Donation-Based Hypnotherapy Coaching: Why There Is No Fee

Yes, you read that right. My coaching sessions – based on evidence-based hypnotherapy – don’t have a price tag. Instead of paying me, I ask you to donate – what you can, to people who need it far more than I do.

This isn’t a marketing gimmick, a free trial, or a “first session free” funnel. It’s a deliberate choice, and this page explains exactly why I work this way – because I know an offer like this raises questions. Fair enough. Here are the honest answers.

What would you do if money didn’t matter?

At some point, I asked myself this question seriously: If money played no role in my life – what would I fill my days with?

The answer came quickly and clearly. Beyond the things I love anyway – sport, nature, travel – it was this: working with people, one-on-one, to help them overcome what holds them back. Fears. Stress. Self-sabotage. Blocks. Helping people get the best out of themselves, in whatever area of life matters to them.

I’ve been through this journey myself: overcoming fears and phobias, changing deep-rooted patterns, achieving things I once considered impossible, building routines for calm and resilience. That personal experience sparked a deep fascination with how we humans actually work – and eventually, I turned that fascination into professional training.

Because here’s my standard: I don’t want to give people advice based merely on my own small personal perspective. I want to pass on science-based methods and techniques that demonstrably work. That’s why I trained in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy – an approach that combines clinical hypnosis with CBT, the most evidence-based framework in psychology.

The honest answer: I don’t need this income

Most therapists and coaches live from their client fees – and rightly charge for their work. My situation is different, and I believe in being transparent about it.

I have a professional career that pays my bills. I trained as a hypnotherapist alongside it – not out of financial necessity, but out of genuine passion. And I’ve realised something that took me a while to accept: you don’t have to choose between the two. You can earn your living with one thing and live out a deeper sense of purpose with another.

Some people fish, dance, or play in a band on their evenings and weekends. I coach people through positive change. The difference between my “hobby” and most hobbies: mine comes with rigorous professional training behind it – because when it comes to working with people’s minds and wellbeing, anything less would be irresponsible. My own standards wouldn’t allow it. I’d feel like an imposter advising people without proper training, no matter how much practical knowledge I’d gathered.

So I have a few hours per week to give. If I charged for them, the income would be a rounding error next to my main work. But those hours can mean something entirely different – for you, and for others.

The concept: I help you – you help others

Here’s how it works, and it’s genuinely simple:

1. You book a session with me. You receive full, professional, coaching with evidence-based hypnotherapy – the same quality you’d expect from any paid practice.
2. Instead of paying me, you donate. You give what you can – pay what you can, within your means – directly to a charitable cause.
3. The help multiplies. You get support with your challenge. Someone else, somewhere, gets support they urgently need. And I get to do the work I love.

One session, three people better off. I call it a network effect of giving.

I could charge you a fee and donate the money myself. But there’s a reason I don’t: I want you to experience giving directly. Not as an abstract transaction, but as your own act. (More on why that matters – scientifically – below.)

Suggested donation recipients: I recommend effective, transparent organisations such as GiveDirectly, which transfers money directly to people living in extreme poverty. But the choice is yours – donate to a cause that resonates with your values. If you’re in a difficult financial situation yourself, give a small amount, or simply pass on kindness another way. No one is checked, no receipts demanded. This works on trust.

Why giving makes you happier – the science

This is the part I find most beautiful, because it means the donation isn’t just a payment substitute. It’s arguably part of the therapy.

Psychological research on happiness has repeatedly shown that spending money on others makes us measurably happier than spending it on ourselves. In a well-known series of studies, psychologist Elizabeth Dunn and colleagues (published in Science, 2008) found that people who spent money on others reported greater happiness than those who spent the same amount on themselves – regardless of the sum. Follow-up research by Lara Aknin showed this “warm glow of giving” appears across cultures worldwide, and even in toddlers.

Yale’s famous course “The Science of Well-Being” (Prof. Laurie Santos) – the most popular course in the university’s history – teaches exactly this as one of the core, evidence-backed strategies for lasting happiness: prosocial behaviour. Giving. Connection.

It makes sense. We are social animals. We don’t thrive as solitary beings – we are networked happy. When we feel we have something to give, and that our giving matters, we experience meaning. And honestly: you already know this. Think of the last time you gave someone a gift that genuinely moved them. That feeling.

When I first visited GiveDirectly’s website and read how recipients described what direct help meant for their lives, it moved me to tears. That’s the effect I want this practice to feed into – one session at a time.

Is donation-based coaching lower quality? (What’s the catch?)

A fair question – we’re conditioned to believe that free means inferior, or that there must be a catch. So, clearly:

• My training is professional and rigorous. I’m trained in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBHyp) – to my mind the most intelligent, evidence-grounded framework in this field. It works with how humans fundamentally function: identifying the unconscious patterns and self-sabotaging thought networks and automatic behaviour behind a problem, and then changing precisely that programming, using tools like hypnosis, CBT and ACT.
• You are not a guinea pig. You get the same structured, goal-oriented work as in any professional practice. My personal bar for quality is extremely high – this is about human wellbeing, and I wouldn’t offer it any other way.
• There is no upsell. No premium tier, no course waiting at the end, no email funnel. The donation model is the model.
• The only real limitation: my time. I offer a limited number of sessions per week, alongside my main profession. That means availability is genuinely limited – not artificially scarce, actually scarce.

Will this always stay donation-based? Honestly: I don’t know. If I ever move into this work full-time, I’ll have to charge like anyone else. But right now, in this phase of my life, I can afford to keep money out of this part of my work – and I find that genuinely beautiful. So the model stands for as long as I can sustain it.

A values-based practice – literally

Part of my training includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). One of its core principles: putting your personal values front and centre. Values are what motivate, carry, guide – and ultimately define us. In therapy and coaching, reconnecting with your values is one of the most fundamentally helpful things you can do, because it reminds you why you’re seeking change in the first place.

This donation model is simply me practising what I teach. My values are helping, sharing success rather than only pursuing my own advancement, and using what I’ve been given. On that last point: throughout my training, clients and every single colleague I practised with gave me the same feedback – that my voice has an unusually calming, hypnotic quality. Not using a gift like that in service of others would feel like a gifted singer who never sings for anyone. A waste. In a way, I feel almost morally obliged to use it.

I can’t help you become a great horse rider – I can’t ride. But fears, stress, overthinking, inner blocks, unwanted habits? That’s my territory.

FAQ – Donation-Based Sessions

How much should I donate?

Whatever is meaningful and manageable for you. As a rough orientation: hypnotherapy sessions typically cost somewhere between €70–150 / £60–130 . Some clients donate in that range, some less, some more. Pay what you can – it’s genuinely your call, and I never see or verify the amount.

Do I donate to you?

No. Never to me. You donate directly to a charitable organisation of your choice. I recommend highly effective charities like GiveDirectly, but the choice is yours.

Do I have to prove I donated?

No. This works on trust. In my experience, people who seek out this kind of arrangement honour it. However, I’d appreciate it if you could send me a screenshot of your donation. The amount really doesn’t matter. You can even blur out the amount :).

What if I genuinely can’t afford to donate?

Then come anyway. Give a symbolic amount, or pay it forward in another way when you can. Financial hardship should never be the reason someone doesn’t get help – that’s the whole point of this model.

Are online sessions also donation-based?

Yes – all sessions, online and in person, follow the same model.

Is this a limited offer?

The model stands for as long as my life situation allows it. What is limited is my weekly availability, since I do this alongside my main profession.

Ready to work on what’s holding you back
– and help someone else in the process?

Limited weekly slots available.