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Table of contents
Chapter 1 How to get the best out of this book 3
Chapter 2 Why this Guide is essential reading 4
Chapter 3 The benefits of a career in hypnotherapy 6
Chapter 4 What is hypnosis? 9
Chapter 5 What is hypnotherapy? 12
Chapter 6 Types of hypnotherapy 13
Chapter 7 Applications of hypnotherapy 15
Chapter 8 Frequently asked questions 17
Chapter 9 Training as a hypnotherapist 20
Chapter 10 Qualifications in hypnotherapy 22
Chapter 11 How to become a hypnotherapist 29
Chapter 12 A good course or a bad course? 33
Chapter 13 Finding a trainer 35
Chapter 14 Regulatory bodies 38
Chapter 15 The hypnotherapy profession in the UK 42
Chapter 16 Self employment 44
Chapter 17 Summing up 47

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in
this publication. However, some information may become out of date while it is still
in print and contact details for organisations and individuals may change.
Information about training should be regarded as a guide only and verified direct
with specific organisations before acting on that information or parting with money.
The editors and publisher will not accept any responsibility for any action taken as a
result of information published in this book, or for any loss or damage of any nature
whatsoever. The contents and opinions in this books are not officially endorsed or
approved by any professional organisation, nor has such endorsement or approval
been sought. All references to “ he” or “him” should be taken to refer to both
genders. These words are used for brevity and are not intended to be gender-
specific.

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 Chapter 1
How to get the best out of this
book

People rarely read reference books or guides in their

entirety. This is a shame because there is often useful
information which they never come across, that could help
them in their decision-making.

This book is crammed full of useful facts, invaluable

information and thought-provoking ideas. Whether you’re
completely new to hypnotherapy or you already have some
knowledge of the subject, you are likely to come across
information which is new to you if you take the time to read
each page.

That, after all, is why you bought the book – to learn more.
You might discover previously unknown facts or questions
you’d never thought to ask.

Take the time to read this book from cover to cover. If you
do so, you’ll understand how the hypnotherapy profession
in the UK operates and how you can train and succeed as a
hypnotherapist. You’ll then have a great advantage – you’ll
know more than most people about hypnotherapy. The key
to becoming a succcessful specialist is knowing your subject
better than your competitors. This is your starting point.

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 Chapter 2
Why this Guide is essential reading

Media personalities such as Paul McKenna have made

hypnotherapy popular with the general public. By
demonstrating exactly what can be achieved and in general
terms how it’s done, they’ve demystified hypnotherapy and
removed many of the fears and misconceptions which used
to exist. The result is that demand for hypnotherapy has
never been higher and there is an acute shortage of good
hypnotherapists.

Note the words used above because they were chosen with
care.... “there is an acute shortage of good
hypnotherapists”.

Hypnotherapy is a ideal treatment for stress and related

conditions, and is used to deal successfully with a wide
range of emotional problems. Often clients are in a
distressed, fragile or suggestible state. A poorly trained
hypnotherapist has the potential to do a great deal of harm.

However, the doomsayers who try to portray

hypnotherapists as irresponsible have consistently failed to
show that the profession as a whole is dangerous, because
it isn’t.

In the UK a high level committee recently investigated

complementary therapies, with a view to regulation, and
although hypnotherapy formed part of this review it was
not put forward for regulation. Being put forward for
regulation was decided on the basis of risk to the public -
the more risk that a therapy poses to the public, the more

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need there is for regulation. A good example of this is
those practitioners prescribe remedies. The fact that
hypnotherapy was assessed and not considered a high risk
treatment is very good news.

The majority of therapy-related problems are caused by

dogmatic theories, such as the nonsense that all problems
are related to repressed child sex abuse. That this view is
patent nonsense has not stopped many therapists of all
persuasions, from damaging their clients by digging for
these non-existent memories. This kind of dogmatic
nonsense doesn’t form part of modern hypnotherapy and a
good training course will steer well clear of it.

A good hypnotherapist, can do an immense amount of

good, relieving suffering and improving quality of life. It
can be a satisfying and financially rewarding career.

This Guide shows you what you need to do to set yourself

on the path to becoming a good hypnotherapist. Ultimately
it’s up to the individual and their own skills but for the
person who really wants to learn how to become a
successful hypnotherapist there are standards to aim for
but also traps for the unwary, which this Guide attempts to
point out. That’s why this Guide is being published, to help
anyone who is thinking of training as a hypnotherapist find
the best trainer for the money they can afford, and to help
them avoid some who are, well, best avoided.

The Guide will explain the difference between hypnosis and

hypnotherapy and give a brief outline of the different types
of techniques used.

It will also look at how the hypnotherapy profession as a

whole is structured, who sets standards and shows you how
to identify those with relevant qualifications and experience
as trainers.

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 Chapter 3
The benefits of a career as a
hypnotherapist

Anyone reading this Guide is likely to have an interest in

helping others. They will also need to earn a living. It’s
just being practical to point that out. This section explains
how you can do both.

Helping others

As a hypnotherapist, your clients will fall into two main

categories.

The first of these, and by far the largest, is that group of

people who come for help because they’re emotionally
distressed in some way. Their problem might be fairly
trivial and recent or it might be serious and of long-
standing duration. It might, in fact, be wrecking their lives,
preventing them from doing every day tasks such as going
out to the shops.

The second group of people will be seeking some form of

personal development. Perhaps they want to understand
why they behave in the way they do, or would like a little
more self-confidence.

One thing you can be sure of: your day-to-day caseload will
be incredibly varied and you’ll never be bored.
When you as a hypnotherapist successfully treat a client,
the feeling of fulfilment is enormous. Just use your
imagination for a moment.

Two weeks ago, your client was phobic about stepping

outside her front door. Her husband was at his wits end

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and on the verge of leaving her. Her children, though
sympathetic, led separate lives in which she couldn’t
participate. Her life was a misery. Then she came to see
you. She was white and sweating because she’d had to
step out of the house and you could see how desperate she
was to attempt this. She told you about all the
psychotherapy she’d tried and the various medications
she’d taken, none of which had helped. She told you how
unhappy she was and that you were her last chance. You
treat her. Two weeks later, she bounces into your
consulting room wearing a new outfit she bought earlier
that week when out on a shopping trip with her teenage
daughter. She and her husband are planning a second
honeymoon in Spain. Does this give you satisfaction? Of
course it does!

