’ in point one, which some clients might not understand. Replace or remove any points that don’t fit with the way I work. Check the American Psychological Association reference, to make sure the wording on this output isn’t too close, as well as doing the general plagiarism checks. Reword the first sentence of the references section, so it becomes an AI disclosure. And, finally, tweak the layout, using either Word or Canva, to include my logo, and make it match the style of my other client handouts. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 26 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Self-Care Checklist for Clients Experiencing Burnout Burnout can leave you feeling exhausted, detached, and ineffective. This checklist offers simple strategies to regain energy and balance. Daily Practices 1. Hydrate: Drink at least 2 litres of water daily to maintain physical and cognitive function. 2. Nutrition: Eat balanced meals, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. 3. Sleep Hygiene: Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep. Practice a consistent bedtime routine, such as reducing screen time before bed. 4. Movement: Engage in 20–30 minutes of physical activity, like walking, stretching, or yoga. 5. Mindful Moments: Practice mindfulness or deep breathing exercises for at least 5 minutes daily to reduce stress. Weekly Commitments 6. Social Connections: Schedule time to connect with supportive friends or family, either in person or virtually. 7. Unplug: Take at least one day a week to reduce non-essential screen time and focus on offline activities. 8. Creative Expression: Engage in a hobby or creative outlet, like journaling, painting, or playing music. Work-Life Balance 9. Set Boundaries: Communicate clear limits at work, such as logging off at a consistent time. 10. Delegate: Share responsibilities at work and home to avoid overburdening yourself. Professional Support 11. Therapy Sessions: Attend regular therapy or counselling to process feelings and develop coping mechanisms. 12. Say No: Practice saying no to extra commitments that overwhelm your schedule. Reflection & Gratitude 13. Daily Reflection: Spend 5 minutes reflecting on what went well today. 14. Gratitude Practice: Write down 3 things you're grateful for each evening. Emergency Reset 15. Step Away: If overwhelmed, take a short break to reset with deep breathing or a calming activity. 16. Quick Wins: Complete one small, manageable task to regain a sense of accomplishment. References This checklist is based on general knowledge and best practices for self-care, informed by training in mental health support. No specific external sources were directly cited. For further reading: Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. American Psychological Association. (2020). “Burnout: Tips to Manage It.” Retrieved from www.apa.org. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 27 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Client communication If you regularly send clients follow-up emails with exercises, summaries, or reminders, AI can help draft these messages for you. You just need to provide clear instructions, and the AI will create personalised emails or templates you can reuse. Simply enter a prompt explaining what you want in the same way we did with the handout. AI can also help you draft responses to emails that are vague or otherwise tricky if you’re not sure how to approach them. In this example, we don’t know anything about the prospective client, what’s already being done, or what the issues we’re being asked to help with are. They could be a long way out of our remit. Example prompt: Email: my sister has had issues recently, and I don't believe the doctors are helping. I want her to use hypnotherapy. How do I make her an appointment? You are a hypnotherapist. Please reply to this email in a tactful, professional tone - friendly and fairly informal. The issues to be addressed are (1) unless the sister is a minor you can give only general information to a third party (2) if the sister is under 18, her parents would have to make enquiries unless her brother has custody; if she's an adult she would have to make enquiries herself, (3) whether and how much you can help will depend on her situation which isn't given (4) the best option would be to phone for a chat or make an appointment for a free discovery session so you can advise in more detail. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 28 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Output: Subject: Enquiry About Hypnotherapy for Your Sister Dear [Name], Thank you for reaching out about your sister and considering hypnotherapy to support her. I completely understand your concerns, and I’d be happy to help where I can. When it comes to making appointments, there are a few things to clarify. If your sister is an adult, it’s best that she reaches out to me herself, as I can only provide general information to a third party. If she’s under 18, her parents would need to make the enquiry unless you have legal custody. Whether and how hypnotherapy can help will depend on her situation. The best step would be for your sister or her legal guardian to give me a call for a chat or to book a free discovery session. This way, we can discuss her needs in more detail, and I can advise on how hypnotherapy might be able to assist. Please don’t hesitate to pass along my contact details, and I’d be happy to talk things through with her. Warm regards, [Your Name] [Your Contact Information] You would want to read through this for accuracy, logic and style, but it has no sources, and plagiarism is unlikely to be an issue. Run it through the checker anyway if you want to be 100% sure. Activity - emails Reword this so it is something you might send out to a client. