Maybe you’ve Googled recently, looking for the ‘best hypnotherapy course in the UK’ or the ‘best UK hypnotherapy training’ or something similar. The results that you may have received from Google might have been valid and useful, or they might not have. I know some people who’ve signed up to courses that were the ‘number one hypnotherapy training school’ on Google, yet, the course itself didn’t seem to deliver that ‘#1’ kind of quality.
Though Google is generally pretty helpful and great, when it comes to hypnotherapy training courses, it doesn’t always give you results that tally up with actual real-life reviews and testimonials from past students. You’re more likely to receive Google results based upon how good the webpage is, and how compliant they are with Google’s SEO instructions. Google ranking is more about compliance, keywords, content and website usability, as opposed to giving a 100% truthful reflection on the services being offered. That’s not to say that most of those courses at the top of Google aren’t good, because they might be. I mean, the Rory Z Hypnosis Academy is fairly high up there too, but sometimes less reputable hypnotherapy trainers and schools sneak up in the ranks of Google (or pay to). This means that people who don’t exactly know how Google works, and think that a high Google rank equals high quality hypnotherapy training, can end up signing up to a less-good course by mistake.
So, how do you really know which hypnotherapy course is ‘the best’? Obviously, anyone who’s selling anything will say that their product/service is the one that you need, but how do you, the customer, know who to believe? Well, to get the best hypnotherapy training for you, you have to define what ‘best’ means for you. This comes down to a few different factors, such as:
Who is teaching the hypnotherapy course?
Some courses are taught by people who’re highly qualified and experienced, others are taught by people who’re probably not experienced enough to even be running their own practice, let alone teaching others! Both of these types of trainers can be at the top of Google searches. So, check out the trainers properly before you sign up to any hypnotherapy course, because you need to be sure they’re the right trainers for you. What experience do they have? Are they actually seeing clients currently? Do they appear professional? Do they seem to know what they’re talking about (call and speak to the trainers personally and judge for yourself). Are they experts in their field? If your trainers have a high profile and have their own hypnosis books or published media articles (assuming they’re of good quality), generally that’s a good sign! If you can’t find them anywhere else on the internet, then maybe steer clear and look for a trainer with more ‘social proof’. You need to ensure you’re trained by the best and not just settle for any Tom, Dick or Harry calling themselves a hypnotherapy trainer, because on a course, you’ll only be able to learn what they’re able to teach!
How long is the hypnotherapy course?
Some hypnotherapy courses are short or ‘intensive’ and others are long. Some even take up to 3+ years (that might be a little overkill)! However, the duration of a course doesn’t necessarily define how good a course is, but obviously it needs to be long enough to cover most of what you’d need in order to practice hypnotherapy professionally. As well as the classroom training, it is a good idea that hypnotherapy students should engage in home-study alongside their course. In fact, the more studying that you do, the better an understanding of hypnotherapy you will have. Unfortunately, some courses don’t offer additional home-study materials as part of the course. As a hypnotherapy trainer, let me just say, home-study is definitely needed no matter what the duration of the training is!
Regarding course duration, a good quality intensive hypnotherapy course can be a fantastic place for you to start your hypnotherapy journey, as for some a longer course is too much of a commitment, and will often cost a lot more. Also, a course that takes too long can cause people to ‘lose momentum’ or can go into unnecessary ‘theoretical detail’, where a short and highly practical course is often a better option, as hypnotherapy is a practical subject. A good balance of time (not too long and not too short) can boost engagement and definitely helps provide the best hypnotherapy learning environment.
What should a hypnotherapy course cover?
Some hypnotherapy courses teach just ‘Ericksonian Hypnotherapy’, others provide ‘Cognitive Hypnotherapy Training’, ‘Hypno-Counselling’ or ‘Clinical Hypnosis Training’. These are just a few examples of ‘types of hypnotherapy training‘ out there. Creating a ‘niche’ is a way to make your product/service more specific in order to sell it to people. Though the previous 4 niches of hypnotherapy training are all valid, and a well trained hypnotherapist would use aspects from all of them, if you’re only learning one of them, you’re likely to be limited in your practice. Look for a hypnotherapy diploma course that will teach you as many different theories and approaches as possible, so that you have a tool in your hypnotic toolbox for any occasion.
Some clients will respond well to one ‘school of hypnotherapy’, others to another. For example, direct hypnotic suggestions can work for one smoker, whereas a more ‘cognitive’ approach might work better to stop another client from smoking. Conversational hypnosis can help to rid people of phobias, whereas other people with phobias can respond better to a more hypno-NLP approach, such as the ‘fast phobia cure’. When choosing your training, don’t limit yourself from the start by choosing a training that is too specific or limited. Remember, ‘hypnotherapy’ = hypnosis + various different psychotherapy techniques, and there are a lot of different psychotherapy techniques out there!