If you like the sound of helping someone like this then a

career in hypnotherapy may be for you.

The financial rewards

For some strange reason, those interested in training as a

therapist are embarrassed about discussing money, as if it
is somehow obscene to think about it when you are working
to help people.

The bald fact is that everyone needs money. Those people

who are interested in working part-time as a
hypnotherapist and have a day job will still need to equip a
room in their home and buy essentials such as stationary.

For those wanting to work full-time, you have to earn

enough to live on and to buy those little luxuries which
make life enjoyable.

In short, you have to charge clients for your services.

There’s nothing wrong with this. You’ve paid for your

training, put in the hard work, brought your life experience

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to bear, and you are providing expertise which can bring
about dramatic improvements in their quality of life.

One question often asked is – “How much can I earn?”.

The answer is, it depends entirely on you and your
circumstances. If you’re competent, near a large town or
city and are prepared to work hard, the rewards can be
considerable.

Even if you live in a rural area and work part time, a good
reputation will spread and people will be prepared to travel
to see you.

Financial rewards and self employment

Because you’ll be self employed, the hours you work and

what you charge is entirely up to you, based on what is
normal in your part of the country (eg, hypnotherapists in
London can reasonably charge higher fees than those in the
north of England). What you’re doing is taking control of
your earning power. You decide how many hours a week
you are prepared to work. Of course, this can vary at
different times of the year. If you want – and can afford –
to work less during the summer school holidays, then you
are free to do so.

Don’t forget that you’ll have expenses, especially if you rent

a consulting room. However, most rates are reasonable
and of course you allow for this when you set your fees.

As you’re self employed you can also undertake other

income-generating tasks like giving talks. You could also
contact local GPs to see if they have a room in the surgery
they could rent out one day a week and refer people to
you.

The opportunities are as extensive as you are prepared to

make them.

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 Chapter 4
What is hypnosis?

If you’re thinking about a career in hypnotherapy, it’s a

good idea to start with the basics and ensure you
understand exactly what hypnosis and hypnotherapy are,
because the terms are often used interchangeably,
although this is not in fact accurate.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness.

What is altered? Our brainwaves. There is an actual,

measurable change in brainwave patterns when someone
undergoes hypnosis.

This might sound faintly sinister but in fact it’s entirely

normal. Human beings have different brainwave patterns
at different times throughout the day and night, depending
in what they are doing. High levels of activity are
associated with a specific types of brainwave pattern and
sleep is associated with a different pattern.

In fact, it’s quite common for people to experience a mild

state of hypnosis without “undergoing hypnosis”.

Imagine, for example, that you are driving down a

motorway. Traffic is light and there’s very little to disturb
your concentration. You can feel your eyes glazing over.
You might drive for several miles on mental autopilot
without being fully conscious of any actions you take, like
perhaps decreasing your speed slightly or shifting position
in your seat. You are in a mild state of hypnosis. Your
brain wave patterns have altered to ones which are

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appropriate for less activity and stimulation. You are in fact
in an altered state of awareness, generally referred to as
highway hypnosis.

You come out of this altered state of awareness as soon as

it’s necessary for you to do so, if, for example, you need to
step on the brakes. Your mind is simply less concerned
with externals because nothing very interesting is going on
and lowers its activity level.

This is known as the hypnotic state or, more often, as the

trance state. It can be induced accidentally (see above) or
can be induced deliberately by someone using hypnosis.

Someone in an induced trance state will usually feel

pleasantly relaxed. They will be fully aware of all that is
going on around them but don’t feel any immediate need to
exert themselves more than is absolutely necessary.

They will be more focused on what’s going on in their own

minds than in the outside world, and that’s why this trance
state can be used for hypnotherapy, as will be explained in
the next chapter. They may also be more suggestible than
usual. Again, this can be put to good use therapeutically.

They can wait to be brought out of the trance state but can
do so themselves simply by opening their eyes, speaking or
making the decision to “wake up”.

That phrase - “wake up” - is often associated with

hypnotherapy but in fact is highly misleading as the trance
state is not the same thing as sleep. However, the client
will often have their eyes closed (although this isn’t
necessary) and using the words “wake up” or “waking up”
when they emerge from the trance state is as good a
description as any.

One useful phrase to describe the trance state is “a state of

relaxation”. As such, for most people it’s highly enjoyable.

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Knowing when someone is in the trance state

You might think that this can be faked, that someone can
pretend to be in a trance in order to fool the hypnotist or to
be kind and make them feel they’ve succeeded in inducing
a trance.

In fact, there are specific physical signs people show when

they enter into a trance and some of these are not under
our conscious control.

Hypnosis and suggestibility

When someone is in a hypnotic trance they become more

suggestible, that is, they accept what is said more readily.
This is what makes hypnotherapy so effective a therapeutic
tool.

Obviously, the hypnotherapist has to take care not to

misuse this susceptibility but in the right hands, the most
remarkable results can be achieved.

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 CHAPTER 5
What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is the therapeutic work done while in that

altered state of awareness.
To put it another way, hypnosis is the tool; hypnotherapy is
the work carried out using it to provide therapeutic benefit.
So what is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is using the fact that clients are focusing on
their internal state – their minds, emotion and imagination
– to help them understand what they are thinking and why,
and where appropriate to help them change their
behaviour. It’s often possible in this way to reach thoughts
and emotions which are normally “below the surface” for
the client or which he feels difficult to face outside the
trance state.
Note the word help. A good hypnotherapist helps nudge
the client gently towards a goal or goals they wish to
achieve. The hypnotherapist must never try to control the
client or to force changes and must never, ever try to
impose changes which the client has not specifically
requested.
What the hypnotherapist is doing is carrying on a
conversation – and sometimes negotiations – with the
client’s unconscious mind. It is an “enabling” therapy,
helping and supporting the client to eliminate or manage
that which is distressing them or motivating them to
achieve specific goals. The client can hear everything the
hypnotherapist is saying and is perfectly capable of
deciding not to answer or to resist, if they wish to do so.
Hypnotherapy is unique in that it alone seeks to
communicate directly with the subconscious mind.