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 29 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Client records and other notes We’re stepping away from Chat GPT for just a moment, to look at Otter AI. Otter is a transcription service, essentially you speak, and it converts your words to type. This can be very useful: to convert handwritten notes that you need in electronic format: you can read them out more quickly than typing them up, to make notes after a client session, also more quickly than writing them out, to type up notes for presentations, supervision etc., using the AI a bit like a secretary taking dictation. For example, when I’m carrying out a past life regression for a client, I make written notes in the session and send them a transcript by email within a week. Simply reading my notes into Otter provides that transcript much more quickly than I could copy-type it. Remember that you cannot record therapy sessions or meetings for the purposes of making transcriptions without the consent of all concerned. At the time of writing this, the free Otter account will allow you 300 monthly transcription minutes; 30 minutes per conversation, and a few other things. If you want to transcribe all your client notes and meetings, this might not be enough, but it will allow you to experiment and find out if you like using this form of AI. Activity - transcription Register for a free account at https://otter.ai and try it out. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 30 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. AI and Social Media Posting regularly on social media presence can feel like a full-time job, especially if you’re short of ideas on what to post about. Chat GPT can help you generate posts on any relevant topic - promoting your services, mental health tips, current news items about your therapy, or raising awareness about mental health issues. It can also offer different versions of posts to suit the requirements of different platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn if you can give it the best formats and word limits. Social media posts can be checked for style, logic and accuracy, then used ‘as is’. Unless they quote specific facts (e.g., statistics or a direct quote that needs attribution) sources and copyright are unlikely to be an issue. Having been in business longer than social media has been around, I have developed a formula that tells me what to post about each month, and that helps a lot with inspiration. But I do like using Chat GPT to generate hashtags for the posts I’ve written, as I was never sure which ones to use. It’s made a difference to the number of people who see my posts, although in one case it was too much difference! I recently relocated my practice into new offices and posted on social media about the ups and downs of the move. Being short on inspiration for hashtags I turned to AI and used the ones it suggested. At least one of them was obviously being followed by a certain sector because, within 24 hours, I was inundated with phone calls (around 50 of them in three days). These were from people calling themselves "The New Tenancy Department" and similar official-sounding names, who gave the distinct impression that it was compulsory to register with them if I had a new lease (not true). What they really wanted was to earn a commission by finding me an electricity supplier for my new premises. What a shame there isn’t a hashtag that has a similar effect on potential clients - but at least I know now that hashtags work! There are AIs, such as Social Bee or Social Pilot, which specialise in social media posting. They will often read your website and create posts from what’s on there, schedule them for you and send them to a variety of social media platforms. The problem with these, of course, is that it’s not your authentic voice in the posts since it all goes on without any input from you at all. As therapists rely on building rapport with potential clients to attract clients, this might attract the wrong people for you to work with or sound too generic to attract any at all. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 31 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Plus, although if you search ‘free social media content creation’ or similar, lots of sites will come up, most are only free for the first week or fortnight. After that, you will have to pay, and the cost can be an issue for a small therapy business. ChatGPT, whilst a general-purpose AI, can still help with social media and the free option will do most of what you need. Once you are used to using AI, by all means, look at the more specialist options. Steps to Use AI for Social Media: Decide on your focus: choose a focus for your content that aligns with your practice. For example, if you work with anxiety disorders, you might focus your posts on anxiety management tips or relaxation techniques. Create a prompt for the AI: tell it exactly what you need. For example: I put in the following prompt: You are a hypnotherapist. Create 3 Facebook posts as follows. For each one, suggest an image to accompany the post and relevant popular hashtags and tell me if the content is from your general knowledge or training or a specific source or sources. post 1: a practical tip about self-care for good mental health, post 2: a factoid to raise awareness about mental health issues, post 3: a promotional post to encourage readers to use hypnotherapy to help with phobias. The resulting output is on the next page. If you were planning a week or a month of daily posts you would simply ask for 7 or 30 posts, instead of 3, and suggest (for example) that a third should be tips, a third factoids, and a third promotional. Do the usual checks on these posts for accuracy, etc. before you publish them, as we discussed in the last module and reword them as appropriate. For example, if you don’t offer analytical hypnotherapy, you might want to remove the reference to ‘uncovering the root of your fear’ in the third post. And you might want to double-check the World Health Organisation reference. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 32 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Output Post 1: Practical Tip About Self-Care for Good Mental Health Post: "Take 10 minutes today to check in with yourself. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and ask: How am I feeling right now? What do I need in this moment? Sometimes, small acts of self-care—like pausing to breathe or taking a short walk—can make a big difference. You matter, so take care of you! #SelfCareTips #MentalHealthMatters #TakeAMoment #MindfulLiving" Image Suggestion: A peaceful scene of someone sitting outdoors on a bench, eyes closed, with the sun shining through trees. Source: General knowledge and training. Post 2: A Factoid to Raise Awareness About Mental Health Issues Post: "Did you know? 1 in 8 people globally experience mental health challenges. That’s nearly a billion people! Yet, many suffer in silence due to stigma or lack of access to help. Let’s break the stigma - talking about mental health is the first step toward healing. #EndTheStigma #MentalHealthAwareness #ItsOkayToNotBeOkay #BreakTheSilence" Image Suggestion: A diverse group of people holding hands or standing together, with text overlaying the image: “1 in 8 people experience mental health challenges.” Source: World Health Organization (WHO) statistics (adapted from general knowledge and verifiable research). Post 3: Promotional Post About Hypnotherapy for Phobias Post: "Does fear hold you back? Whether it’s flying, spiders, or public speaking, phobias can feel overwhelming—but they don’t have to control your life. With hypnotherapy, we can gently uncover the root of your fear and reframe your mindset, helping you feel calm and confident in situations that once seemed impossible. Take the first step toward freedom today. Book a free discovery session to see how hypnotherapy can help you conquer your phobia! #HypnotherapyWorks #ConquerYourFear #OvercomePhobias #MindOverMatter #MentalHealthSupport" Image Suggestion: A serene image of a person standing on a mountaintop, arms outstretched, symbolizing freedom and confidence. Alternatively, a calming image of a therapist and client in a relaxed session. Source: General knowledge and training in hypnotherapy. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 33 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. We’ll come back to the images to go with these posts in a moment, but just a final word of warning before we move on. In my experience, ChatGPT often adds a call to action to posts directly encouraging people to share, comment, or like. Thanks to a new rule that it doesn’t seem to know about, this might get your post penalised. Facebook, and probably other social media (in time if not now) now penalises posts that do this. Asking for advice is fine, but ‘Like or share this post if you agree’ and similar tricks are called ‘engagement bait’ and will result in your post being shown to fewer people. It’s picked up by Facebook’s AI so you may get away with it occasionally but not often. This is something you will need to watch out for and reword in some AI-generated posts. Read the full guide with examples at https://www.facebook.com/business/help/259911614709806 Activity: Social Media Use ChatGPT to generate some social media posts for yourself. Tweak them to your liking and post them. See how they perform compared with the ones you have written yourself. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 34 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. AI-generated images Compared with text output, it’s hard to get AI images that are licenced for commercial use, possibly due to the relative difficulty of establishing copyright etc. on generated output. Where you do have permission to use them to promote your business, you are likely to have a limited number of images free of charge. For example, at the time of writing this: https://chatgpt.com says it doesn’t have a limit on generating images If you ask it. However, as we said in our Introduction, there’s a limit on the daily number of prompts you can give to ChatGPT 40, their most recent version, in the free account. If you reach the limit and swap to ChatGPT Mini it will stop creating images. You can probably rely on getting two or three a day. https://www.adcreative.ai/stock-images gives you a free trial of ten images. https://www.canva.com gives users a total of 50 free images. https://www.pixelcut.ai gives you 100 free credits when you sign up and then works on a paid credit-based system when those are gone. https://www.craiyon.com has a free subscription which allows 9 free images at a time within a minute. The T&C say you should credit craiyon.com for the images if you are a free subscriber. That’s more than most but you do get a lot of pop-up ads. https://www.facebook.com/groups/hypnosisbusinessclub is a Facebook group run by Kev Webster and has plenty of business-building resources. These include AI- generated images, that Kev posts now and then for therapists to use free of charge. Generate images from some of these alternatives and carry out the checks listed below. Using AI-generated images Carefully check the T&C of an AI image generator for rules about commercial use and attribution before using it. Run images you generate through an image search such as https://images.google.co.uk as discussed in module 3. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 35 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Examples: Generating images from ChatGPT Method One, from a text description. Version One: I asked for ‘an image to illustrate a simple guide for therapists to using AI in their practice’. This was deliberately vague as I had no specific ideas in mind. The AI suggested several options for improvement, and I chose ‘Adjust the holographic assistant to include a more prominent, animated design, such as glowing symbols or a friendly face, for better visual appeal.’ You’ll see there are other changes too because the AI reinterprets the whole scene instead of focussing on the particular changes you have asked for. Saying ‘leave everything else exactly the same’ doesn’t always work, so getting exactly the right image can require a few revisions. Version Two: If you already have an idea in mind, you need to be as specific as you can in your description to avoid multiple do-overs. The more information you give as to style (pencil drawing, cartoon, oil painting, photo, etc), content, colours, layout, lighting etc you can be, the nearer the image will be to your idea. I asked for ‘an image to illustrate a simple guide for therapists to using AI in their practice. The image should feature a calm, professional therapist in a cosy office setting, sitting on a comfortable chair with an open laptop. The screen should show simple, easy-to-understand AI graphics (such as chat bubbles or a brain icon), symbolizing how AI can assist in their work. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 36 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Surrounding the therapist include soft visuals like notepads, client files, and calming décor to represent a balance between technology and warm, human-centred practice. The overall tone should be approachable and stress-free, highlighting that the course is designed for therapists who might feel wary of using AI technology. Make the image look like a photograph. As you can see there is a laptop and a therapist but they’re not interacting. In fact, the therapist looks to be a bit tranced out and is possibly just staring at a wall. It’s potentially a bit odd, especially if you’re already a sceptic about AI! My prompt: have the therapist using the laptop, and include a subtle wall decoration, like a framed inspirational quote or abstract art, to enhance the warm and inviting office. As you can see it now fits the purpose better although, due to the AI’s reinterpretation, the gender of the therapist has randomly changed, and a bookcase and green plants have been added. See if you can spot any more. Unfortunately, in this case, the ‘inspirational quote’ on the wall is nonsense. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 37 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. When I asked what it said, ChatGPT responded: ‘The inspirational quote in the image reads: "Embrace progress, not perfection." It is designed to resonate with the theme of integrating new tools like AI into therapy while maintaining a human-centred approach. If you’d like to modify the quote or adjust its presentation, let me know!’ In my experience, AI-generated images can have issues reproducing text, perspective, and hands (always count fingers before using the image). Since this text is not even close, I kept everything else as it was and changed the quote for a landscape. Method Two, from an existing image If you have taken a photo you’d like to use or found one on a royalty-free site like Pixabay or Unsplash, or even purchased one from a stock image site like iStock-Photo, you can ask the AI to tweak it to suit your needs. Upload it to the AI chat box using the paperclip icon. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 38 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. I used a photo I took of my therapy room, and this is the prompt I entered. Based on this image, create a picture of a comfortable and welcoming therapy room. a hypnotherapist is sitting in the black chair with her back to the viewer. On her lap is an open laptop, the screen shows an image that indicates she is working with AI. The image is to illustrate a course which offers a basic introduction to using AI in their practice for therapists who are unfamiliar with how it can be used. This was the first attempt. Once again, the laptop and therapist are both there but separated, despite my being more specific about that this time. At least the therapist appears to be looking out of the window rather than staring at a wall. I prompted: make the therapist female put the laptop on the therapist’s lap so it is clear they are currently working with it. Adjust the angle they are sitting at so the screen can still be seen and extend the carpet to cover the whole room. This is better, though we still have a rug instead of a carpet and the wall pictures are more suited to physical therapy than hypnotherapy. We’ve also lost the client chair. With a couple more tweaks you could make this into something usable. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 39 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. You may find that other AIs, especially those that specialise in images, take fewer revisions, but we’re focussing on ChatGPT in this course, and you should know about its weaknesses as well as its strengths. The course would not have been complete without a look at AI- generated images, but I admit I tend to stick to Pixabay and Unsplash. Uploading them to Canva allows me to develop different layouts and reliably overlay text. Activity: AI-generated images Create an image using ChatGPT or a free trial of one of the other services mentioned. Check the T&C and use it on social media, a leaflet or your website12. Developing hypnotherapy and meditation scripts I’m not going to enter the debate here about the pros and cons of using scripts versus off- the-cuff material, other than to say that whatever method you use to create session content it should be personalised to your client. There are several ways AI can help you. Script development If you have trouble coming up with an original idea for a guided meditation, hypnotic suggestions or a metaphor, then you can let the AI have a few details about what you need, and it will come up with a draft script for you. These can be quite derivative – remember the AI has been trained on other people’s material and examples – but if you have a client with an unusual hobby or interest that you’d like to include it can give you inspiration about how to do this in just a couple of seconds. Option One: you need a new concept Prompt: You are a hypnotherapist. Your client is a 15-year-old boy who has never been dry at night and still wets the bed every night. All medical issues have been ruled out. 12 A personal insert. You might ask why I didn’t use any of these images on my CPD website. I had planned to, but it looked odd beside the others that all feature photographs, so I went for a photo instead. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 40 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. The doctors suggest he sleeps too deeply to be woken by a need to empty his bladder. His only interest is playing the Call of Duty computer game. Create a hypnotherapy metaphor using the game to help him become dry at night. This example is taken from a genuine client I saw many years ago, long before AI was around to offer ideas, but it’s unusual so I thought it would be a nice one to look at. Before you read on, what ideas do you have about a metaphor for this client? How long would it take you to come up with an idea? The one I used originally took a while to invent and create, this one took less than a minute. Output: Hypnotherapy Metaphor for Bedwetting Using Call of Duty "Close your eyes and imagine you’re in the most important Call of Duty mission you’ve ever played. You’re the commander of a secret elite team, and your mission is to protect your base—your body—from an unexpected invasion. Your base has an amazing defence system, and tonight, you’re in charge of activating it. Now, imagine that your bladder is like a watchtower in the middle of your base. It has sensors that are always scanning the area. When the sensors pick up that the bladder is filling, it sends out an alert—like a bright flashing signal or an alarm. As the commander, you get that alert loud and clear. It wakes you up just like the sound of an enemy approaching in the game. You rise from sleep, ready to take control, because protecting your base is what you’re best at. You calmly and quickly head to the bathroom to disarm the pressure and reset your watchtower, knowing that you’ve won this round. Every night, this mission gets easier and easier, and you start to feel more confident because you’re mastering it, just like you do in Call of Duty. You’re always in control, and you always protect your base." This metaphor uses the boy’s interest in Call of Duty to empower him and help his subconscious create an association between bladder awareness and nighttime wakefulness. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 41 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Option Two: you have a concept but need help developing it If you already have an idea but you’re struggling to write it in a way you like. Again, this is based on a real client situation. Prompt: You are a hypnotherapist. Your client is a woman in her 30s who suffers from high levels of anxiety and a sense of derealisation when the anxiety is high. The anxiety is the result of several traumas she has experienced over the last couple of years including the deaths of several close family members and a difficult marriage breakup. Create a short hypnotic script to undermine the derealisation, including a tree metaphor relating to bending and not breaking. Output: Certainly, here's a hypnotic script focusing on derealization and utilizing a tree metaphor: Close your eyes and take a deep breath in, letting it out slowly. With each breath, feel yourself sinking deeper into relaxation as if sinking into the earth like the roots of a tree. Imagine yourself as a strong, resilient tree, firmly rooted in the ground. As you stand tall, notice how the wind begins to blow, gently swaying your branches back and forth. In life, there are moments when you may feel disconnected from reality as if you're watching the world from a distance. It's like being a tree, feeling the breeze but remaining grounded in your truth. As you experience derealization, imagine your branches bending but not breaking. Despite the swirling winds of uncertainty, you remain steadfast, anchored in your core. Feel the strength within you, the unwavering resolve to weather any storm. With each sway, you become more resilient and more attuned to the rhythm of life. Know that just like the tree, you have the power to endure, to overcome. You are rooted in reality, grounded in the present moment. And when the winds of derealization blow, remember the tree within you. Breathe deeply and find solace in your strength, knowing that you are capable of bending without breaking. Now, slowly bring your awareness back to the present moment, feeling refreshed and grounded. When you're ready, open your eyes, carrying with you the strength of the tree within. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 42 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Option Three: modifying scripts If you already have a script you like, you can paste it into the AI and ask it to adapt it to a specific client. Example: this uses an original idea of my own which you will find in The Metaphor Toolbox. Prompt: extend and adapt this hypnotherapy script to help someone who is overly concerned with what others think about them. Script: Have you ever looked up into the sky on a summer’s day and seen a white, gauzy trail left by an aeroplane? They’re called contrails, and although they look like smoke, they’re really made of ice crystals, formed by the warm exhaust from the plane hitting the cooler air around it. Sometimes you see the contrail and you can’t see the plane at all, because contrails can last a while, clearly marking where the plane has travelled, even when it’s moved on. It’s like being able to see into the past, the whole journey that the plane has made. But the nice thing is that the plane can go anywhere it likes, seeing the past behind it, but free to change direction until the contrail fades and all you can see is the blue of the open sky. This particular script was written for a section in the book called ‘mini metaphors’ which were intended to be a quick idea that could be used in a minute or so at the end of a session or developed into something longer and more complex for individual clients. It’s about letting go of the past, and I included tips about how to adapt it to suit individual clients in The Metaphor Toolbox13. The next page shows how Chat GPT dealt with it. Before you read it, think about how you would have adapted the idea. 13 It’s on Amazon, in case you were wondering. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 43 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Output: Here's an adaptation of the contrail metaphor script for someone who is overly concerned with what others think. This version focuses on releasing the lingering effects of other people's opinions and embracing personal freedom and self-direction: Script Adaptation: "The Freedom of the Open Sky" Have you ever looked up into the sky on a summer’s day and seen a white, gauzy trail left by an airplane? They’re called contrails. At first, they’re vivid and sharp, as though they’ve been drawn on the sky itself. But even though they might seem like smoke, they’re actually just made of tiny ice crystals. They form when the warm air from the airplane’s engines meets the cooler air high up in the atmosphere. Sometimes, you can clearly see the contrail long after the plane has disappeared from sight, leaving a trace of where it’s been. It reminds me a little of how the thoughts and opinions of others can feel. Sometimes they leave a mark, a trail that lingers, even after the moment has passed. You find yourself replaying words or imagining what someone might think of you. It’s as if those opinions have drawn a line in your mind’s sky. But here’s the thing — just like contrails, those marks don’t last forever. They may linger for a little while, but they always fade. And the best part? The airplane itself — just like you — is free to keep flying, free to choose its own path, regardless of the trail behind it. Feel the joy of flying forward into the open sky, unburdened by what’s behind you. Knowing that even if a contrail appears again, it’s temporary, and you’ll still have the freedom to move in the direction that’s right for you. So, take a moment to enjoy the vastness of the open sky ahead, the freedom to make your own choices, and the lightness of letting go of anything that doesn’t serve you. And when you’re ready, you can bring this sense of openness and freedom back with you, knowing that the opinions of others are like contrails — temporary and fading — while your path forward is yours to choose. This adaptation encourages the client to view others' opinions as transient and focuses on the freedom to move forward with confidence, making their own choices regardless of external judgments. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 44 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Option Four: drafting scripts for specific techniques If you’re using a hypnotherapy technique, such as progressive relaxation, regression, or parts therapy, AI can help you create scripts based on those methods. You simply input the details of the technique and request a script designed around that framework. Prompt: You’re a hypnotherapist preparing for a regression session and need a script that smoothly guides the client into their past experiences. Create a draft script that includes key elements like deep relaxation, time travel metaphors, and prompts to access childhood memories. Output: Regression Hypnotherapy Script Introduction and Relaxation "Let’s begin by making yourself completely comfortable in your chair. Close your eyes and take a deep, soothing breath in… and gently let it out. With each breath, you can feel yourself sinking deeper into comfort, as if you’re letting go of all the weight of the day. As you continue to breathe deeply, imagine a soft, warm light above your head. This light is gentle and calming, and as it touches you, it relaxes every muscle it meets. Feel it moving down your face, releasing any tension in your forehead… your jaw… your neck and shoulders. With each passing moment, you feel lighter, calmer, and deeply at ease." Deepening the Relaxation "Now, I want you to imagine you’re standing at the top of a beautiful staircase. This staircase is unique to you—it can look however you’d like, but it feels perfectly safe and inviting. As I count down from 10 to 1, you’ll take a step with each number, feeling more relaxed, more peaceful, and more ready to connect with your deeper self. 10… stepping down now, feeling calm. 9… deeper and deeper, safe and supported. 8… every step takes you closer to a place of inner understanding 3… almost there now, peaceful and calm 1… you’ve reached the bottom, and you’re ready to explore your memories." Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 45 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Time Travel Metaphor "In front of you now is a soft, glowing doorway. This doorway leads to the timeline of your life—a safe and gentle path through your memories. Beyond this door lies a journey into your past, where you can visit any time, place, or moment that your mind feels is important to explore. When you’re ready, step through the doorway, feeling completely safe and in control. You find yourself standing on a path of light, stretching endlessly in both directions. To one side, it leads to the present, and to the other, it winds back into the past." Accessing Childhood Memories "As you follow the path back into your past, you notice little orbs of light along the way. Each orb holds a memory—a moment from your life. One of them catches your attention. It glows softly, inviting you to come closer. When you’re ready, reach out and gently step into this memory. As you do, you feel yourself becoming younger, lighter, and freer. The sights, sounds, and feelings of this time are becoming clearer to you now. What do you see? Who is there with you? What do you feel? Take your time to explore this moment fully, knowing you’re safe and can step out of it at any time." Exploration and Guidance "Now that you’re in this memory, you can observe it like a movie or step into it and experience it fully—whichever feels right to you. If there’s anything you’d like to understand or learn here, allow your subconscious mind to show you in its own way. Trust whatever comes to you, knowing your inner mind is guiding you gently and safely." Returning to the Present "When you’re ready, thank this memory for what it has shown you. Step back onto the path of light, and notice how calm and light you feel, carrying this new understanding with you. As I count from 1 to 5, you’ll come back to the present moment, feeling refreshed, calm, and at ease. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 46 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. 1… gently returning. 2… bringing with you all the insights you’ve gained. 3… feeling the chair beneath you, the sounds around you. 4… almost back now, completely calm and safe. 5… opening your eyes, fully present and at peace." Closing Words "Take a moment to reflect on what you experienced. You’ve done incredibly well, and you can carry this feeling of peace and clarity with you as you move forward." This script is designed to help the client feel safe and guided while accessing meaningful memories. Let me know if you’d like to adjust any part! Option Five: checking and editing your original scripts If you enjoy making up your own suggestions and metaphors, then you should carry on doing so. They will resonate with your clients because they come from you and the rapport you share. If you feel they need a bit of a polish, copy and paste your script into AI with a few details of who it is intended to help, and ask it to review and make suggestions for improvement. Ask it to give reasons for its suggestions as well, as this will help you decide which ones to accept. Activity - scripts Suggested prompt: This is a hypnotherapy script for a client experiencing [issue]. Review the script. Keep the original tone and style but make suggestions for improvement, giving a reason for each suggested change. Try this now with an original script you have written. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 47 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Pros and Cons of AI Scripts Pros You can build a library of scripts relatively quickly, which you can adapt easily for new clients (with or without the help of AI). It saves a lot of preparation time. It can help generate ideas, especially those that reflect clients’ hobbies and interests if you don’t know much about them. It can provide you with approaches when your client’s issue isn’t covered in books or websites – for example, you can usually find scripts to cover the most common phobias, but not those that come up less often. Although techniques like the control room, the rewind (cinema technique/fast phobia cure), collapsing anchors, and parts will work well with any kind of phobia, it’s sometimes nice to have something specific. Cons The AI is not trained as a hypnotherapist, and you are. It’s a quick and easy tool for generating and modifying hypnotherapy scripts but it cannot replace the knowledge and intuition you have as a therapist, which are vital elements of the therapy you provide. Always do the usual checks - check for logical and factual errors, review and tweak scripts so they fit your approach and personality as well as the needs of your client. Run scripts through a plagiarism checker, especially if you might want to record or publish them, or share them with other therapists, social media groups etc. Check the rules about publishing AI-created material in our section on writing books. When you save the script to your library ensure it has some acknowledgement that it was AI-generated or AI-assisted so you can be sure of its status should any copyright issue arise. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 48 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. AI for blogging The term blog comes from ‘web log’. They were originally a sort of online diary (like a ship’s log) with brief entries telling people what you (or your business) were getting up to today. That sort of post now seems to be used more in social media, and blogs have become more like a library of articles. So, broadly, a blog is an article, and you ideally need 1-2,000 words to get the right sort of response from search engines, social media, and readers14. As a sole trader who does everything for your business from washing the floors to seeing the clients, it may not be possible for you to blog frequently, but you could perhaps commit to once a month, or even the occasional guest article for a magazine or on someone else’s blog. Blogs can be used to educate clients, share insights, or promote your services, though the latter should be done with care and subtlety. No one is going to read a 2,000-word advert! They can also give you a chance to write about positive topics such as happiness, the psychology of positivity, and self-care, while the rest of your website may be about the more negative issues your clients are facing. AI can help you throughout the process of writing blogs. Suggesting topics One of the hardest parts of blogging is not the writing itself but deciding what to write about, without repeating yourself or going too far off-topic. And the longer you've been blogging, the harder it can be. Chat GPT can suggest ideas based on current trends, popular keywords that you supply, or frequently asked questions across the net. I’ve just asked for one blog idea here and left the subject open, but you could ask for more or specify some topics you’d like to cover. 14 https://hypnotherapytrainingblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/blogging-for-therapists.html Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 49 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Example prompt: You are a hypnotherapist, and your blog is aimed at educating clients and potential clients about mental health issues as well as the benefits of hypnotherapy. Suggest three topics suitable to develop into blogs. Output: Here are three blog topic suggestions for a hypnotherapist’s blog, focused on mental health education and the benefits of hypnotherapy: 1. "Breaking the Stress Cycle: How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Find Calm" Outline: o Explain the stress cycle: how stress affects both the mind and body, and the role of the fight-or-flight response. o Introduce hypnotherapy as a tool to reprogram the mind’s response to stress, promoting relaxation and resilience. o Share a client success story (anonymized) or a hypothetical scenario demonstrating the benefits of hypnotherapy for stress. o Include practical stress-management tips, such as breathing exercises or visualization techniques. 2. "Understanding Anxiety: Why It Happens and How Hypnotherapy Can Help" Outline: o Define anxiety and its common symptoms, focusing on how it manifests in everyday life. o Explain how hypnotherapy works to uncover root causes of anxiety and reframe negative thought patterns. o Discuss specific anxiety-related issues hypnotherapy can help with, such as social anxiety, performance anxiety, and general worry. o Offer a grounding or calming technique for readers to try at home. 3. "Overcoming Phobias: How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Life" Outline: o Define phobias and discuss how they can impact everyday life. o Introduce hypnotherapy as a safe and effective way to confront and overcome phobias by desensitizing triggers and building new mental associations. o Share an example of a common phobia (e.g., fear of flying) and how hypnotherapy might work to resolve it. o Encourage readers to take the first step toward addressing their own phobia by reaching out for a consultation. These topics are educational, relatable, and position hypnotherapy as a valuable tool for improving mental health. They can help engage readers and attract potential clients Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 50 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Choose one of these and ask Chat GPT to come up with a more detailed plan or outline. Example prompt: Please expand on the basic idea for the phobia-themed blog, suggesting information to include and a basic structure. Include your sources and citations for any external sources or references you used, presented in Harvard style. Or clearly identify if the content is based on general knowledge or your training. Output: Expanded Plan for the Blog: "Overcoming Phobias: How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Life" This blog will educate readers about phobias, their impact on daily life, and how hypnotherapy can help. It will use relatable language, offer practical insights, and position hypnotherapy as a compassionate and effective solution. Proposed Structure: 1. Introduction: What Are Phobias? Define phobias: A type of anxiety disorder characterized by an intense and irrational fear of specific objects, situations, or activities15. Differentiate between common fears and phobias (e.g., fear of heights vs. acrophobia). Mention statistics to show how common phobias are (e.g., 19.2 million adults in the U.S. suffer from phobias, according to the National Institute of Mental Health). Engage the reader by asking a question: "Does your fear of [X] keep you from living life to the fullest?" Sources: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): "Specific Phobias." 