Accreditation in Hypnosis

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jack Hirsh on December 18, 2009 at 5:47am

Kevin,

Welcome to hypnothoughts. These are all questions that have been debated since the days of Erikson and Elman and even before. If you do a search here on hypnothoughts you will see many discussions relating to these questions but I will give a quick rundown for you.

You say: I take it that its a MUST to be certify clinical hypnotherapist in order to practice (depending on what state you might need to obtain another license to conduct psychotherapy)
Answer: No you do not need to be certified to do hypnosis of any kind. However if you want to call yourself a hypnotherapist some states require that you are a licensed mental health professional.

You say: What about being a instructor of hypnosis? I saw some people are offering courses to be certified as a hypnosis trainer...in which body credits them I do not know...
Answer: You do not need to be certified to teach hypnosis. In fact you can establish your own organization and print out some certificates and start teaching and certifying anyone you want. However you should realize that many insurance providers only recognize certain organizations and as such the people you certify will have trouble obtaining insurance.

You say: Then let me ask...all trainers certify as clinical hypnotherapist?... can a kid really read countless of hypnosis book and conduct his own class on how to "rapid induct" people or something to that idea
Answer: No some train in stage hypnosis and don’t get into clinical hypnosis. If you are good at what you do and have a knack for teaching then yes technically speaking you can read a bunch of books watch a bunch of youtube videos, practice the techniques and then teach what you know.

You say: what would someone be that has a ph.D or a Psy.D degree and certify as a clinical hypnosis look compared of the joe who just read things out of a book doing the same thing as the ladder? If this is the case, shouldn't EVERYONE have some kind of higher education? Would you even say having a higher education is even necessary...
Answer: This is an entire debate by itself. I will say this… Erikson was a doctor and Elman was a lay hypnotist and both were masters in the field. However, even Elman himself would only teach doctors and there were no acrediting organizations back in those days.

~Jack

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin on December 18, 2009 at 8:19am

Thank you Jack, your response has been VERY helpful!!!

My next part of the question since I have no idea what are the main body of Accreditation schools for hypnosis?

National Guild of Hypnotism and what else?

And what do these bodies do, how would one get associated with them?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kent Fullarton on December 18, 2009 at 12:17pm

Thank you Jack for a thoughtful reply. The dirty little secret is that accreditation does not mean anything. No one comes and checks your clients to see if they have improved. No one sits in a session to watch the minimal ques to see what trance level has been achieved. The most that is done is to check if you took certain classes and that your check cleared. You can print up a diploma from your own school of "Kevy Hypnotherapy" and get certified by "The American Board of Kevy Hypnotherapy". And you might be better at hypnotherapy than people like me. I graduated from Hypnosis Motivation Institute and British Hypnosis Research and have a bunch of ceu's. Yea it takes time and costs money. But we play with peoples minds. We can help. We can hurt. Simply working with a person who does not get better and gives up, is hurting some one. I suggest you find as many sources of learning and be a greedy child for learning. Get all you can. Take this as a hint. Hypnosis is easy. Hypnotherapy not so much. I am a sixty three year old fat man with college degrees and diplomas who seems to need to learn something every day. And with new learning's there comes the client who needs them. If you wanted to be a civil engineer you would have four to six year of college and pass a state exam. Perhaps two hundred thousand dollars in investment. Many hypnotherapists make as much money as an engineer. So invest in your career. If you are good it is better for the rest of us. If you aren't it hurts all of us.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Aaron Little on December 18, 2009 at 1:10pm

The true merit of a hypnotist is the results they achieve just as the true merit of a hypnosis instructor/teacher/coach is the quality of the students they produce. Accreditation has it's place but I am much more concerned with one’s ability to perform.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jack Hirsh on December 18, 2009 at 1:36pm

Kent,

You make a good point, which I failed to address and that is... never stop learning. I may not be in a formal classroom setting 24/7 but I am always studying. Whether it is by reading books such as Dave Elman's book or buying videos like Mark Cunningham’s New Curriculum, I am constantly striving to improve my technique and my skill set. Also, work on your people skills. As you said “Hypnosis is easy. Hypnotherapy not so much” since many of us do not carry the title doctor it is important for people to trust us and be comfortable with us.

So in the end I guess what I am saying (and this is directed more to Kevin) even if you do get certified by a very recognized organization you should always strive to improve and be an even better hypnotherapist (even if you are in a state that does not allow you to carry that title).

~Jack

Kent Fullarton said:

Thank you Jack for a thoughtful reply. The dirty little secret is that accreditation does not mean anything. No one comes and checks your clients to see if they have improved. No one sits in a session to watch the minimal ques to see what trance level has been achieved. The most that is done is to check if you took certain classes and that your check cleared. You can print up a diploma from your own school of "Kevy Hypnotherapy" and get certified by "The American Board of Kevy Hypnotherapy". And you might be better at hypnotherapy than people like me. I graduated from Hypnosis Motivation Institute and British Hypnosis Research and have a bunch of ceu's. Yea it takes time and costs money. But we play with peoples minds. We can help. We can hurt. Simply working with a person who does not get better and gives up, is hurting some one. I suggest you find as many sources of learning and be a greedy child for learning. Get all you can. Take this as a hint. Hypnosis is easy. Hypnotherapy not so much. I am a sixty three year old fat man with college degrees and diplomas who seems to need to learn something every day. And with new learning's there comes the client who needs them. If you wanted to be a civil engineer you would have four to six year of college and pass a state exam. Perhaps two hundred thousand dollars in investment. Many hypnotherapists make as much money as an engineer. So invest in your career. If you are good it is better for the rest of us. If you aren't it hurts all of us.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on December 18, 2009 at 2:55pm

One way to view hypnosis is that it's an art.

Does a musician need a degree from a reputable school of music on order to give a great performance? Does a musician need to take courses in music pedagogy in order to be an effective music teacher?

Now, is there crap out there on the Internet masquerading as educational material? There certainly is. Am I a little concerned when a kid who's been doing hypnosis for a couple of years decides to start publishing his own books on how to do it? That depends on whether or not the kid can produce a good product. Caveat emptor.

James

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin on December 18, 2009 at 11:00pm

Oh wow... the replys I have received are worth more then gold!

I total agree with EVERYONE on the notion of always learning...I like to consider myself a professional student since when Im not formally learning psychology I do self learning. When Im not learning, Im writing papers, writing articles, talking to people, doing practitioner work, demonstrations, or using for leaser...

I spent 3 years doing something that I thought I wanted to do...it was not until I saw another picture...my life...

Just like 95% of everything I know, I learned it myself, I have no guide, mentor, or anything... Understanding the accreditation and validity of the hypnosis industry is very new and very important for me. I been doing heavy research for the past few days and even your guys responses are very valuable...

Right now, you guys have full filled my question and concern about accreditation and the integrity of the industry....

Thank you!

Time to move on =^.^=

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion