You know, there are a lot of opportunities to learn hypnosis out there. How do you know which one to choose? Well, I've talked to hundreds of people who have gone through all sorts of different programs. Some of them were very happy, many were not.
I've taken a close look at what makes people happy with the training they've taken. What is important and what is not may surprise you. Once you read this section, you'll have a much better idea of how to make a choice that works for you.
Each section brings up an important factor in choosing a hypnosis course and then gives you an idea of what to do to make sure the course you are considering meets your needs.
I'm making the assumption that you are highly motivated and committed to learning hypnosis - no teaching method will save you if you don't put effort forth yourself.
This section may be on the long side but it's important. Here are the most important factors in choosing a hypnosis training.
Having a good rapport with your instructor is the most important factor in the success of your training. Let that sink in for a moment...
It's more important than the skill or knowledge level of the instructor. It's more important than how many degrees or certifications he or she has. It's more important than how long the course is or how much it costs. I'm stunned by the number of people who choose a training without speaking with the instructor.
We all know people that we dislike (or don't like as well as we like others). When that person talks, we just don't pay as much attention to their opinions, do we? It's human nature. If you find a knowledgeable hypnosis instructor that you don't connect with, you'll be fighting that tendency the whole course.
Think back to your teachers. Many of us had at least one teacher that we connected to, admired and respected. We were more motivated to listen and learn from that person. Learning was more fun and exciting.
You don't have to worship the ground your instructor walks on. Being able to relate or connect to them is plenty.
Speak with the person who will be teaching your course. Don't settle for a secretary, school admissions person or anybody else. "Don't worry, all the students think he's great" is not good enough. If the instructor is "too busy" to talk to you, go elsewhere. If they have a picture, don't judge by it - speak to them personally.
When you speak to them, ask yourself "Is this somebody I can learn from?" "Is this someone I can relate to?" Also, listen to their voice. Is it pleasant and interesting to listen to? You may be hearing their voice over an extended period of time.
If you go to a training that has several instructors, it's a crap shoot. We all know there are good teachers and bad teachers and you'll probably get some of each. Speak to all of them, if possible.
If you are considering my course, do the same as you would with anyone else's. Call me up and talk to me to find out how much we connect.
206.721.8751 or toll-free in the US 1.877.624.3475
There are a wide variety of subjects taught in hypnosis courses. It ranges from clinical approaches on pain control and working with medical issues to how to conduct and alien abduction memory retrieval. Some trainings are mystical or spiritual in nature and others more scientifically based.
While it's often good to be open to new ideas, you should go to a course that teaches the kind of things you want to learn. If you're interested in how to work with clients that want to stop smoking, a past-life regression seminar won't do you much good. If you're interested in "how to tap into your psychic powers with hypnosis," a course oriented toward effectively formulating therapeutic hypnotic suggestions probably won't be your cup of tea.
One thing to watch out for is an instructor who is teaching someone else's materials. The instructor may have a different philosophy than the author of the course. This can be problematic as they won't present the material with the necessary level of belief and enthusiasm. Furthermore, they won't have as much depth of understanding of the material as the original author. For this reason I'd recommend taking a course from the person who actually wrote the course.
Get as much information as you can about the training you are considering. Read any information about the course content you can get your hands on. Get as much detail as possible. Ask questions! I know of one hypnosis course that teaches based on Buddhist philosophy but it's not particularly evident in the promotional materials. I'm not saying that good or bad. It just seems like something you'd want to know before you took the course. The only way to find out is to ask.
Ask if the instructor wrote the course his or herself.
In addition to calling me, take a look at the information I provide here on the web site. I wrote my own course. Follow the links for a course schedule and outline and information about the course manual. In fact, follow all the links provided near the top of the page and read the material to find out if it's a good match for you.
Let me use a couple of the greats of hypnosis to illustrate a point. Dave Elman and Milton Erickson are two of the giants of hypnosis in the 20th century. The two used very different techniques. Elman was very direct with suggestions and worked very quickly. Erickson was know for indirect suggestion, producing change with story-telling and being able to work with difficult clients.
Instructors tend to fall into one camp or the other. I've heard Elman oriented instructors say ridiculous things like "the subconscious mind doesn't understand metaphor," or "some people are born story tellers, others aren't."