2. The Impact of Phobias on Daily Life Describe how phobias can affect work, relationships, and overall quality of life. Discuss the avoidance behaviors that reinforce phobias over time, limiting opportunities and creating stress. Use examples: Fear of flying may prevent someone from taking a dream vacation; fear of public speaking may hinder career progress. 3. How Hypnotherapy Works to Treat Phobias Explain hypnotherapy in simple terms: A therapeutic technique that uses focused relaxation to access the subconscious mind. Discuss the goals of hypnotherapy for phobias: Desensitization to triggers, reframing negative associations, and instilling a sense of control. 15 https://lightonanxiety.com/conditions/phobias/ Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 51 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Describe techniques used in hypnotherapy, such as visualization (e.g., imagining calmness while facing the fear) and gradual exposure in the subconscious. Highlight its non-invasive nature and how it works alongside other treatments or as a standalone option. Sources: Mayo Clinic (2022): Overview of phobia treatment, including exposure therapy. Spiegel, D., & Greenleaf, M. (1992). Hypnosis in the treatment of phobias. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 4. Success Stories or Hypothetical Scenarios Share an anonymized success story (e.g., a client overcoming a fear of dogs through hypnotherapy). Include a hypothetical session breakdown: A person with a fear of flying may visualize boarding a plane calmly during hypnotherapy sessions. Emphasize the importance of personalization in treatment. 5. Practical Advice for Readers Encourage readers to confront their phobia by seeking help. Suggest starting with a free consultation to discuss their fear and treatment goals. Offer a calming exercise they can try at home, such as slow, diaphragmatic breathing when faced with mild fear. 6. Conclusion: Take the First Step Today Reassure readers that overcoming a phobia is possible. Invite them to contact your hypnotherapy practice for a free discovery session. End with an empowering statement: “Don’t let fear hold you back—your journey to freedom begins with a single step.” Sources: The content above is primarily based on general knowledge and professional training as a hypnotherapist. It incorporates widely recognized principles of cognitive- behavioral therapy and hypnotherapy techniques for treating phobias. Specific references include: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Specific phobias information (2022). Mayo Clinic (2022): Insights into phobia treatment options. Spiegel, D., & Greenleaf, M. (1992). Hypnosis in the treatment of phobias. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. Suggested Hashtags: #PhobiaRelief #OvercomeFear #HypnotherapyWorks #MentalHealthJourney #FaceYourFears This structure provides an educational and actionable approach while promoting hypnotherapy as a solution. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 52 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Ethical blogging with AI This plan would allow you to write an AI-assisted blog in relatively little time, with just a couple of checks on the references and some care around using success stories, because of GDPR and client confidentiality. If you ask Chat GPT to write the blog for you, i.e., your blog is AI-generated rather than AI- assisted, you will have to do the usual checks on logic, accuracy, and style, as well as feed the final version through a plagiarism checker. If you’re writing a guest blog, don’t forget to check any rules they have about AI submissions before you start to write. Often, platforms that accept guest blogs, like the Hypnotherapy Directory, require full disclosure of your use of AI. Activity: Blogging Go through this process and write an AI-assisted blog. I don’t suggest using the ideas we have generated here because if everyone who takes this course does that, there will be a lot of very similar blogs around! Use your own ideas or generate some. Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 53 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. Using AI to write books If you enjoy blogging, you might also come to consider publishing something longer, like a book. This can be a great way to promote your knowledge and services. It impresses potential clients when they see it on your website and establishes you as someone who knows what they are talking about. It can establish you as an expert with other therapists, which is especially useful if you plan to offer training or supervision. It gives you credibility if you want to apply to speak at conferences or write articles for magazines. It can be another income stream – you may never be able to retire on the proceeds of a single self-help book but, unlike seeing clients, it is income that doesn’t rely on your physical presence. It can help with your career development and knowledge, since the research you do for your book, via AI or otherwise, will help to consolidate and extend your knowledge. If you have always wanted to write a book but never quite had the time or inspiration, AI can help - if it’s carefully used. AI and publishing Most traditional publishers will not accept AI-based books because of the doubts around copyright. Amazon, one of the biggest Self-Publishing platforms, allows them, but says: “We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP. AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork. You are not required to disclose AI- assisted content… You are responsible for verifying that all AI-generated and/or AI-assisted content adheres to all content guidelines, including by complying with all applicable intellectual property rights”16 16 https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200672390#aicontent Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Hypnotherapy Practitioner Refresher Course 54 This course is copyright 2025 and should not be shared, copied or distributed in any format without permission. In other wo

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