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 Chapter 6
Types of hypnotherapy

The most commonly used forms of hypnotherapy are:

Suggestion therapy

Suggestion therapy is where suggestions are given to a

client’s unconscious mind in the trance state in order to
help him achieve his stated goals. These suggestions may
be direct or more subtle (known as indirect suggestions).
Direct suggestions are exactly what they sound like, eg. a
suggestion that the client no longer wishes to smoke
cigarettes. Indirect suggestions are more oblique, eg.
putting the suggestion to the client in the form of a
metaphor.

The hypnotherapist using suggestion therapy often reads

from specialist pre-written scripts, to avoid error or
ambiguity.

Analytical therapy

Analytical therapy is where client and therapist work

together, while the client is in the trance state, to
understand which memories, behaviours or emotions are
causing present difficulties, and then using the information
uncovered to adjust the client’s thinking or approach to a
more positive state. This type of approach generally
involves the hypnotherapist in questioning the client gently
and guiding him to an understanding of his behaviour and
the hidden reasons for it.

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Regression therapy

Regression therapy is where the client is regressed to a

childhood or pre-childhood state (ie, in the womb), or to a
past life, in order to uncover reasons for present behaviour
or distress. This is considered a specialist branch of
hypnotherapy and requires specialist training.

Parts therapy

This is where the client communicates with different “parts”

of his personality, each representing one aspect of his
personality or problem. The theory is that the client can be
brought to view the behaviours or problems from a
different perspective but the process is somewhat
depersonalised – and thus emotional barriers overcome –
by it taking the form of a discussion between “parts” as
opposed to an analysis of the client’s conscious mind.
Again, this requires specialist training.

Finding your own path

The different types of technique form starting points from

which you can grow and develop as become more
experienced. The emphasis in your practice should always
be that your work is research and evidence based. Over
time you’ll find what works for you.

The emphasis on research and evidence to support your

work is important: there are still too many involved in the
therapy field whose beliefs are nothing more than dogma.
For example, some will tell you that you must have
analysis. One of the authors of this book will tell you that
analysis is rarely necessary, based his nearly 20 years of
experience. This however so could be a separate book in its
own right, so we’ll leave that there and hope that the point
has been made. Just because someone says its so, don’t
make it so. Be prepared to question and challenge.

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 Chapter 7
Applications of hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy can help with an extraordinarily broad list of

conditions. Some hypnotherapists choose to specialise in
certain conditions while others take a more broad brush
approach. Treatment of some conditions requires advanced
training and membership of the correct professional bodies
– the following list is not exhaustive.

• Addictions
• Allergies
• Anger management
• Anxiety
• Bereavement and loss
• Body image or size problems
• Chronic pain
• Compulsive eating and food cravings
• Concentration
• Confidence improvement
• Creativity
• Decision making
• Depression
• Dreams and nightmares
• Eating disorders
• Exam nerves
• Guilt
• Insomnia
• Loss of energy
• Obsessions and compulsions
• Panic
• Past life recall

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• Personal growth
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress
• Relaxation
• Self-esteem
• Sexual problems of psychological origin
• Smoking
• Skin problems
• Sports – improvement of performance
• Stage fright
• Stress, tension and worry

All medical problems and physical symptoms must be referred to

a medical doctor.

Hypnotherapists should always remember that they are not

medical practitioners and must never attempt to diagnose a
condition.

Increasing numbers of doctors these days are only too happy to

work with hypnotherapists to help their patients and welcome an
approach from hypnotherapists.

Remember also that self-diagnosis of a medical condition by a

client is not to be relied upon. They may genuinely believe they
have, for example, irritable bowel syndrome but they are no
more qualified than anyone else to make that diagnosis (unless,
of course, they are medically qualified).

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 Chapter 8
Frequently Asked Questions

Anybody who has any interest at all in hypnotherapy,

whether for themselves or as a potential career, often has
misconceptions about hypnosis and hypnotherapy as a
result of TV, the media or even word of mouth.

It’s useful to clear up some of these points at this stage.

Below, therefore, are some of the most commonly asked
questions.

Can you make people bark like a dog?

Only if they wanted to before they went into the trance

state! You occasionally find subjects who have an
exhibitionist nature and are happy to follow suggestions of
this type. These are people you will see on TV hypnotist
shows. These people are specifically identified as having
extrovert personalities, extreme susceptibility to hypnosis
and a willingness to go along with whatever the hypnotist
suggests. They form a very small minority of the
population. The overwhelming majority of the population
would not follow a suggestion of this type.

What happens if I can’t bring a client out of

trance?

It never happens. The client will always come out of the

trance state. Any good training course will explain how and
why. This is something which often worries new students
but there really is no problem here. You gain the
confidence to induce the trance state and bring people out
of it very quickly.

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Can you hypnotise people into committing
crimes?

Hypnosis is a tool used by human beings. Not all human

beings are saints, and not all who use hypnosis are trained
professionals. Hypnosis has famously been used as a
component in the commission of some crimes, including at
least one murder committed by a medical doctor. In the
same way that hypnosis has been misused as a tool by
some people, so have butter knives, which in safe hands
can quite safely be used to butter a slice of bread. That the
victims of these ‘bad hypnotic operators’ were naturally
highly suggestible goes without saying. This does not
however mean that hypnotists are going to rule the world,
because each of the cases where hypnosis can been used in
the commission of a crime are not very common at all. In
the case of the murder a doctor suggested that his wife’s
headaches were getting worse and worse, and encouraged
her to keep taking medication for the increasing pain until
she died from an overdose.

These instances are, however, extremely rare. The average

high street practitioner will not want, nor be able to,
hypnotise someone into committing a crime.

What’s the difference between hypnotherapy

and psychotherapy?

Hypnotherapy can and often does involve using

psychotherapy techniques. These are used while the
subject is in a trance state. Psychotherapy when used by
itself doesn’t involve the trance state and relies on
communicating with the conscious mind as opposed to the
unconscious, so the trance state has to be induced first.

Many hypnotherapists realise the value of a training in

psychology or psychotherapy and go on to further training,
although it is perfectly possible to become a good

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hypnotherapist without doing this. It depends entirely on
the type of approach the hypnotherapist wants to adopt.