I've taught hundreds of people how to tell stories in hypnosis for therapeutic purposes - with very good results! It's absurd to assume that people can't learn to tell stories or use some of Erickson's techniques.
I've heard of Ericksonian hypnotherapists who practically do cartwheels using some complex Ericksonian technique when a 15 minute Elman-style technique would do.
The point is, they're both missing out. It seems to me that it's more useful to have an understanding of both sets of techniques and use whatever is appropriate to the specific situation.
Along those same lines is the NLP/Hypnosis controversy. In case you don't know, NLP stand for neuro-linguistic programming. NLP sprung from the study of the world's most effective therapists; Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, Milton Erickson and many others. Commonalities and differences were found amongst these great people changers. Secrets were distilled. What came out of these studies was a powerful set of tools from which change can occur quickly and easily.
Once again, some traditional hypnotists believe that NLP is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo and since it doesn't formally induce a deep level of trance, can't produce long-lasting change. To assume that the ONLY way a person can change is in a hypnotherapist's office in a deep somnambulistic trance is, well... arrogant. Obviously, people change all the time without being in a formal trance at all.
Though some hypnosis training is part of most NLP Master Practitioner course, many "NLPers" have little understanding of traditional hypnosis and what it can accomplish.
But the combination of NLP techniques used inside of a deep, hypnotic trance is incredibly powerful.
At a minimum, your instructor should have a strong knowledge base of Elman's techniques, Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP.
Your instructor should have knowledge of a broad range of techniques and not be overly biased toward any technique. However, if you call them up and ask them "Do you teach Dave Elman's techniques," you won't get good information. Everyone says "Oh yeah, I teach that stuff. You'll get all the techniques you need, right here."
Instead, ask them what they think about Elman. Ask them what they think about Erickson. Ask them what they think about NLP. Listen carefully. Ideally, they will give you a balanced view. If they tell you that one of these approaches is not valuable, that just means that they don't understand the value of it. If any of those pieces of education is missing, run.
My starting orientation as a hypnotherapist was Ericksonian. Years later, I've taught advanced Ericksonian hypnotherapy techniques to many hypnotherapists from all over the world. I've taught metaphor, embedded suggestions, hypnotic language patterns, double binds and more.
Eventually, I became attracted to the speed and simplicity of Dave Elman's techniques and have taught those to people all over the world too (as well as used them extensively in my practice).
I have taken NLP Master Practitioner training and, in fact have been directly involved in training hundreds of people to the Master Practitioner level.
The hypnosis course I am offering is not an NLP or Ericksonian hypnosis course. It is more of what I would call a "straight" hypnosis course. It includes Ericksonian and NLP techniques where they are valuable toward achieving quick, effective and practical results.
Most of us a familiar with the following quote. "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him his entire life." How does it apply to hypnosis? I know it's a bitter pill to swallow but hypnotic scripts are not the way to go. Let me explain...
Being effective with hypnosis is not that complex. It's a skill to be sure, but any reasonably intelligent person can do it with some study, practice and dedication. But it is not so simple that you can simply read words from a page. Scripts are word-for-word suggestions that you read to a client while in hypnosis.
I've heard some hypnosis instructors talk about their "script books." They have developed, they say, a comprehensive set of scripts; one for almost any problem. They'll even tell you not to change a single word. They've spent years honing the words to get them just perfect, any change will "decrease the effectiveness" of the scripts. When you have a smoking cessation client, just induce trance, turn to the "stop smoking" script and read it to them.
Well, this sounds good on the surface but let's look at it in depth.
I play basketball a couple of times a week with some friends of mine. I play for several reasons. The most important, to me, is that it's fun! Secondly, it's great exercise. I really enjoy the competition but it's more important to me that I do my best rather than win.
Some of my friends have different motivations. For some, the exercise is the most important thing. Others rank winning as most important. Some just want to get out of the house for a couple of hours.
What's my point? The point is that different people have different motivations (duh). The people that come to you for help are going to have different motivations too. One person might want to stop smoking because they want to feel more energetic. Another because they're afraid of what might happen if they don't stop. For one, living to see his young daughter's high school graduation might be very important. For another, being able to ask out "that special someone" who won't date a smoker could be numero uno on the list.
