How long does it take to be a Hypnotherapist?

[Conca]

I want to become a hypnotherapist and I'm just wondering how long it takes to get certified.

Do you need any degrees or is a certification good enough?

[Poodle]

Question 1 -- Depends on what type of hypnotherapist you want to be and the laws in your country. England is nice about hypnotherapy. It goes anywhere from a 3 day weekend course to a full 3 months. The 3 months ones in the USA grant the title of CCHT -- Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. We have some members that are. We have other members that are Certified Hypnotherapists/Hypnotists. APU will take you all the way to a PhD in hypnotherapy. We have some of those here too.

Do you need a degree? In what? Hypnosis? Psychology? There are certain countries where one must be a licensed professional - psychologist, etc. to use hypnotherapy. England is not one of those countries.

Certification is only a title. Hypnotherapy is a learning process that one continues throughout one's whole life. Each client is a new learning experience. I, and others here, have continuning education we have to do each year to remain "certified".

I know for sure we have two members in England -- Merlin and Jack. Either would be excellent at helping you find a fantastic training in the future. Merlin is a Doctor. Jack is just fantastic. We are so blessed to have people from many countries in the world represented here that are the best in their countries.

[Conca]

So if I become certified I will be free to practice hypnotherapy here in the UK? If either merlin or jack could clarify that would be great or if you know pood then let me know.

What I meant about the degree is; to legally practice hypnotherapy do you need a degree?

[Poodle]

Do you know how to use PM's? I strongly suspect you do. PM either Merl or Jack.

You do not need a "degree" to practice hypnosis in England but you do need to be very good and have cash saved up. It seems as if they open shop one week and are closed up within a month....lack of skill, lack of money for advertising, lack of money for office space, just plain old lack of money. It takes skill, time, money and energy to build a great practice. You need excellent business skills as this is a business. I suspect you could start on some of those skills in school this coming fall. Seems as if you have good pc skills. Know how to build websites and keep them fresh?

We have another member, apsthion (something like that), who recently graduated and is doing well. I believe he took the "longer" course and it seems that he did learn well. He put the class graduation pix up for us and it was a smaller class which means MORE ONE ON ONE WITH THE INSTRUCTOR.

Maya, our Forum Goddess and Enforcer, is as she says: "a crazy Brit" so she could probably point you in the correct direction too.

Options, options, options and you have a few years to ponder upon all of them and have them all lined up and in place before your hypnosis course, eh?

[Conca]

Yeah definately, I will PM them.

For my A levels i'm doing Psychology, Buisiness Studies, Economics and Maths. i've got the psychology for obvious reasons and the buisiness and economics will help me in marketing etc. the maths is there cuz i wanted to be an accountant or something in finance because i have a knack for numbers.

btw i dont know what you have in america but over here you do A levels till you're 18. I'm not insulting your intelligence i just don't know how much you know about our education system

also i'm quite good at computers etc. and my uncle is a web designer so i could pull in a favour or something but if all else fails i could make a decent website

with regards to the marketing, i would have a job anyway to pay for the course etc. and i'd just stay living with my parents till i get enough money together for an office space.

[Merlin]

I want to become a hypnotherapist and I'm just wondering how long it takes to get certified.

Do you need any degrees or is a certification good enough?


weeks to become a hypnotist
years to become good
decades to become great

[Don]

Conca, your question was very interesting. You didn't ask how long it would take before you could legally practice as a hypnotherapist. Rather, you asked how long it would take to become a hypnotherapist.

That reminds me of a time when I was working in a magic shop in San Diego, selling classic and the latest in magic tricks. A woman came in with her 10-year-old son and asked to see some tricks for under $10 that he could perform. The first one I brought out was one of my favorites called the Ball and Tube. The effect is simple. The magician holds a small steel tube at his or her finger tips. Resting on top of the tube is a steel ball. It sits there because it it bigger than the diameter of the tube. Then, the magician makes a gesture and, impossibly, the ball slowly descends into the tube. Even more strangely, the ball stops and then slowly rises out of the tube. Instantly the magician gives the ball and the tube out to the spectators to examine. There is no way the ball can get into the tube because it is bigger than the tube.

It's an amazing effect but easy to do. The mother asked, "How long will it take my son to learn?"

Well, it should only take about five minutes, but I didn't know who bright the kid was so I said "Maybe an hour at most."

"I meant," she said, "how long will it take him to get as good as you?

"Twenty years," I honestly answered.

You see, everything you do and learn goes into your performance as a magician. That why younger kids are not very good magicians. They can learn all of the moves and secrets, but selling it, making it look like magic instead of a trick, takes personal growth and experience that younger kids just don't have.

Conca, the same is true with hypnotherapy. Any person of average intelligence can learn enough to legally be a hypnotherapist in a few days or weeks. But to become an effective hypnotherapist isn't something you simply learn and do. Rather, it is a skill that takes time to develop. Furthermore, the great hypnotherapists (IMO) are constantly learning. Many here who have been doing hypnotherapy for years still read books, watch videos and take trainings.

In my first training I was taught how to do smoking cessation. I've taken extra, in-person trainings and been certified in smoking cessation. I've also read books on it and watched videos. Even so, I just purchased a smoking cessation system with multiple DVDs and a workbook. It even included slides to use with a computer presentation program such as Keynote or PowerPoint when you give workshops in it. Why? To keep learning.

One of the things I like to say is that you don't die when you stop breathing, you die when you stop learning.

[Conca]

Sorry I meant to say how long before i can legally practice as a hypnotherapist.

But I think i definately will become a hypnotherapist and the thing is, i like to learn about things i have a genuine interest about so i will keep reading books and going to trainings etc.

I think i am quite a smart person for my age and i'm sorry if that sounds arrogant, i didnt mean for that, but i think i'll do well in hypnotherapy

[Poodle]

You are definitely a very smart person. It is extremely difficult at best to "pull hypnotherapy from a book". Yet, you have managed many of the concepts perfectly. I have no doubt if this interest continues, you will be tops!!

Now, get to reading about and writing metaphors. You just may make enough money to help out your tuition a whole bunch!

[Conca]

You are definitely a very smart person. It is extremely difficult at best to "pull hypnotherapy from a book". Yet, you have managed many of the concepts perfectly. I have no doubt if this interest continues, you will be tops!!

Now, get to reading about and writing metaphors. You just may make enough money to help out your tuition a whole bunch!
well currently i'm reading a covert hypnosis book and it talks about organized multiple stories which i suppose are like meaphors in a way but how do you write them? and tell me if i'm wrong about them being the same.