Hypnotherapists

Previous health care or therapy experience will be useful for aspiring hypnotherapists.

Hypnotherapists should have a broad knowledge of health problems and how hypnosis might be used to deal with them effectively. They must be dedicated to helping their patients handle difficult emotional issues, such as anorexia, anxiety, and frustration. They should be calm, patient individuals who can put their patients at ease; and they should be good listeners as well as effective communicators.

In order to succeed as a hypnotherapist, you should be able to inspire trust in others. Because you will be asking clients to let their guards down and become open to a higher level of suggestibility, they will need to feel very comfortable with you. A calm, soothing personality, and a voice to match, will help you ease clients into a hypnotic state. You will also need to be able to interact well with a variety of people and have a true interest in helping them. Because hypnotherapy works differently for each person, you should be creative and patient in your approach to your clients and their needs.

Finally, hypnotherapists need high moral and ethical standards. People who seek out hypnotherapy to help overcome a particular obstacle are often very vulnerable, either professionally or personally. A high-profile government leader, for instance, may look to hypnotherapy to help him overcome an addiction to prescription painkillers. Practitioners of hypnotherapy must be sensitive to their clients' needs and wishes and take privacy issues very seriously.