Can anybody learn to be a hypnotherapist?

Complementary therapy is very much on the rise these days, probably because it is viewed by many as more 'natural' than the man-made intervention of medication. One of the most natural of all is hypnotherapy; it does not rely on any substances and uses simply the power of the client's/patent's own mind to effect an alleviation of symptoms which can be astonishingly profound.

Currently, hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession (though some would call it an 'art') which means that literally anybody could just start up a practice, whether or not they had carried out any formal study. The fact is, though, that they would be unlikely to survive for very long in practice without the proper resources to do the job - in order to be successful, recommendation from satisfied 'customers' is an essential facet of the hypnotherapists survival.

So, how do you set about hypnotherapy training, how do you know you've got good training, and what should that course teach you?

Well, obviously, how to take people in and out of hypnosis with total safety and confidence. That part of the job is so easy that anybody can learn how to do it - as long as they can have a sensible conversation with another, they can learn to be a hypnotist. But a hypnotist is not a hypnotherapist. And that's where the quality of training is so important. In addition to hypnosis, a good course should:

• Teach you about the promotional side of the business

• Give you an understanding of the way the human psyche 'works'

• Show you how to decide on what style of therapy is needed

• Teach you what do to if something unexpected happens

• Confer the ability for registration with a reputable professional association

• Offer total post-graduate support

As you might imagine, there's rather more to it than that but any course worth its salt will be based around those criteria and because of this it should already be obvious that the 'do it in a weekend' course is going to fall far short of requirements.

A good course will comprise around 120 hours of practical and theory in the classroom (often spread over 10 months or so) and a further 450 hours of home study and assignments. Once this is completed and you have your hypnotherapy training diploma in your hand, there are ample opportunities for further study to take you to the very top of a totally fascinating tree.

Good luck!