Now, motivation is very important when you give hypnotic suggestions. It's just one of the factors that vary from individual to individual. A script can't take that into account.
Read the next two paragraphs and I'm sure you'll see what I mean. I wrote them with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
I've studied hypnosis for years to find out which specific words work best for people. I've created hundreds of hypnotic inductions and honed them to bring you the suggestions that work! Don't change a thing about these scripts - they'll fit you or anyone you know!
I've studied pants for years to find out what looks good on people and what people like. I've honed and tailored hundreds of pairs to bring you the exact size and style that works! Don't change a thing about these pants - they'll fit and look good on you or anyone you know!
Scripts work about as well as one-size-fits-all pants. If you want to deliver truly effective suggestions you must tailor them to the individual. Beware of courses that rely heavily on scripts.
Don't get me wrong. Scripts have their place. I occasionally will look over a script to get an idea of how a professional in the field approached a particular issue. That's what they're good for - ideas.
If you want to use hypnosis effectively, you must learn how to gather information from your clients. Any reasonable hypnosis course will teach you what information you need to gather, how to gather it and how to use it.
So why do so many courses rely heavily on scripts? Think for a minute. What is easier, to teach people how to gather accurate information or to teach them how to read from a page? So, many course focus on inductions and then hand their students their "script book." If you know how to gather information however, you can work with almost any issue - whether there's a script for it or not. You "know how to fish." If you just want scripts, don't go to a class, buy a book. I'd recommend Handbook Of Hypnotic Suggestions And Metaphors.
Look over the course materials and outline. Is there a significant portion of the class devoted to how to gather information from your clients? Do you learn how to formulate suggestions or do they just tell you what to say? Is a script book a major factor in their marketing materials?
My course offers significant and comprehensive sections on information gathering and how to formulate suggestions. Scripts are not a major factor in my course. I take a more protocol based approach. That is, you have step by-step instructions and protocols but they show you how to include and adapt to individual client motivations and circumstances.
Working for two nationally accredited colleges and a state-licensed vocational institution has given me some insight about what is good and bad about the various forms of credentialing and the bureaucracy that goes with them. I have seen things from the inside. Let me share this perspective with you so that you can make an informed choice.
First, let's explore accreditation...
In the United States, regional accreditation is considered the most prestigious. Community colleges, state universities (such as University of Washington or U.C.L.A.) and a few private schools are regionally accredited. In the educational community, when people talk about accreditation they usually mean regional accreditation. As you move away from regional accreditation, the forms of accreditation become more and more meaningless.
There are no regionally accredited hypnosis schools or degrees. Got it? It bears repeating. There are no regionally accredited hypnosis schools or degrees. There are some continuing education type classes held at community colleges and some hypnosis classes (though very few) that are taught as part of some other degree program but no degree programs for hypnosis.
National Accreditation
As of this writing, to my knowledge, there is only one nationally accredited hypnosis school in the United States. They have recently been accused of fraud and misrepresentation.
Check out what one former student of this school has to say...
Nationally Accredited Hypnosis School Accused of Fraud in Class Action Suit
Other Forms of Accreditation
Keep in mind that anybody can form an "accreditation" organization. I know some schools form an organization with an official sounding name and then accredit themselves! International accreditation can mean anything.
Theological accreditation is usually reserved for what is called "bible colleges." Bible colleges usually train religious officials such as ministers and offer divinity degrees. This type of school can be very good or not so good. You'll need to check the individual school.
Some hypnosis schools take advantage of the fact that people are unaware of the various types of accreditation and what they mean. They'll say "accredited" when what they really mean is that some organization (not an accrediting organization) approved their course. Technically, this fits the dictionary definition of accreditation. However, since most people in education refer to accreditation meaning regional accreditation, I believe this is misleading.
Credentialing by professional hypnosis organizations:
Often, a course will have been approved or accepted by a professional hypnosis organization such as The Professional Board of Hypnotherapy, The National Guild of Hypnotists, The American Board of Hypnotherapy or The American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
This approval or acceptance can mean a variety of things. It could simply mean that the course meets the number of hours of training required by the organization (some organizations have a requirement for number of hours trained - no matter what the course content). It could mean that an official from the hypnosis organization has looked over and approved the course materials, instructor qualifications and advertising materials and approved them. It could also mean that the course was written by the organization itself.