To put it another way, would you prefer to see a barber/hairdresser that could only do 1 type of haircut, or do you think you’d get a better outcome if they could do 15 haircuts (and had an idea about even more besides)? I know which I’d choose…
What is the hypnotherapy training actually like?
Are you going to be sat in a classroom just listening to lectures? Are there going to be demonstrations of techniques? Do you get the opportunity to interact and ask your own questions or participate in discussions? Do you get to work in various sized groups and individually throughout the course? Do you get individual 1-on-1 feedback from your tutor? Are there extensive course notes? What about any supplementary training materials (such as books and online videos)? Do you have ongoing support throughout the course from your tutor? Is mentoring available after the course is over, so you can continue to grow and develop as a therapist?
All of the points I’ve just mentioned should be present in a high quality hypnotherapy diploma course. If they’re not, you might want to ask why they’re not!
What is the cost in comparison to other courses?
Managing your money and getting the best deal is smart. Paying too much for something that delivers less is not smart. Be aware that sometimes you get what you pay for, but other times you can get much less. Also, some courses are massively overpriced. If a course is £3,000… £5,000… £7,000+ find out why they cost so much in comparison to others, and yes, there are some courses out there that cost that much! Conversely, if you sign up to a course because it’s super cheap, consider why it’s super cheap. Decent quality hypnotherapy training often won’t be cheap. However, very rarely you might find a generous hypnosis trainer who is sharing a lot top-quality content for a fraction of the price of other courses. This is especially true with online hypnotherapy training, and our own online training!
If you are shopping around, course cost can be a minefield, so, ask questions and do your research. By asking questions, you will know exactly what you’re going to get for your investment, and you will know exactly how much of an investment it will be in order to complete the full training. Then, once you have that information, you can compare it with other hypnotherapy training options that you like the look of, and choose the best fit for you. For more information on course costs, check out our blog on the topic.
What hypnotherapy qualification do you get?
There are many different types of qualification that you could get for hypnotherapy, however as hypnotherapy (and hypnotherapy training) is unregulated in the UK, you’re better off looking at what skills and experience you leave a course with, rather than what your certificate says on it. Whether it’s a ‘certificate’, a ‘diploma’, a ‘degree’, a ‘clinical diploma’ a ‘super mega ultra diploma’, or whatever title the trainer has chosen, in reality, that doesn’t matter! What matters much more, is what you can actually do with the information you’ve learned on the course.
That said, it’s obviously nice to have a certificate to confirm that you’ve undertaken your studies and passed your exams. Also, it’s something that clients might look for when they come into your office, but really, your certificate is only worth as much as the quality of your training. Some ultra-budget online hypnotherapy courses, for instance, will send you your certificates along with your course materials. You don’t even need to study the material in order to get the certificate, which makes it a completely worthless piece of paper! That’s exactly the opposite to our own online hypnotherapy certificate, which you only receive once you have successfully completed the entire course and passed your exam!
Some courses, even ones that cost thousands of pounds, will give students a certificate just for attending, no exam required. Again, you’ve got to think in terms of whether that piece of paper means anything to you. The best way to judge the true value of a certificate (unfortunately), is after you finish the course. If you feel you had to work hard in order to earn your certificate, then it’s probably worth its weight in gold. Ours certainly is!
Where is the hypnotherapy course held?
Obviously, the location of a hypnotherapy course is a factor. There are courses all over the UK and online too. With in-person training, some people make their decision of who to train with simply based on how close a course is to where they live. Unless you live in or near a large city, this is generally not the best idea. Imagine that you want to go and see a Broadway-style show or theatre performance. You could go and see whatever’s happening in your local theatre. However, it’s likely that there will be less to choose from, and what is there may not be quite what you are looking for. It also might be lower quality and ‘low budget’ than what you would find in a city, simply because less people will attend it due to the location. However, if you were to travel to a city, you’d have many more shows to choose from and the budget and quality of the performances will often reflect the fact that it’s worth investing your time, money and effort in travelling to see this show in particular.
People who are committed to finding the best hypnotherapy training will travel to get it, and it’s also why those who’re willing to settle for less, simply because it’s ‘closer to home’, will generally get lesser quality training! In the past couple of years, I have had people fly to England to learn hypnosis and hypnotherapy with me. Some have travelled from Europe, but others from as far as the USA, United Arab Emirates, and even Australia! So, if you need to travel across the country, or even to another country, in order to get the best training, the cost and effort is easily worth while, because good hypnotherapy training will set you up for life!
In the end, it is your choice
At the end of the day, only you can choose which hypnotherapy trainer you want to study with, so it’s important that you do your research. If someone is on Google stating they’re the ‘best hypnotherapy training school’ or that they’re offering the ‘best hypnotherapy course in the UK’, don’t just take them at face value. Make sure they can prove it! And if you’d like to contact me directly to chat about learning hypnotherapy with the Rory Z Hypnosis Academy, get in touch, because I’m always happy to help!