One other important difference is that successful

psychotherapy, when used on its own, ie, without a trance
being induced as part of the treatment, can often take
months, if not years, to produce the desired result.
Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, can bring about dramatic
improvements after only one session or it can take as many
as ten sessions in a more complex case. This however does
depend on the therapist, the client and the therapy being
offered. The time spans are therefore totally different which
is one reason why hypnotherapy is so popular. Clients who
have a condition which is relatively easy to treat can often
see positive results almost immediately.

Do clients always know they’ve gone into

the trance state?
No, not always. A very good hypnotherapist can induce
trance without using a formal induction (that is, a specific
procedure or script). The trance may be so light that the
client simply feels relaxed and never realises that they are
in the trance state. This should, of course, never be done
without the informed consent of the client to entering the
trance state.

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 Chapter 9
Training as a hypnotherapist

You’ve read the book to this point – so far so good.

Hypnotherapy looks fascinating, the list of conditions you
can help with is impressive, you can see that it might
interest you as a career or a part-time activity, but……. how
do you find a good training course?

A good training course should not be defined as what other

people tell you is a good course – after all, trainers have a
vested interest in selling you their own course. So every
course is going to be the best thing since sliced bread,
according to the trainers. Some trainers will even go so far
as to denigrate other trainers. That should tell you all that
you need to know about them, so we don’t encourage you
to help their bank balance. The best course should be the
best course for you. One that suits your existing life
experience, circumstances and budget. Let’s explode a
therapy myth here once and for all. There is no correlation
at all between how you train as a therapist and how
effective you will eventually be as a therapist.

Anyone who tells you that you have to follow a particular

training route to become a therapist, or to avoid others,
simply has not done their research. Either that or they are
repeating parrot fashion something that they were told by
someone else, usually the person who trained them in the
first place.

So when you start looking for a course, don’t opt for the
first one which sounds good. Ask some of the questions
you’ll find in this book.

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The remainder of this book moves from giving you an
overview of hypnotherapy as a profession and as a therapy
to looking at how you can train, how to sift out the poor
quality courses (which are a waste of time and money) and
how the hypnotherapy profession operates. Is it regulated?
Are there accepted standards?

This is where things become slightly murky and, frankly, a

trap for the unwary and/or innocent because – as you’ll see
– hypnotherapists are good at producing a good message
to the public which sounds impressive but which in fact can
mean very little.

That’s why this e-book has been written. If you’re

interested in training, learn how to pick a good course. If
you’re interested in seeking a hypnotherapist for personal
development, learn which ones have good skills and which
ones simply have impressive-sounding qualifications which
are all but meaningless.

Those qualifications make a good starting point…..

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 Chapter 10
Qualifications in hypnotherapy

The first thing you need to know is that in the UK there is

no one recognised qualification in hypnotherapy. There is
no single governing or regulatory body. Each trainer or
college offers their own qualification and the vast majority
of these aren’t assessed or accredited independently.
Hypnotherapy, in the UK at least, is practised under
common law. That means that the ordinary law of the land
applies, such as legislation about fraud and negligence,
rather than any laws which are specific to hypnotherapy.

Any training you receive is entirely dependent on the skills

and integrity of the trainer or training organisation and
often on the qualifications they’ve obtained, which can – or
should – tell you much about their level of competence.

Standards of training vary wildly from the excellent to the

abysmal. Some training organisations have even been
researched and exposed on national television.

Yet, how do you know which ones are good and which ones
are bad?

Many potential students – and also individuals seeking

hypnotherapy – are heavily influenced by the strings of
letters after a hypnotherapist’s name. Good heavens, with
that many qualifications the hypnotherapist just has to be
good, doesn’t he?

Actually – no! One does not follow on from the other.

It’s cheap and easy for someone to take several low-level

courses and gain the right to use those precious initials.

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They sound marvellous. However, the courses might each
have consisted of ten pages of badly photocopied material
of little value. But the person taking the course would still
have the right to use those initials and claim the
qualifications. This is assuming they pass the course.
There are some colleges where you never, ever fail a
course. There are even colleges which send you the
certificate along with the material and “trust” you to do the
work.

Are you starting to feel disenchanted? Good. That means

that you’ll be far more critical from now on. Hypnotherapy
deals with the mind and the emotions and people can be
damaged by poor hypnotherapy. If this book stops even
one person from falling into the hands of a cowboy, it will
have done its job.

De-coding the qualifications

So what kind of qualifications will you see?

Recognised degrees

The first group of qualifications are those which bear no

relation whatsoever to hypnotherapy. These are
qualifications which the person has gained in the past.
They may be hard-earned and of value within that
particular subject area but not relevant to hypnotherapy.
They simply add to the string of initials. The most usual
ones are BA or MA.

These stand for Batchelor of Arts or Master of Arts. For

those who haven’t been to university or who aren’t familiar
with the UK educational system, a BA is the qualification
given when someone passes a basic arts-based degree
course. The MA is the next step up, a Masters degree,
usually involving two years of specialised study.

23
These qualifications are usually placed first in the list, so
our theoretical hypnotherapist – let’s call him A. N. Other,
would present himself to the public as A. N. Other, BA, MA.

That already sounds impressive, and it is. He (or she) has

gained two recognised degree qualifications. As such, they
deserve respect. The trouble is, our theoretical
hypnotherapist gained these degrees in textile design…….

There’s some justification for including non-relevant degree

qualifications like these because they are (or at least should
be) indicators of intelligence. However, taken at face value
they can be highly misleading.

The first thing to do when de-coding initials, therefore, is to

ask what degree subject A.N. Other took. If it’s entirely
irrelevant, why is A.N. Other including these in a list of
hypnotherapy qualifications.

Here are a few more genuine and reputable qualifications

you might come across. Some are relevant, others less so.

BSc/MSc This is the science equivalent of the BA and

MA. Meaningless unless you know the
subject. It could be space science.

Ph.D This tells you the person has a doctorate. In

what? You won’t know unless you ask. It
could be absolutely anything. These days a
PH.D can be bought off the Internet for a few
dollars – be wary… One of the authors was
taken aback to find another hypnotherapist in
his area ask to be referred to as Doctor in
future. It turned out his PH.D had been
‘awarded’ by an Internet university (diploma
mill) for life experience and it was therefore
essentially a worthless bit of paper.

Dr. Implies a medical qualification but doesn’t

24
 necessarily mean this. Doctorates can be
bought from America over the internet. See
above for comments.

P.G.C.E. Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Trained

as a teacher.

Rev. Minister of religion. This qualification can be

bought from America for a few pounds over
the internet. Beware! In the USA many
hypnotherapists are also ministers of religion
due to the unique legal situation in many
states.

M.Eng A higher engineering qualification.

The list could go on and on but you get the idea….. don’t
take these qualifications at face value. They may be valid
indicators of academic ability but they may also simply
show an aptitude for a specialised subject with a low
academic content, and one which is of no relevance
whatsoever.

Professional qualifications

You can often be on safer ground here, as long as you can

de-code them.

The same comments apply as above. Ask exactly which

profession the qualifications refer to, when the qualification
was obtained and – where appropriate – in which country,
and ask who the awarding body was.

Qualifications awarded by private college

First of all, what are private colleges?

25
Private colleges are those which, loosely speaking, are not
run or financed by the state. All colleges offering
hypnotherapy qualifications are private colleges. The one
exception to this is where hypnotherapy is offered as a
module in, eg, a qualification in complementary medicine.
In such a case the whole course typically takes three years
and costs many thousands of pounds and hypnotherapy will
form only one part of it. These three year courses at state-
run colleges and universities are becoming increasingly
common.

Private colleges offer their own qualifications. This is

perfectly legal.

However, these qualifications can be prestigious within the

hypnotherapy profession or virtually meaningless. They
also form the bulk of the string of letters after
hypnotherapists’ names.

The most usual ones are:

Dip. Hyp You’ll see many variations on this, such as

Dipl. Hypno, Dip. Hypno and so on, all
indicating that the person has passed a
diploma course in hypnotherapy.

Cert. Hyp The same as above but the qualification is a

Certificate, almost always of a lower standard
and content level than the diploma.

Ask which college awarded this qualification. More

questions are suggested later in this book.

You might also see letters which suggest a qualification in

psychology. These usually contain the word “Psy” or
similar.

26
Memberships

This is where the fun begins and where a hypnotherapist

can really pad out his string of letters.

There are a huge number of associations to which

hypnotherapists can apply for membership. Some
examples are:

B.S.E.C.H British Society of Experimental and Clinical

. Hypnosis

M.A.P.T. Member, Association of Professional Therapists

These are two examples selected at random to illustrate a

point.

Some of these associations are highly reputable and

individuals have to commit to a code of practice before
being admitted. With others, you only have to part with a
cheque. Some – in fact many – are only open to those who
have done the training courses offered by that college. In
other words, the college trains you and then you become a
member of an association run entirely by that college. But
it does sound good………

Fellowships

These actually mean something in most cases. They are

voluntary awards for special achievements within the
hypnotherapy profession. They can’t be bought: they have
to be earned. It’s fair to say they are genuine statements of
achievement and ability. Some organisations allow you to
join as a Fellow, ie, you are granted fellowship status
straight away, but this is usually based on proof of
extensive experience and/or high achievement within the
hypnotherapy profession.

27
Even if you don’t remember the details, come away from
this chapter remembering one thing – question all
qualifications. Who awarded the qualification? Is it
relevant?

There’ll be a short section later in the book specifically on

reputable associations which good hypnotherapists often
belong to, and the guidelines for professional behaviour
which they lay down.

28
 Chapter 11
How to become a hypnotherapist

This is a potential minefield.

There are a considerable number of training organisations

and individuals offering hypnotherapy training. Not only
does the standard vary enormously, but some courses are
skewed towards one particular approach, eg, Freudian,
Ericksonian etc.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what these terms mean.

Indeed, in many ways that’s the point. If you don’t
understand what is meant by a Freudian approach and sign
up for a training course which is directed in this way, you
will learn this and never have the opportunity to explore
other approaches. You may not understand that there are
other approaches as it’s human nature for someone to
promote their beliefs as the only ones which really work.

Background information

As explained above, in the UK there’s no one official

qualification in hypnotherapy at this time. That means that
anyone – even someone who has never studied or practised
hypnotherapy – can set themselves up as a trainer and sell
courses.

This means it’s absolutely crucial that anyone considering

taking a training course asks some searching questions of
the trainer about their credentials and experience to teach
the subject.

These days, many trainers came to hypnotherapy by a

recognised route, ie, they themselves did a training course.

29
If so, ask which one and check out that training
organisation. On closer inspection, some of these offer a
less than adequate service.

Note, though, that many hypnotherapists who’ve been in

practice for some years won’t have been down this route,
simply because the explosion in the number of training
courses on offer is relatively recent and they simply weren’t
available in the past. They’ve learned “on the job” or by
working with an established hypnotherapist as a kind of
apprenticeship.

For these hypnotherapists, ask how long they’ve been in

practice and the type of conditions they treat. Ask them –
in fact, insist – that they justify their status as a trainer.

Above all, don’t be impressed purely by strings of letters

after that trainer’s name. As you’ve already seen, these
can be meaningless.

Taught courses versus distance learning

The most common training routes these days are via either
a taught course involving theory and practice, or a distance
learning course.

The taught courses might be short and intense, eg, a two

week residential course. The advantage is the intensity and
the opportunity to practice newly acquired skills. The
disadvantage is the cost, which can run into thousands of
pounds.

Another form of taught courses are those which take place,

eg, one weekend a month. These tend to be more heavily
lecture-based combined with some practical work. These
form an attractive option for some people but others find
that working a five day week, doing an intensive two days
hypnotherapy training and then going straight back into

30
another five day week simply too onerous. There is also
often a problem with family commitments.
The third option is distance learning. Here, student and
teacher communicate by mail or (these days) email and the
student works through a text which is provided by a trainer.
The advantages are that the student studies in his own
time and at his own pace. Thus, training takes place when
it is convenient to him rather than when it’s convenient for
the tutor. Another advantage, especially when doing
distance learning by email is that the student can ask
questions at any time and is not restricted to a small
proportion of the tutor’s attention during one weekend a
month. The disadvantage is the lack of supervised
practice.

At first sight, this seems a major drawback. However, that

is to ignore the fact that hypnotherapy is a skill. The basic
technique of putting someone into a trance is extremely
easy and can be taught in minutes. Hands-on training
courses place great emphasis on supervising the induction
of the trance state but this is in fact the easiest part of the
training and supervision is unnecessary. You can buy a
book and learn this yourself, practising on friends and
relatives.

