What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a technique that uses trance induction, relaxation and suggestion to help potentiate client outcomes. It is commonly used in conjunction with counselling/talk therapy and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) sessions to enhance the efficacy of treatment for a range of concerns from weight and pain management, to anxiety, depression or phobias. It's been around for centuries, but it's only recently become more widely used in combination/complementary to mainstream healthcare.

The technique was first used as a medical treatment by Professor James Braid in 1843 when he treated over 500 patients experiencing anxiety disorders with hypnotic regression techniques. The word hypnosis can be broken down into the ancient Greek word 'hypnos', meaning 'sleep', and the Latin word 'osis', meaning 'condition' and effectively translates to the inducement of sleep.

The process involves relaxing the body and mind by putting the client into an altered state through guided imagery or guided relaxation exercises. This allows the unconscious mind to work on healing whatever problems the client may be facing without conscious interference from themselves or others.

The Different Types of Hypnotherapy Available

 There are several types of hypnotherapy available, including:

• Traditional Hypnotherapy – a technique in which the therapist will sit with you and guide you through a series of exercises. These might include visualisations or role-play, for example. It's used to help you relax and achieve a state of light trance so that your mind can work on healing itself.
• Past Life Regression Hypnotherapy – the use of hypnosis to recover memories from past lives. This can be an effective way to deal with issues in your present life that are rooted in a previous incarnation.
• Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy (SFT) – is used to help solve problems by looking at them from different perspectives rather than focusing on the issue itself.
• Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH) – differs from other hypnosis techniques, as it emphasises traditional psychological factors to effecting change (such as suggestion, expectation and imagination) as opposed to inducing hypnotic trance states. CBH helps clients identify negative thoughts and beliefs about themselves and empowers the client with skills to positively transform them. After all, the mind is a powerful thing!

Benefits of Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy can help with various issues, including getting rid of bad habits. If you're trying to quit smoking and can't seem to stop, hypnotherapy might be able to help with that. By working on the subconscious mind to identify, understand and transform deep rooted/conditioned behavioural patterns and characteristics, hypnotherapy has seen phenomenal success in behavioural and health conditions such as:

• Quitting Smoking
• Losing Weight
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Depression
• Past Trauma*

*When working with trauma, either as a practitioner or on the receiving end as a client, its important to ensure you, or your practitioner, is trauma informed to be able to adequately respond to the breadth and depth of emotions and reactions that can arise from trauma work.

How To Find a Hypnotherapist

Search the IICT Practitioner Directory to find a qualified Hypnotherapist to suit your needs. 

IICT is a professional membership body for complementary therapists working in over 1,100 modalities, in 35+ countries. IICT exists to establish credibility and integrity in the complementary therapy industry by ensuring all members meet minimum training requirements to be granted practitioner status for their various modalities.

Rest assured, an IICT approved Hypnotherapist has met a credible, global standard of training. All members are obliged to abide by the IICT Code of Ethics and Industry Regulations for professional practice.

The IICT Practitioner Directory can also help you find natural therapy practitioners from over 1,100 different modalities, within, but not limited to, the below categories.

• Yoga
• Spiritual
• Natural medicine
• Coaching
• Cognitive
• Counselling

Reasons to Pursue Hypnotherapy Professionally

Besides the readily available market, here are some reasons to pursue hypnotherapy as either a practitioner, or a client:

• Hypnotherapy is one of the most arguably the most effective and sought-after therapeutic models available today
• Hypnotherapy is a unique phenomenon that supports evidence-based care; a beacon of progress for holistic healthcare
• Hypnotherapy has growing global credibility in not only complementary therapy industries, but alongside mainstream health care as well
• Positive patient response to hypnotherapy treatment can provide professional satisfaction for you as a complementary therapy practitioner looking to bette the lives of others, but also can provide personal satisfaction if undertaking hypnotherapy as a client.

How To Become a Professional Hypnotherapist

Although Hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession, there are a range of accrediting bodies for professional standards. IICT ensures Hypnotherapy courses provided by approved Training Providers meet the current professional industry standards.

If you're looking to become an IICT approved Hypnotherapist, we encourage you to look to some of the below IICT Training Providers for approved courses.

• Academy of Hypnotic Science
• Academy of Therapeutic Hypnosis
• AusHealth College of Hypnotherapy
• Hypnotherapy Training Australia
• Wellness Empowerment & Training Institute

Join the Hypnotherapy Community

Hypnotherapy is a career based on compassion and understanding of others and self. As with any healing profession, a community of like-minded practitioners is always helpful to provide support, insight, and learning opportunities. As IICT Member, not only do you gain professional recognition for your practice and access to exclusive insurance rates, you also join one of the largest global communities for complementary therapists.

Contact our friendly Member Service Team to learn more about how we can help support your practice or join as a member today.