Source
r/hypnosis•
0van

Is it worth going through the NGH?

I have been studying hypnosis privately for some time now, and I'm debating whether or not to take the plunge and begin discussing with the NGH about certification. My hypnotism is far from perfect, but I have some basics down and would like to expand my techniques. I feel like training from a certified teacher may help this and even if I don't agree with everything the teacher says, I may be able to divine more uses I hadn't thought or even dreamed of before.

For those wondering, my style is very basic and direct, and mainly journey's through introspection and the subconscious with occasional PHS's, though those have shown only minor efficacy (then again, I am still working on that a lot...haven't had much practice).

Opinions? Advice? Questions? Thank you for your time.

Posted Jul 22, 2012, 4:05 AM UTC

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technotaoist•

You've only asked half of a question. Is it worth it for what? What is your final goal?

Honestly, certification is a bit of BS. There is no governing body regarding hypnosis. Organizations like the NGH effectively answer to nobody but themselves.

If your goal is just to expand your techniques, buy some books, and read. It'll cost a crap ton less than getting a "certified" teacher. Most "certified" teachers are skilled hypnotists, but poor teachers.

Practice will make you better. Start small, and stay safe. Grow slowly. Or not. In about 10 hours I could teach anyone interested enough to do basic hypnotherapy and stage shows. They wouldn't be very good, but their subjects won't really notice or care.

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0vanOP•

My ultimate goal is as of yet undecided.

I am intending to use hypnosis for therapeutic purposes, though learning some stage hypnosis would be nice as well.

I'm trying to perfect the direct approach before focusing on mastery of the indirect approach of Milton Erickson.

As for the growing, I've advanced from where I began (made a large error early on so I've been cautious since). But I fear my caution is limiting my growth and I would appreciate some instruction from someone more experienced than myself.

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technotaoist•

Hypnosis is a broad topic, and without a goal you will accomplish very little, becoming familiar with a lot, but skilled at almost nothing.

Here's my thoughts, which are surely unpopular in this subreddit.

Therapeutic hypnosis can be a great thing. It's unfortunate that it is unregulated, and requires no other training than knowing about hypnosis. Most health care professionals I've met don't belong in the industry. This is ten times more true for "hypno-therapists". Armed with 10-20 hours of training, and typically no understanding of psychology or counselling, they decide that they're capable of helping people.

Stage hypnosis is an abomination. Publicly embarrassing cooperative people for money is just tacky, tacky, tacky.

Caution is keeping you from moving too slowly? Fucking right that it should. Hypnosis is poorly understood. An instructor will tell you that everything is fine, hypnosis is safe, please give me your money and I'll make you a better hypnotist.

Learning slowly will give you time to digest what you've learned. That will make you a better hypnotist, not listening to what someone else has figured out.

Ask yourself "why" all of the time. Why do you want to master indirect induction? Why are some people easier to hypnotize than others? Why am I interested I hypnosis? Why does rapid induction work? Why am I having trouble brining this person out? Why, if hypnosis is like (x hours of) restful sleep can we not substitute it for sleep?

Asking these questions and thinking about the answers will teach you more than someone who really just wants your money. It will also teach you about the nature of hypnosis, and yourself. It will teach you to ask better questions, which in turn will teach you to ask better questions. These questions will make you better, because you will have thought about and understand the underlying principles, and not been told them.

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le_sam124•

If you're interested in Erickson (amazing man), if you haven't already, explore some NLP stuff online. Bandler is self-proclaimed king, but there is plenty of interesting stuff from Ernest Rossi, Jeff Zeig, Robert Dilts, etc. Bandler has really good models, but a lot of people tend to be turned off by his... Well, if you've ever watched any of his stuff, you'd know. Try things out, see how they feel for you. If it's something you're excited or interested in, it might be a good fit.

NLP practitioner is a good field to try, with a bit more of an academic mind than the NGH.

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ThePrescottHypnotist•

I have a NGH Certificate on my wall in the office. And I make sure that every client that enters the office sees it. In fact, I have a link to in on my website so that people can see it before they come to the office.

IT does a great deal of establishing me as an expert -- and yes, this is very important when meeting with clients that find me online. While most of the clients I work with are referrals, the certificate suggests that I'm very knowledgeable to people who don't know of me from word of mouth.

Originally I didn't want to get a certificate, but the certificate will aid you in the authority strategy portion of rapport with a client. This is very, very important. You will not hypnotise anyone with whom you haven't established rapport with -- if they don't like you or trust you, it isn't going to happen.

I want to help people help themselves with hypnosis. so I use every possible tool in my arsenal to convince them to trust in the power of their minds, and how they can make any change they desire. If seeing that certificate helps them to believe that they will make the change, that's all the better for their end result.

When they leave, they don't remember the certificate, and they will not give a shit about a certificate, they will only remember that they are over their issue and that's what makes me happy, and it's what makes me money. The certificate is like a way to suggest that they can believe what I'm saying to them before the change happens. Plus it's damn sexy to look at. It's very, very legit.

Now, when I'm doing hypnosis away from the office, I dont have a certificate to show, but then again, I've been invited or referred to the person or organization, so THAT's my certification.

http://instagr.am/p/RlnAfWJB1d/ - this is how mine is placed in the office.

2
xekul•

I think it's important to have some kind of live instruction, but the NGH curriculum is somewhat antiquated and the qualifications to become an instructor are not high (one year of practice, and a one-week course, which is mostly a rehash of the basic NGH training). That said, there are good NGH instructors out there--you just have to interview your instructor and ask a lot of questions before signing up for a course.

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0vanOP•

Thnx for the tip. Given how becoming a "certified" hypnotherapist only takes 100 hours of practice, I do find it a bit dubious and wasn't sure of the teaching qualifications. I'll talk to a few people in my local areas before signing up with one of them.

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totallygotthis•

The problem with NGH certification is that there is no requirement to actually practice hypnosis. Nothing analogous to doing clinicals in the medical field. If you really want to learn how to be a good hypnotist, find someone who will take you on as an apprentice. The NGH can be a good way to find someone willing to do this, but the certification itself is a bullshit title.

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0vanOP•

A title that looks good on a business card I suppose. A seemingly official office is probably used to make hypnosis seem more acceptable to the common man who knows no more about it than what he has seen in movies.

Thnx for the reply, and i like your username.

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