Choosing a Therapist - 10 Questions to Ask

How long have they been in practice?

If a therapist is a member of a recognised organisation or register, the letters after their name should help (see below). It is a useful question to ask, as a few years experience will ensure that your therapist has plenty of experience with most problems that may present. If they are a new therapist, they should refer more complex cases on to a more experienced colleague

Are they recommended?

Recommendation is the best form of advertising. If you feel comfortable talking about the problem you wish to deal with, try asking around! It is quite likely that other hypnotherapists, and often doctors and dentists, will have heard of a good therapist. Why not ring another hypnotherapist, some miles away from the individual you wish to consult, and ask if they would recommend them?

Do they belong to a professional body?

It is not a requirement, but most hypnotherapists belong to one of these organisations:

• The National Council for Hypnotherapy
• The General Hypnotherapy Register
• The Hypnotherapy Association

If you telephone any of these organisations, they will be able to confirm that your therapist is a member and tell you what level of experience they have.

If so, for how long?

See above. If someone is a member of the Hypnotherapy Association, they must have been in practice at least two years to become an associate member. For members of the General Hypnotherapy Register, the letters SQHP mean that hypnotherapist has been in practice at least 5 years. The National Council for Hypnotherapy awards members as follows:

Licentiate: The letters MNCH(Lic) indicate "Licentiate" membership, and are awarded to practitioners who have fulfilled the NCH entry requirements regarding training and competence but who have not yet had sufficient clinical experience within the field of Hypnotherapy to be awarded Registered status.

Registered: The letters MNCH(Reg) indicate "Registered" membership and are awarded as above but to those practitioners who have subsequently had a minimum of 12 months clinical experience within the field.

Accredited: The letters MNCH(Acc) indicate "Accredited" membership and are awarded as above but to those practitioners who have had a minimum of 5 years clinical experience.

Ask for their CV

Not very likely, we know, but you can find out a lot from someone's CV! For example, if you had to choose between 2 hypnotherapists, who would you rather go to? Therapist 'A' works part time as she has young children. She was previously a health visitor & nurse and is studying for a counselling qualification. Therapist 'B' seems to have loads of qualifications, including a psychology degree. However, his CV reveals that all he has done since graduating is work in a call centre and sell advertising space for the local newspaper!

How much Continual Professional Development have they undertaken?

Although it is a requirement of some hypnotherapy registers, not all therapists keep up to date. You may wish to ask which issues they specialise in and whether they have undertaken further study. If all their CPD's were taken in the last year or so, they may be fairly inexperienced.

Are they supervised?

We believe this is such an important issue. Here is an extract from the practice agreement for members of the National Council for Hypnotherapy...

Trainee members may work with friends and relatives (subject to usual restrictions due to boundary issues) on a voluntary basis with the supervision of their course tutor, or a suitably qualified supervisor if preferred by either the student or the trainer. Any students who wish to charge for their services may do so only under the supervision of a suitably qualified supervisor. Again express permission must be received from the course tutor before a student may charge.

1. The Hypnotherapists of licentiate, and the first two years of registered level of membership, shall at all times be supervised by a practitioner suitably qualified in supervision.
2. All other members shall at all times be:
   • supervised AND/OR
   • an active member of a peer support group

Details of supervision arrangements shall be registered with the NCH, as a condition of membership, and updated promptly as any change occurs.

Feel free to ask your therapist about this important issue. Incidentally, Carole Wan is an accredited supervisor with the National Council for Hypnotherapy and, as such, is happy to confirm whether an individual is in supervision with her.

Doctor of Hypnosis?

There is no such thing. If someone uses the title 'Doctor' they should be a medical Doctor, such as a GP

What do those letters mean?

If you have read some of the above questions, we hope you are a little clearer! If you are uncertain about any other qualifications, ask!

Who did they train with?

LifeSolutions and The Academy of Clinical & Medical Hypnosis Ltd. have been running accredited training courses in hypnotherapy for several years. We are always happy to recommend our own students who fulfil all the above criteria for being both ethical & competent therapists. However, we readily acknowledge that we are not the only training school in hypnotherapy. We are often asked to recommend individual therapists and usually suggest that the enquirer contact the appropriate register, as pointed out above.