the Free Hypnosis Social Network
The Important of maintaining Hypnosis Certifications
As hypnosis seeks to go more mainstream there are changes happening to increase the credibility of our profession. the following is information from Anne King, with a slight editing form me.
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL & DENTAL HYPNOTHERAPY ASSOC. IMPORTANT CHANGES & LIST OF BENEFITS:
1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION TO INCREASE:
Beginning in 2010, the hours required for certification will increase by 20 hours each year for 5 years. In an effort to bring more competence, knowledge and expertise into the hypnosis profession, more training will be required in upcoming years. By 2014, the IMDHA will require 220 hours of training in order to become certified.
2.IF YOU ARE ALREADY CERTIFIED: You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours. You need only complete your annual requirement of 30 hours of continuing education each year and pay your annual renewal fee to keep your certification current.
3.IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN TRAINING:You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours as long as you complete your training and become certified by Dec. 31, 2010. This also applies to correspondence students.
4.IF YOU BEGIN TRAINING ANYTIME PRIOR TO 2010: You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours as long as you complete your training and become certified by Dec. 31, 2010. This also applies to correspondence students.
5.WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED IN THE FUTURE: As the required hours increase, so will the time investment and costs involved.
REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN CERTIFICATION VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:
YOU MUST OBTAIN 30 CEUs ANNUALLY & BE CURRENT IN YOUR DUES: If you do not renew your certification annually, you are no longer certified and thereby, not allowed to call yourself a Certified Hypnotist / Hypnotherapist or Hypnotic Coach.
It has come to the IMDHA’s attention that hypnotists/ hypnotherapists who are not currently a member of a certification organization, are continuing to use the initials C.H. or C.Ht. This is a violation of their requirements, fraudulent advertising and could be considered misrepresentation to the public. Certified hypnosis practitioners are encouraged to help “police our own” in order to protect our profession and our public image. We are encouraged to ask others in our area that use the initials, who they are certified through and do a quick check on their status. This can be accomplished for IMDHA by checking their on-line membership directory and reporting anyone that is fraudulently claiming certification status. A lapse of less than 1 year requires proof of CEUs and an $85 renewal fee. A lapse of over 1 year requires that you reapply and pay a $155 fee. Do this before the hours increase! Information from Anne King www.HypnosisClasses.com
Each association will have their own requirements to maintain certification. The key thing to remember is that Hypnosis professions are certified by associations and you must maintain membership in one to use the initials and to say that you are certified. Thanks so much for reading!
Blessings and Abundance! Zoilita
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL & DENTAL HYPNOTHERAPY ASSOC. IMPORTANT CHANGES & LIST OF BENEFITS:
1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION TO INCREASE:
Beginning in 2010, the hours required for certification will increase by 20 hours each year for 5 years. In an effort to bring more competence, knowledge and expertise into the hypnosis profession, more training will be required in upcoming years. By 2014, the IMDHA will require 220 hours of training in order to become certified.
2.IF YOU ARE ALREADY CERTIFIED: You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours. You need only complete your annual requirement of 30 hours of continuing education each year and pay your annual renewal fee to keep your certification current.
3.IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN TRAINING:You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours as long as you complete your training and become certified by Dec. 31, 2010. This also applies to correspondence students.
4.IF YOU BEGIN TRAINING ANYTIME PRIOR TO 2010: You are exempt from the requirement of additional hours as long as you complete your training and become certified by Dec. 31, 2010. This also applies to correspondence students.
5.WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED IN THE FUTURE: As the required hours increase, so will the time investment and costs involved.
REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN CERTIFICATION VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ:
YOU MUST OBTAIN 30 CEUs ANNUALLY & BE CURRENT IN YOUR DUES: If you do not renew your certification annually, you are no longer certified and thereby, not allowed to call yourself a Certified Hypnotist / Hypnotherapist or Hypnotic Coach.
It has come to the IMDHA’s attention that hypnotists/ hypnotherapists who are not currently a member of a certification organization, are continuing to use the initials C.H. or C.Ht. This is a violation of their requirements, fraudulent advertising and could be considered misrepresentation to the public. Certified hypnosis practitioners are encouraged to help “police our own” in order to protect our profession and our public image. We are encouraged to ask others in our area that use the initials, who they are certified through and do a quick check on their status. This can be accomplished for IMDHA by checking their on-line membership directory and reporting anyone that is fraudulently claiming certification status. A lapse of less than 1 year requires proof of CEUs and an $85 renewal fee. A lapse of over 1 year requires that you reapply and pay a $155 fee. Do this before the hours increase! Information from Anne King www.HypnosisClasses.com
Each association will have their own requirements to maintain certification. The key thing to remember is that Hypnosis professions are certified by associations and you must maintain membership in one to use the initials and to say that you are certified. Thanks so much for reading!
Blessings and Abundance! Zoilita
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Keen on -
Thanks for being on top of this, Zoilita! And thanks for sharing.
Jason
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Permalink Reply by Michael Haifleigh on -
Zoilita,
Thank you for the information. I pulled up the IMDHA membership directory to check on my cert. status but found the following message:
The online membership directory is still in testing phase.
