How to Become a Medical Hypnotist

Hypnotherapy -- from the Greek word "hypnos," meaning "to sleep" -- uses exercises to put a patient into a trance-like state. This altered state of consciousness produces deep relaxation for the person undergoing hypnotherapy. A medical hypnotherapist can use hypnotherapy to help someone lose weight, stop smoking, overcome phobias, manage stress or reduce pain and to provide relief for many other health conditions. Becoming a licensed medical hypnotist requires extensive training and education.

Instructions

• 1

  Continue your education beyond a four-year college degree. You must obtain at least a graduate-level degree in any academic discipline from an accredited educational institution before you are eligible for certification by the National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists (NBCCH). Licensed medical hypnotists typically practice as physicians, chiropractors, mental health counselors, addiction or substance abuse counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, or pastoral counselors.

• 2

  Learn more about medical hypnotherapy by working as an intern with a licensed hypnotist while working toward your degree. Ask your school's academic adviser to help you find an appropriate physician or psychologist to work with in your area.

• 3

  Meet the additional training requirements. To be certified by the NBCCH, you must acquire at least 60 hours or more of additional classroom instruction on hypnotherapy beyond a graduate degree, including supervised practice. If your university doesn't offer hypnotherapy courses, you can find additional training programs in nearly every state. The International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA) offers training courses in hypnosis worldwide, many which are state approved. The IMDHA website has a comprehensive list of approved schools offering training courses.

• 4

  Become licensed in the state where you want to practice. Some mental health specialties may not require state licensing. If your state doesn't require a license for your desired profession, you may request a substitution for an acceptable national certification to practice hypnotherapy in your state. The American Psychotherapy and Medical Hypnosis Association (APMHA) recommends that those with questions about state certification contact their state attorney general's office.

• 5

  Apply for NBCCH certification. Applicants are eligible to apply for this national certification before all of the necessary training is completed, if they have completed at least 30 hours of clinical hypnotherapy training and all other current requirements. You can request an application packet at the NBCCH website.