If you're looking at a hypnosis organization that claims it is accredited, check out the accrediting organization. One warning sign is that "accredited" is mentioned often in the marketing materials but the accrediting organization's information is not there or is buried in some obscure place. Find out who else that organization accredits and check out those schools too.
I checked out one "internationally accredited" hypnosis school who's accrediting information was buried on an obscure web page. I found out the name of the accrediting organization and could find no evidence that they accredited any other educational institution of any kind! Hmmm.... an accrediting organization that only accredits one school. Is that a meaningful accreditation?
If the school claims it is accredited by a professional organization (such as the Professional Board of Hypnotherapy), call the board and find out if they accredit schools. They will probably tell you no, they approve schools or courses - not accredit them. In this case, the school is being misleading.
At any rate, credentialing by any organization does not guarantee quality content or instruction. Check out the course material and talk to the instructor!
If you are seeking to transfer your hypnosis credits elsewhere, you should know it's a long shot. Contact the school that you want to transfer credit to before you enroll in the hypnosis training.
My course is approved by The Professional Board of Hypnotherapy. Specifically, what this means is that the President of the board, Dr. Alan Eastman, looked over the course manual, course outline, marketing and advertising material. Dr. Eastman made some suggestions for changes, which we implemented.
The board also has criteria for educational level for instructors and criteria for schools, which we've met.
The course meets the educational requirements for certification as a hypnotherapist through The Professional Board of Hypnotherapy. After you complete our course, simply send a copy of your course completion certificate, along with your membership fee to The Professional Board of Hypnotherapy (the membership form and address information with be included in your manual). PBH will send you your certificate, suitable for framing.
The course also meets the educational requirements for certification as a hypnotherapist through Bennett/Stellar University. Bennett/Stellar is intimately familiar with the course content, my teaching credentials and experience and my knowledge of hypnosis. They have deemed that the course meets the standard of excellence worthy of the designation of Certified Hypnotherapist for graduates.
After you complete our course, simply send a copy of your course completion certificate, along with your membership fee to Bennett/Stellar University (the membership form and address information with be included in your manual). Bennett/Stellar will send you your certificate, suitable for framing. It will look great on your wall!
There are people that know a lot about hypnosis. There are people that know how to teach. These are two different skill sets. A lot of folks that are teaching hypnosis have no teaching experience outside of hypnosis.
As much as traditional education has its failings, there are good things about it. Someone with a background in course development and experience at an accredited institution knows how to put together courses. They know how to write course objectives, syllabi, lesson plans. In short, they know how to develop and deliver written and verbal information in a logical and organized manner. This makes it much easier to learn, not only during the course but when reviewing course materials at a later date.
Make sure your instructor has experience in teaching at an established educational institution - besides teaching hypnosis classes.
I have multiple years of teaching experience both at a nationally accredited private college and a separate state-licensed vocational institution. In both these positions I was responsible for not only delivery of information (teaching) but for course development from the ground up. I wrote courses, course syllabi, course objectives, lesson plans, course outlines, course manuals, designed exercises, wrote teaching guides and examinations. I consistently rated high in student satisfaction surveys.
I was recently chatting with a friend of mine who has been a stage hypnotist for many years. He decided he wanted to get into the hypnotherapy training field and wanted to become certified as a trainer. He went to one of the larger and better known hypnosis organizations and took their trainer's training. He told me, and I quote... "It was the worst $3,000.00 I ever spent."
One of his complaints was that the course manual looked like "a copy of a copy of a copy." Some of the pages were incomplete as they had somehow gotten turned at an angle during the copying process. He didn't think the few pages he received would have been much more valuable had they been readable because the material he could read was not very good. Remember, he had been doing stage hypnosis for many years and understood how to hypnotize people.
Another problem with some hypnosis course's material is that it is "borrowed" from other sources. If you have permission from an author, it's OK. But I've seen courses that lift whole sections from other courses or books without permission. This is know as, hmmm... what's the word?... Illegal. These aren't the people you really want teaching you ethics.