The skill of hypnotherapy lies in asking the right questions

of the client while he’s in the trance state and generally
being empathic. This can’t be taught. You either have an
empathic personality or you don’t. A good distance
learning course will discuss approaches and techniques but
after that it is down to the personality of the individual.
Moreover, how can you practice this?

There is no evidence whatsoever that practice-based tuition

produces better hypnotherapists than those who study by
distance learning. This is one of the great myths that is
has no basis in fact.

31
The other advantage is that distance learning is generally
cheaper, which is a major consideration for many people
wishing to enter the profession.

Be warned though. You should receive a substantial text to

work through. A college which produces fifty pages of
badly photocopied basics is not giving you sufficient
information.

Ask how much individual support you’ll receive and why the
trainer feels he or she is sufficiently experienced to train
you. If the trainer won’t answer these questions – move
on.

32
 Chapter 12
A good course or a bad course?

Let’s assume that you’ve explored a few training

organisations and you’re trying to make up your mind
whether the training, which sounds good, is in fact going to
equip you for a career in hypnotherapy. What do you look
for?

The basics of a good hypnotherapy training

Firstly, you should receive clear instructions in how to

induce the trance state. The training should go beyond
this, however, and explain how to deepen a trance and
discuss whether the depth of trance is in fact important (it
isn’t). In other words, the tuition should go beyond a basic
“how to”. You are not a robot: you need to understand
what you are doing and why.

Your training should be eclectic in approach. That means it

should not follow any one technique or approach to the
exclusion of others. You may opt to follow a particular path
later in your career but at this stage you need to be
introduced to as many different approaches as possible,
and be helped to understand the advantages and
disadvantages of each. Avoid any course which describes
itself as following any one method, individual or particular
path.

Look closely at the experience of the trainer. Do they really

have a breadth of experience or are they two years out of
training themselves?

Is the trainer prepared to answer your questions? Do they

sound defensive when doing so? Do the answers satisfy

33
you or does the trainer talk a lot but give out little
information? Do the answers inspire confidence?

Are they a member of a reputable professional

organisation? This means they’ve committed themselves to
following certain ethical guidelines and are subject to
disciplinary action if they breach these.

Do they run their own association? If so, what benefits

does it bring to the student or newly qualified
hypnotherapist? The advantages to the trainer are
obvious: you will have to pay a fee to join. What are you
getting in return? Is this all a money making exercise or is
the trainer genuinely interested in raising the standards of
training?

Use your common sense. If the printed material or website

is of poor quality, with spelling mistakes and typos, ask
yourself how much real effort the trainer is putting into this
– and note that this is before you part with any money,
when he has a real incentive to impress you with his
efficiency and accuracy. What is he going to be like after
you’ve handed over a cheque?

Quick hypnotherapy training

You may see training courses advertised which assure you

that you can be qualified and earning within days. If you
do one of these you may be qualified, you may be earning
– but will you be any good as a hypnotherapist?
Remember, you’re going to be dealing with people’s minds.
Any good training course is going to involve substantial
reading and studying and is not going to be completed in
that kind of timescale.

Short courses such as this may be suitable for someone

with a lot of experience who is looking for a paper
qualification but does not need to do a full course of
training.

34
 Chapter 13
Finding a trainer

How does someone wanting to study hypnotherapy actually

find a trainer in the first place?

Magazines

Your first port of call may well be magazines which

specialise in, or at least cover, alternative health and
complementary therapies. There are several of them on
the market and a quick visit to W H Smith or similar should
provide you with a selection.

Be aware that the overall tone of the magazine will attract

certain types of trainers, for example, those magazines
leaning more towards the mystical (angels, fairies etc) are
likely to be where hypnotherapists with a more mystical
interest will advertise.

If your interests are more mainstream, go for the more

specialist magazines. These will contain weighty articles
and are most likely to be available in specialist health
outlets such as health centres or by subscription. They are
likely to cover a range of different related therapies but are
read by professionals and not the general public.

The internet

A presence on the web is a must these days for anyone

selling anything, and this includes training courses.
Whatever you want to study, you can do a simple search
and find a trainer.

However, be aware that there may be no relationship

between the attractive appearance of the site and the

35
ability of the trainer. All a visually attractive site often
means is that they have a good web site designer.

Look for sites which include a biography of the trainer/s and

which state his/her experience. Another good indicator is
where the site contains general information about
hypnotherapy and is not just a sales window. Do they
publish a full table of contents?

Are there links to other relevant sites, or articles?

All of these indicate that the trainer has some knowledge of

and enthusiasm for his subject.

Having checked all those, have a think about the string of

letters after the trainer’s name. Are these relevant?
Credible?

Pricing

The price at which a training course is offered for sale can

be a good indicator of its quality.

If a course is particularly cheap – ask yourself why it is

priced so low. Tutoring a student through a course is
extremely time consuming and it’s unlikely that a trainer is
doing this as a charitable exercise. Could it be that the
price is low because you receive very little material or a low
level of student support?

Equally, if a price is extremely high, ask searching

questions as to precisely what you receive which is worth
the extra money. This might take the form of extras such
as CDRoms and thus the higher price is justified. Vague
statements such as “we’re proud of our course and think it
good value for money” should be treated with caution. All
trainers should be proud of the courses they offer and they
should all be good value for money. Precisely what justifies
that course costing substantially more than similar courses?

36
Being realistic, students will have a price barrier. They can
afford just so much and no more. However, buying a low-
price training course may not be a good use of that money.
It might be worth waiting, and saving, for one which will
give you the training you need to be a successful
practitioner rather than buying a course which leaves you
partially trained and without clients.

Book lists

Does the course information include a reading list? If not,

ask whether the course text is comprehensive and covers
all the material. If there are no recommended books with
the course, it is unlikely to be adequate if it is less than 200
pages in length, and ideally it should be far longer.

37
 Chapter 14
Regulatory Bodies

Earlier in this book there was a discussion about

associations and regulatory bodies.