Send questions about the IMDHA membership directory benefit to staff@imdha.com.
Send technical questions, problems, bugs to sales@d3web.com.
Could it be that you've released preliminary information?
Michael
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Permalink Reply by Zoilita Grant on -
Michael...Thanks for the reply. The information is correct. The online membership directory is still in testing phase. I guess that means that you need to email staff@imdha.com to find out your status with them. All my best, Zoilita
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Permalink Reply by Zoilita Grant on
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Jason...Thanks for the reply. I this is important for our professional development. Zoilita
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Permalink Reply by Melissa J. Roth on
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While I applaud IACT/IMDHA for having the guts to require more training for certification, I have some misgivings about asking hypnotherapists to "police our own" who use the initials CH or CHt. More organizations than just IMDHA/IACT use those initials. Just because a hypnotherapist is not certified through IMDHA/IACT does not mean they are not certified through one or more other associations. If the use of those initials were proprietary to IMDHA/IACT then I could understand and support that phrase to the fullest. Until then, it just seems to be more fear mongering than anything beneficial to the profession. More suspicion, more bickering, less cooperation among hypnotherapists is just the kind of public image our profession does not need more of. And, for the sake of argument, let's say someone is using one of those initials but is not a member of IMDHA/IACT. Are you seriously suggesting that we call up all the other organizations to check to see if and which ones they are certified through? This does not appear to be well thought out by IMDHA/IACT at all. I have clients to see, work to do. I do not have time to check up on the other hypnotherapists out there. And, I suggest that if another hypnotherapist has that kind of time on their hands that it would be better spent in marketing your practice to gain enough clients that you don't have the time to do that either or to invest that time in learning new theories and techniques. Give me a break.
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Permalink Reply by Zoilita Grant on
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Dear Melissa...I certainly did not meant to imply that this was just about the IMDHA/IACT. I was saying that Hypnosis professions are certified by associations..many different ones. The use of the term certified and the initials requires membership in a certifying association....one of the many that there are. This is true with other certified professions. I think that many in the hypnosis professions are not aware of this fact. This was a public service announcement.
Blessings and Abundance! Zoilita
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Permalink Reply by the grumpy hypnotist on -
"If you do not renew your certification annually, you are no longer certified and thereby, not allowed to call yourself a Certified Hypnotist / Hypnotherapist or Hypnotic Coach... The key thing to remember is that Hypnosis professions are certified by associations and you must maintain membership in one to use the initials and to say that you are certified."
Surely you must be joking. "Not allowed"??? This seems to be something suited for the mind of a 7th grader. "Only Bobby, Sara, Jimmy and Laura are allowed to write Best Friends Forever in my notebook. No one else is allowed to call themselves B.F.F. ! Or else!".
And do tell, exactly what are the standards and requirements for starting a hypnosis association? I think I will start one tonight if I can scrape together $9 to buy a domain name at GoDaddy.
Then maybe tomorrow, if I have few minutes, I'll create an "accrediting agency" (most likely with the word "International" or "World-Famous" in the title) which will "fully accredit and license" the certifications sold by that association. Wowee!
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Permalink Reply by Zoilita Grant on
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Dear Grumpy Hypnotist...That is generally how it is done in certified profession ie in order to be called a Certified Nutritionist
you belong to a certifying association. The same is true with the hypnosis professions. They are certified rather than requiring a degree. Sorry if I irritated you. I was meaning my comments as a public service announcement. I think many hypnosis practitioners don't know this fact. I think that details like this improve our profession. Many blessings and Much Abundance, Zoilita
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Permalink Reply by Shirley R. Patterson on -
If nothing else, it is a start. IACT/IMDHA appears to be setting standards for themselves which will help the hypnosis community as a whole. Zoilita mentions that each association will have their own requirements to maintain certification. She appears to be letting us know about IACT/IMDHA.
Thank you Zoilita for lettingus know about these changes.
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Permalink Reply by Stuart Mundy on -
As much as I do appreciate and recognise the fact that Associations can be beneficial, IE: conferences, updated resources, and networking, I being a Canadian have difficulty with only having established associations available to me from outside of Canada.
A few years back I was Secretary of the Ontario Association of Hypnotherapists, which was in its infancy at the time. To date it still does not offer certification programmes, but has a membership. Thus I believe associations can be effective and beneficial as long as they are administered properly.
Having a university degree, entitles me to use the letters of the degree after my name, it is an earned right. Likewise if someone has certification recognising them as a certified hypnotherapist, they too should be entitled to use the letters CH or CHt as appropriate to their training. To the best of my knowledge, I have never been advised that one has to belong to a hypnosis association in order to use the letters CH or CHt conferred upon them when passing a certification exam or course.
Over the past 7 years I have acquired more than 44 texts on hypnosis, taken numerous courses through IMDHA, & NGH, purchased additional courses through various significant trainers/facilitators and, downloaded many podcasts, as mentioned, I have yet to submit a list or proof of CEU's to any particular body or association to renew my memberships.