If my friend had spent some time looking over a course outline and speaking with the instructor beforehand, he probably never would have signed up for the class. That's what you should do.
Unfortunately, it's hard to know whether someone is ripping off another author. If you run into a case where it's happening, make sure you notify the original author or the publisher of the material.
My course has an over 200 page, comprehensive manual. The manual contains diagrams, exercises, procedures, protocols, theory and more. Check out the course manual and course outline.
Hypnosis is one of the greatest tools for accelerated learning to help people learn more quickly and thoroughly. Surprisingly, some hypnosis trainings don't use hypnosis to help people learn hypnosis! Can you imagine that? An entire hypnosis course, delivered in lecture format, without using hypnosis to boost the learning process.
Ask your instructor how and if hypnosis is used with the students to accelerate and deepen learning.
My course uses hypnosis to teach hypnosis. Learning is delivered unconsciously through embedded suggestion, metaphor and formal trance induction. Consciously, the material is presented in a logical, organized manner.
A lot of people haven't thought this one through. Hypnosis courses are usually offered in one of two formats; weekend courses (usually over several weekends) for people who live near the school, and accelerated courses (for a condensed block of time) for people from all over the world. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these formats. Let's look at them...
Main Advantage: If you take a course near your home you save on transportation and hotel costs.
Main Disadvantage: You are limited to the quality of training within driving distance of your house.
Possible disadvantage: Length of time for course completion.
The accelerated and weekend courses often have the same number of total hours but it usually takes longer to complete a course near home (this is not true of all courses). As an example, I once helped teach a 14 day NLP program in both formats. The weekend version met one weekend per month for 7 months. The accelerated version met for 15 days (with one day off). They both offered the same amount of instructional hours but one group finished 6 1/2 months sooner.
The opportunity cost is something to consider. Those who wished to open practices had a 6 1/2 month head start if they took the accelerated version. The money they earned in that 6 1/2 months was lost to those in the weekend course.
Why does the army take a prospective soldiers away from their homes for basic training? Why do corporations have retreats? Why do professional baseball teams hold spring training so far away from their homes?
It has been found that the learning process benefits from being in a new and exciting environment. Think of it this way; it's easier for new skills, information and ideas to take hold if you are away from your everyday life. The best learning takes place when there is ample time to absorb, practice and integrate material - away from your normal environment. Your concentration and focus is greatly enhanced by being away from the ringing telephone and interruptions of home.
If you can, take a course away from your home environment. Make sure the seminar location is one that you would enjoy (positive emotions help integrate learning more effectively).
If you are forced to limit yourself to what is available near your hometown, make sure you limit your discussion and contact with people that may not be supportive of your path. Have a study area and study time that are away from your usual environment (if possible, out of your home).
Our course is given in extremely pleasant locations. There's lot's to do and lots of fun to be had.
If you want to take a course as a hobby, just because you're fascinated by hypnosis then you'll just have to decide what its; worth to you.
For others remember, hypnotherapy can be a lucrative field. You have to balance that against what you can afford. I can't make claims about what you will make if you start a practice, that depends on a lot of factors. I can say that I have former students that are making as much as $985 for one session. But let's look at a more reasonable possibility. I have another former student who is currently charging $125 per session. How many sessions does it take to pay for a $1,000 course? How many for a $2,000 course? How many for a $3,000 course? What other career opportunity do you think you could pay for that quickly?
Now, I don't want to imply that you can charge that amount, or that you would get clients if you did. She's doing it though. I'm sure I have other former students who only charge $30 per session. They certainly didn't follow my advice on what to charge!
Remember, hypnotherapy is ideal for starting as a part-time or second job. You can pick weekends or one or two nights a week and get started without leaving what you are doing currently. When your clientele builds up enough you can expand to full-time if that's what you want to do.
Only you can decide how much you can afford to pay for hypnosis training.
If you're concerned about paying for your schooling all at once, I suggest a school that has an internal student finance program. Many hypnosis trainings have some sort of self-financed student funding option or payment plan. Watch out for finance fees, interest rates or other associated costs. Make sure all such fees are fully disclosed. Ask.