Good examples are:

General Hypnotherapy Register

P O Box 204
Lymington SO41 6WP
Tel/Fax: 01590 683770
http://www.general-hypnotherapy-register.com/

General Hypnotherapy Standards Council

P O Box 204
Lymington SO41 6WP
Tel/Fax: 01590 683770
http://www.ghsc.co.uk/

Any code of ethics should include most and ideally all of the
following statements. This is the Code of Ethics for the
General Hypnotherapy Register, reproduced with their kind
permission. Please note that this Code of Ethics may be
amended or expanded at any time and readers should
therefore check back to this link for the most up-to-date
version:

All Registrants undertake to:

1. Provide service to clients solely in those areas in which they are

competent to do so and for which they carry relevant professional
indemnity insurance

2. Remain aware of their own limitations and wherever appropriate, be

prepared to refer a client to another practitioner (regardless of
discipline) who might be expected to offer suitable treatment

38
 ensure that wherever a client is seeking assistance for the relief of
physical symptoms, unless having already done so, that the client be
advised to contact a registered Medical Practitioner

3 Confirm that they will never knowingly offer advice to a client which
either conflicts with or is contrary to that given by the client’s
registered medical advisor/s. (N.B. If the therapist has doubts or
concerns with regard to a client’s prescribed medication, they should,
always with their client’s permission, contact the medical advisor
personally)

4. Confirm that they will never knowingly offer advice to a client which
either conflicts with or is contrary to that given by the client’s
registered medical advisor/s. (N.B. If the therapist has doubts or
concerns with regard to a client’s prescribed medication, they should,
always with their client’s permission, contact the medical advisor
personally)

5. Accept that any client referred to them by a registered Medical

Practitioner (or other relevant agency) remains the clinical
responsibility of the Medical Practitioner (or agency) and therefore to
agree to keep that Medical Practitioner (or agency) suitably informed
of the client’s progress

6. Maintain strict confidentiality within the client/therapist relationship,

always provided that such confidentiality is neither inconsistent with
the safety of the client’s family members or other members of the
public nor in contravention of the laws of the land

7. Ensure that client notes and records be kept secure and confidential
and that the use of computer records remains within the terms of the
Data Protection Act

8. Obtain written permission from the client (or if appropriate, the

client's parent/s or legal guardian/s) before either recording client
sessions or discussing undisguised cases with any person whatsoever.
("Recording" in this context means any method other than the usual
taking of written case notes. "Undisguised" in this context means
cases in which material has not been sufficiently altered in order to
offer reasonable anonymity to all relevant parties). With particular
reference to the use of CCTV equipment, all clients must be fully
informed when such equipment is in operation and as above, written
permission must be obtained prior to the commencement of any client
session. (N.B. Wherever possible, the practitioner should ensure that
such a recording is vision only - i.e. without sound)

take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the client and any
person who may be accompanying them

9. Ensure that their workplace and all facilities offered to both clients

39
 and their companions will be in every respect suitable and appropriate
for the service provided

10. Refrain from using their position of trust and confidence to:

a) exploit the client emotionally, sexually, financially or in any

other way whatsoever. Should either a sexual or financial
relationship (i.e. other than for the payment of relevant
products or services) develop between either therapist and
client or members of their respective immediate families, the
therapist must immediately cease to accept fees, terminate
treatment consistent with Clause 12 below and refer the client
to another suitable therapist at the very earliest opportunity.
(N.B. Clarification on dilemmas experienced by therapists in
respect of the foregoing may be offered by the GHR on request
);

b) touch the client in any way that may be open to

misinterpretation. (e.g. Before employing tactile induction or
deepening techniques, both an explanation should be given and
permission received)

11. Terminate treatment at the earliest moment consistent with the good
care of the client

12. Not permit considerations of religion, nationality, gender, sexual

orientation, marital status, age, disability, politics or social standing to
adversely influence client treatment

13. Disclose full details of all relevant memberships, training, experience,

qualifications and appropriate avenues of complaint to clients, upon
request

14. Make no claim that they hold specific qualifications unless such claim
can be fully substantiated. (N.B. In the absence of appropriate
medical qualifications, no Registrant may utilise the title "Doctor" in a
manner that may mislead any member of the public to believe that
they are medically qualified and any use of this title must be clearly
defined by a suitable qualifying statement.)

explain fully to clients in advance of any treatment, the fee levels,

precise terms of payment and any charges which might be imposed
for non-attendance or cancelled appointments. (N.B. Whilst not
obligatory, written material is preferable to verbal statements as this
is less likely to give grounds for misunderstanding should any dispute
between client and therapist subsequently develop)

15. Present all services and products in an unambiguous manner (to

include any limitations and realistic outcomes of treatment) and
ensure that the client retains complete control over the decision to

40
 purchase such services or products

16. Conduct themselves at all times in accord with their professional

status and in such a way as neither undermines public confidence in
the process or profession of hypnotherapy nor brings the GHR into
disrepute

a) inform the GHR, in writing, of any complaint (of which they are
aware) made against them;

b) inform the GHR, in writing, of any disciplinary action taken against

them by any professional body;

c) inform the GHR, in writing, of any criminal offence of which they

have been convicted

17. Inform the GHR, in writing, of any alteration in circumstance which

would affect either their position or ability as practitioners

18. Ensure that all *advertising shall comply with the British Code of
Advertising Practice, accord with the British Advertising Standards
Authority and make available all such literature to the GHR on
request. (*This includes all material published on websites and in
which matter, the GHR reserves the right to decide, entirely at its
discretion, whether to allow active links to any individual website from
the GHR site).

19. Notify the GHR, in writing, of any change in practice name, contact
address, telephone number or e-mail address, at the earliest
convenient moment.

20. Make available all relevant information requested as a result of

investigation by any appointed Complaints and Disciplinary Officer
without hindrance (whether implied or actual) or unreasonable delay
and comply fully with all requirements inherent within any Complaints
and Disciplinary Procedure to which they subscribe

21. Wherever possible, obtain the consent of an appropriate adult (i.e.

parent or legal guardian) before conducting treatment with clients
who are either under the age of majority or are classified as Special
Needs. (N.B. Ideally, an appropriate adult should be present during
such sessions. N.B.2 Where the client is under the age of 16 and
requesting parental / legal guardian consent would violate
confidentiality, the therapist should employ an assessment of the
client's competency to consent to treatment on their own behalf ).