I found when renewing my memberships with various associations I was never asked about CEU's, which was disconcerting, as it usually meant that the renewal fee was the more sought after bottom line. In some cases when joining an association I never had to provide any proof, and was granted a membership!
I do want to recognise the work the NGH has done here in Ontario regarding Bill 171 (Mental Health Practitioners) which passed last year in Ontario when they hired a lobbyist to look after their members' best interests. They are doing similar work presently for Canada with proposed federal legislation changes. Should any other associations in the US or elsewhere be involved in helping the situation in Canada and I applaud them. I am remiss if I did not mention them.
I concur with Melissa, who is really policing who; additionally, how many clients know of the associations and use them to verify a hypnotherapist's qualifications prior to a visit? Some associations in my experience were started by someone with interest in their respective profession but run internally making them more self serving, not that this is always the case, but one has to look at what associations they feel offer the best value and then decide is this one for me?
Perhaps IMDHA is changing for the benefit of strengthening the membership and recognising the need for advanced training for those who want to practice professionally, if so I applaud them, anything that proves to make the profession better.
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Permalink Reply by Scott Sandland on -
When I was in highschool I was an ocean lifeguard. Every year we had to retake a physical certification test and mdical examination. Every two years we had to be re-evaluated for the First aid and CPR techniques. In order to remain "certified" to perform CPR (etc) we had to have a valid and current certification.
Zoilita's point is simply this: If you want to use the term certified, you have to remain certified. The terms of our certifications with certain organizations MAY (I haven't looked into all of them) be conditional on an annual membership fee and minimum education hours.
Actually, since Hypnosis in unregulated the organizations could technically put in any stipulations they choose. If the IMDHA had in their terms of membership a requirement that we eat 20 ounces of pudding every year, that would be enforceable and our membership could be effected by our pudding consumption. Obviously they aren't saying anything even remotely that silly. All they are saying is that if you want to use the term "certified" then you have to remain certified. I don't know any other organizations policy, but I don't think it's outlandish.
I do see a probelm with enforcement of the rule. What are the consequences if some one were to use the term certified after letting all their memberships lapse for many years? How would a certifying body become aware of this, and what would their recourse be? Is it illegal to call yourself a certified hypnotist if you aren't current? Maybe false advertising, but I can't imagine a judge getting too worked up about it.
I'm very happy to see the minimum education hours going up. That is one of the most needed changes in our industry and it is long overdue. Politics aside, any organization willing to take a stand on that deserves to be recognized for their commitment.
-Scott Sandland
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Permalink Reply by the grumpy hypnotist on
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Nutritionists and lifeguards are generally regulated by government agencies at some level. Therefore, certifications for those kinds of professions actually have some significance to them.
Scott, as you mention, "since Hypnosis in unregulated the organizations could technically put in any stipulations they choose." So, I create an organization with 2 other hypnotists called the "International Elite Master Clinical Hypnotherapists". In order to qualify as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with the IEMCH, I need to write myself a check for $29 dollars and earn 5 CEUs. I prove this by telling myself that I listened to several hypnosis-related podcasts in the past year.
Hooray, am I now allowed to use the "C.H." designation after my name? Gee, I hope so. I hope I get permission.
Zoilita says "The key thing to remember is that Hypnosis professions are certified by associations and you must maintain membership in one to use the initials and to say that you are certified." and Scott you mention "All they are saying is that if you want to use the term "certified" then you have to remain certified."
Since hypnosis associations are unregulated, those statements may be technically correct, but what value does a certification from an unregulated organization in an unregulated field have? Let's be real. Pretending merely obscures the uncomfortable fact that certifications in the hypnosis profession have no substance. The pretense that they do, is the more basic fraud that is perpetrated on the public.
I just have to laugh at the "it's not allowed" theory, especially regarding the use of those super-special initials after a person's name --- show me the legal basis for that argument. Otherwise it's just self-important delusion.
I present this imaginary comedic scene as someone breathlessly tries to report a fellow practitioner to their attorney general ---
Hapless practitioner: "Joe Bob in Brownsville is using the initials C.H.T. on his business card, he's calling himself a Clinical Hypno-Toad. But that's just a made-up title. He's a fraud!"
Attorney General's office: "And what is your expertise and qualification in this area?"
HP: "Well, I am a C.H.T. through the Internet Academy of Hypnotherapy, that's a REAL school. They have a business license and website and everything!"
AG: "C.H.T.? What is that?"
HP: "Well, I guess it's a title that someone at the Internet Academy just--- MADE UP. But... it's meant to reflect the high standards of professionalism and rigorous academic study we went through. I worked really hard to get my certificate, it took me an entire weekend! It's unfair that people like Joe Bob are ruining the credibility of the profession!"
AG: "..."
THE END
PS. This isn't a call for more regulation, just a wake-up call for people who think that certifications are useful in any real sense (aside from the practical benefits of being part of an association). I think the reliance on meaningless titles and initials is in fact the opposite of credibility-building, unless your target market tends to be ignorant, uneducated or foolish.
PPS. This is of course not the same thing as someone claiming to be certified with a specific organization when they're not. Clearly that would be infringing on the rights of that organization.
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