My course has a payment plan option with no extra fees added to it. Check it out here on the registration page. In a nutshell, the are no interest or finance charges. You can come to class for a $297 deposit and $100/month payments.
Hypnosis courses vary in length from one weekend to a year long (or more). How do you decide what's appropriate? You know, becoming skilled at hypnosis is more of a "doing" than a "theory" thing. Though some theory must be taught, the course must allow for sufficient practice time under the supervision of a professional.
For anybody learning about hypnosis, it's a lifelong thing. You never learn it all, don't try to get it all done at once.
Some hypnosis courses will certify you after a one weekend course. Although hypnosis is simple, it's not so simple you can learn it in one weekend. One weekend is long enough to learn several inductions and practice them a few times. Inductions however, are the simplest thing about hypnosis. There is no time to learn how to deliver suggestions, gather information properly, deliver post-hypnotic suggestions, do effective regression work and so on.
Think about it. An instructor might explain the theory behind a technique, go through the steps, do a demonstration and then have the students practice on one another in pairs. Then, there is usually a question and answer session to deal with any questions or challenges the students faced. Let's say 1/2 hour for the talk, 1/2 hour for the steps, 1/2 hour for the demo, 1 1/2 hours for the student practice (they will be slower and they will have to do it at least twice - once for each student in a pair) and 1/2 hour for the question and answer. That's 3 1/2 hours for each technique (not including breaks). You're not going to get much done in one weekend are you?
That's why many weekend courses skip the student practice and deliver theory. Then they hand you scripts and tell you that you're trained.
I remember a friend of mine who told me about a course that was supposed to be a "hands-on" practical course delivered in one day. Well, the instructor lectured and they fell behind. At the end of an 8-hour lecture they were supposed to do an exercise. Since there hadn't been ample time for student questions or interaction with the instructor, nobody really knew what to do. They all stood around and talked. They were left with a script on how they were supposed to do whatever it was the course proclaimed to teach.
Note: One weekend is a good length for a course that covers one hypnosis related subject. You could do pain control in a weekend or rapid inductions in a weekend (or less). This type of course is for those who already have a basic hypnosis course under their belts.
In my opinion, one week is about the shortest time possible for a good, basic hypnosis course. Even then, it is only possible if you have high quality course materials (so students can easily review theory and techniques at home), an excellent student support system (so questions can be answered after the seminar) and a plan for practicing the material after the student has graduated (so the material can be learned more deeply and integrated more fully).
In one week you can deliver 50 or more hours of concentrated material and enough exercises for people to have some experience and confidence. That is more time in class than the average quarter-long college course.
In one week, you can not deliver every advanced hypnosis technique on the planet. It is enough time to get a solid foundation in inductions, the delivery of suggestion and working with the most common types of client and the most common issues.
After one week you should have enough of a solid foundation to go home and further your learning and experience with practice.
When you have had supervised, professional supervision for one week, many of the more advanced techniques could be learned via video, book or during shorter seminars.
100 hours is a good length for a hypnosis course. Unfortunately, many of us can't afford to take that amount of time out of our schedules.
300 hours is enough to cover the basics, give you lots of practice and teach you all sorts of techniques for special situations. In 300 hours you can learn medical hypnosis and forensic hypnosis as well as basic hypnosis. You can learn specialized techniques for working with the mentally ill or other specialized populations.
If you have the time and money - go for it. Most of the 300 hour programs are not in an intensive format so you'll have to live nearby a school.
An alternative to this length of course is to take a basic course to get started and get specialized certifications and advanced training as you have time or can afford it.
Some people think 1 year is way too long to go to school to become a hypnotherapist. I disagree. Anyone who wants to become really good at something should be willing to devote time to it. In addition, I can't think of too many careers that you can train for in less than 6 months or so. So it's not ridiculous to assume that it would be beneficial to train for a year.
In addition, we're talking about a career that can be very lucrative. It's not a ridiculous idea to train for a year for a career that could make you lots of money.
Unfortunately, I have yet to find a year long course that I would recommend to anyone. I have also not been impressed with the skill level of hypnotists who I've met that are graduates of those courses.