41
 Chapter 15
The hypnotherapy profession
in the UK

The hypnotherapy profession in the UK is made up of:

• Independent hypnotherapists
• Registered hypnotherapists
• Therapists outside main stream hypnotherapy but
who use hypnotherapy occasionally or without
realising it
• Professional bodies and trade organisations

Independent hypnotherapists

Independent hypnotherapists are those who work as

hypnotherapists but who do not belong to any group or
organisations. There is no requirement to be registered
anywhere, except the tax office, when working as a
hypnotherapist. The tax office need to be told within three
months of setting up a business or it is an offence. This,
incidentally, is a rule which applies to anyone setting up a
new business in the UK, whatever its nature.

Registered hypnotherapists

Registered hypnotherapists, as the title suggests, will hold

membership with at least one of the professional
registering bodies. A registering body will publish its
criteria for membership and anyone who can meet that
criteria can apply to become a member. There are wide
differences between these bodies. The registration criteria

42
ranges from very stringent to simply being able to afford
the registration fees, as discussed previously.

Therapists outside mainstream hypnotherapy

These are therapists who primarily practice another therapy

but who also on occasions incorporate hypnotherapy into
their work. These might be eg stress managers or trauma
specialists.

Professional bodies and trade organisations

These, as discussed previously, are independent bodies

who act for their particular membership and some of whom,
on occasions, work together for the benefit of the
hypnotherapy profession.

These are likely to become of greater importance over the

coming years as governmental pressure and pressure from
other outside bodies to regulate all “alternative therapies”
increases. At the moment, hypnotherapy is self regulating
and likely to stay that way for the immediate future. The
more effectively hypnotherapy can regulate itself as a
profession, the less likely it is that the government will
intervene.

Self regulation also includes disciplining hypnotherapists

who breach specific codes of practice or who cross a line in
a way which any sensible person would regard as
misconduct.

Without doubt, there are a few hypnotherapists each year

who do this. By and large, these cases are dealt with
within the profession. Regulatory bodies are well aware of
the potential dangers to clients and to the hypnotherapy
profession at large and in general are more than willing to
act where such cases are brought to their attention.

43
 Chapter 16
Self employment

In order to become a successful hypnotherapist, the

individual needs certain personal qualities and strengths.
In fact, they need two different sets of qualities and
strengths. The first relates to their role as a therapist. The
second relates to their position as a self employed person,
running their own practice and controlling their own
finances.

The latter is one of the main reasons why so many people

train and qualify as hypnotherapists yet never practice, or
only do so for a short time. Their therapeutic skills are
good but they are simply unable to handle the business
aspects of their work.

Qualities as a therapist

The main quality is empathy, that inbuilt ability to

understand the feelings of others in a non-judgemental
way. If that doesn’t exist, then it’s best to consider another
career.

Another needed quality is the ability to listen.

Hypnotherapy almost invariably involves an interaction
between client and hypnotherapist, with the hypnotherapist
responding to what are often tiny verbal and visual clues
given by the client. This also involves the ability – or at
least a willingness – to concentrate for up to an hour at a
time.

The hypnotherapist should be a good listener. Any session

should be focused on the client and not an occasion for the
hypnotherapist to talk about himself and his interests.

44
He or she should also ideally have some analytical ability,
although this isn’t necessary for suggestion therapy.
However, the deeper analytic skills involves analysing what
the client says and using that information to progress the
session.

If you feel you have these qualities, you may well make a
good hypnotherapist.

Qualities as a self-employed person

Here, the hypnotherapist needs a different set of qualities,

some of which are quite different to those needed in the
therapeutic role.

First of all, he or she has to be sufficiently self confident to

work alone without the daily and hourly support of
colleagues. That person needs to be able to handle the
aggravations and knocks of working life without an
immediate support system (though of course a supportive
family helps).

They must be self motivated, able to undertake those

mundane tasks which aren’t necessarily pleasant, like filling
in a tax return. This is often the greatest stumbling block
to success in self employment. Unpleasant or onerous
tasks are put on the back burner until they start to cause
real and stressful problems.

The self employed person needs administrative skills.

There will be paperwork and mundane tasks like filing.

He or she will also need a flexible approach to the

requirements of the working day. A neat and orderly diary
of clients may be thrown into chaos by a late arrival but the
hypnotherapist must be flexible enough to cope with this
without causing stress to himself or showing stress to the
client.

45
He or she must also be prepared to sacrifice family or social
life upon occasion. At various times there will be deadlines
to meet – filling in a tax return is again a good example –
or the client in distress who can only attend during the
evening, or at any time that is convenient for you?

It also helps to have a good sense of humour. When things

go wrong you can laugh or you can cry. People who can
find something funny when the world around them seems
to be falling into chaos are the ones who survive and
flourish.

The practical skills of self employment can be learned.

Your local Business Link will direct you towards basic
accountancy and business management courses and these
are often free. The Inland Revenue run an excellent series
of workshops, again free.

Only you can decide whether the freedom from routine

which you gain by becoming self employed will bring
greater benefits to you than the extra stresses it can bring.
If you have the personal qualities which would enable you
to cope, it can seem the best move you’ve made in your
life.

46
 Chapter 17
Summing up

The vast majority of people who train as hypnotherapists

feel they benefit from the training.

Some, who decide for one reason or another not to go on to

practice, still feel they gain great insights into their own
personalities and behaviours and apply what they’ve
learned for their own self development.

Those who do go on to practice become members of one of

the most absorbing professions, where they can help
people in emotional and physical distress whilst at the same
time earning a reasonable (and sometimes excellent) living.

The key to it all is training. You can’t apply or teach what

you don’t know and thus you are reliant on your trainer to
open your mind to as much information as is possible.

Your trainer should educate you in different theories, rather

than being dogmatic. If he or she can’t or won’t discuss
the pros and cons of different approaches, they either lack
the knowledge or are too narrow in their approach. The
aim of tuition, after all, is to broaden your knowledge, not
to channel it down one narrow path. You need to be able
to think around your subject, not merely to regurgitate one
theory in order to pass an exam. You’ll be dealing with
your clients minds and you need to learn as much as you
possibly can in order to become as effective a therapist as
possible.

Choose your course and your trainer carefully. Don’t be

afraid to ask questions about their qualifications and
experience.

47
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48