TRAINING THE TRAINERS

Just as the personality and functioning of trainees is important, so it is for those who train them This factor is the most important in hypnotherapist training programs that set out to produce effective therapists. The most critical variable in effective training is the level at which the trainer--teacher is functioning on the dimensions related to constructive client change. Although program designers assume that interpersonal skills are a necessary component of the helping process, they have given minimal consideration to how the trainer-trainee relationship influences skill learning. Few program developers detail the situations and conditions under which training is to take place-...they rely on the presumed good judgment or knowledge of trainers who are often self-appointed. The reason that trainer--teacher selection is so crucial is that the therapeutic ability of trainees always moves in the direction of their trainer. Given enough time, high functioning trainers will produce effective therapists, regardless of whether or not the trainees are high or low functioning to begin with, and conversely, low functioning trainers will always produce ineffective) therapists, regardless of whether or not the trainees are high or low functioning to begin with. According to a study by Alexik and Carkhuff (1967),
"The high level functioning counselor's group (of counselor trainees)- demonstrated significant improvement on all individual conditions.
The group of the low level functioning counselors-did move toward the levels at which the trainer was functioning." It should be noted that these were lay trainees, but results are consistent whether using professional trainees or lay trainees
...Trainees change their response patterns in the direction of their teacher’trainer (Fosmire & Palmer, 1964) but that they do not demonstrate gains in conditions related to therapeutic outcomes (Baldwin & Lee. 1964). These findings question the possibility of programming conditions such as empathy, warmth, and congruence in the contextual absence of such conditions (Berlin Wyckoff, 1964; Ward, 1962).
In other words, no matter what the trainer says, if
s/he is not a role model (i.e., functioning at high levels)
it does not appear possible to produce positive results in trainees.

From the book “Shock Wave”page 36.