Most of the people who decide to become hypnotherapists are not 18 years old. We don't have time to spend 3 months learning about the history of hypnosis, interesting as it might be. We know we can read about it at our leisure. We're interested in what works and how to do it - now. That's why the shorter, practical course appeals more that the longer, academic approach.
My course is a 7 day intensive with excellent post-course student support.
So, here are the main points I've covered and what to do. Most of your research will involve either talking to the instructor or looking over course materials.
As I'm sure you can tell by what I've written about choosing a course, not every hypnosis course is suitable for everyone. Let me tell you a bit about who my course is suitable for - and who should stay away.
The way I teach and the material I teach are not suitable for everyone. It is not in my best interest or yours, to go to a course that is not a good fit for you. There are courses out there that would be a good fit for the type of people on this list. If you are on this list please find one of those other courses.
Here's my philosophy. Take the best available knowledge of hypnosis, organize it well, create a fun environment and atmosphere and teach it to people who are highly motivated to learn. That sounds good doesn't it? I hope it sounds like something you want to be a part of.
Let's take a look at who might benefit from my course...
People often ask me if there are any prerequisites for the course. They usually mean educational prerequisites. There aren't.
In education the phrase "ability to benefit" is often used. That is about whether or not a person can actually benefit from and use the information taught in a particular course. Well, in terms of legalities, there are relatively few restrictions placed on practicing hypnosis in most states (and most foreign countries). If you have a question about your area, just send me an email or give a call and I'll find out for you.
So, your ability to practice hypnosis legally is most likely just fine. In most areas you can simply get a business license and start going. If you're learning hypnosis as a hobby, then you don't even need a business license.
Whether a person can actually learn and practice hypnosis for a living is another matter. It breaks down into three main categories...
1) Can you learn hypnosis well enough from my course?
2) Can you run a business?
3) Do you like helping people?
Let's take them one at a time...
1) Can you learn hypnosis well enough from my course?
Physically, you need to be able to see, hear and speak. One hard-of-hearing hypnotherapist I know uses headphones and microphones to overcome his hearing disability. I think a blind person could conceivably learn to do therapeutic hypnosis but a lot of what I teach relies on your being able to see the client. You can be in a wheelchair or otherwise physically disabled and still do hypnosis. You may want to pick up someone's arm or hand on occasion but even that is not absolutely necessary.
Basic induction procedures and direct suggestion techniques are simple enough so that a child can learn to do them. As you get into the more advanced techniques, more brainpower is needed. The average person with some dedication can learn anything in my course without much problem.
I get a lot of questions from people for whom English is a second language. I don't teach a lot of complicated verbal patterns so a basic knowledge of English is fine. If you can have conversations with people, understand them and are understood, you'll be OK.
Learning, of course, is a two way street. I don't learn for you, I teach. I can't guarantee that you'll learn because I can't guarantee that you'll do your part. If you do, you'll be fine.
2) Can you run a business (if you want to open a new practice)?
I'll give you lots of good information and resources about how to get clients. I'll be glad to share any experiences I've had with building my practice. But my course won't teach you how to run a business. There are some fundamental things you should ask yourself if you don't have any business experience.
Are you a self-starter?
Can you work without supervision and make decisions on your own?
Can you plan and organize?
Do you have the finances in place for a slow start or can you work part-time at first?
Do you have discipline enough to do things consistently?
Running a business is not brain surgery. It is not overly complex. It consists of things like planning and consistent effort over time. There is lots of help out there to get you started. You don't have to know everything when you start. You just have to be willing to learn.
In the final analysis, I can't answer the question of whether or not you can run your own business. That's up for you to decide.
3) Do you like helping people?
If you just want to learn hypnosis because you're fascinated with how the mind works then ignore this tip. If you wish to work with people on a consistent basis then a desire to help people is a must. If you like helping people, hypnotherapy can be an extremely rewarding career or hobby. If you don't like helping people it's a bad job.
I hope I've given you some insight on how to choose a course that's right for you. If you're interested in taking my course, feel free to contact me with any additional questions you might have beyond what is on the web site. If not, feel free to use the criteria I've laid out to help you choose a course that's right for you.
Good luck in your hypnosis training experience.
Sincerely,
Keith Livingston
About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Terms of Use
Hypnosis 101 Home study hypnosis course and live hypnosis certification seminars.