In the UK, hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession, meaning that anyone can call themselves a hypnotherapist. For your safety, ethical practice and effective treatment, it is therefore vital that you check out your therapist before working with them. You should be looking for someone who has:

• Recognised qualifications endorsed by at least one professional body that adheres to a code of ethics and has a complaints procedure, giving you a significant layer of safety and assurance. Proper training and certification means that your therapist will be able to tailor their approach to your specific needs, safely and effectively.
• Appropriate insurance that covers them to practise the disciplines or treatments they offer.
• A commitment to learning and staying current in their field, engaging in regular supervision and continuous professional development. Most professional bodies require this and have done the due diligence for you.
• Expertise and experience. Whilst everyone has to start somewhere, a therapist who has undertaken in-depth training will have engaged in many hours of real-world practice in order to achieve their qualifications. Don’t be afraid to ask or to check out the training course(s) that they have completed.

Prior to becoming a hypnotherapist, I trained and qualified as a life coach with Pure Coaching Academy. I then went on to train in NLP (neuro linguistic programming) with Achieve Your Greatness Ltd, ultimately becoming a certified NLP Master Practitioner.

For me, this sparked an even greater interest in the neuroscience behind our thoughts, feelings and behaviours and, perhaps more importantly, how we can induce effective change in ourselves and others. That being the case, I went on to train and qualify as a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist with the Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training (CPHT) school.

This resulted in two qualifications being awarded, the second of which is validated and accredited by an organisation that is nationally recognised and external to CPHT:

Diploma Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (DSFH) from the Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training (CPHT)

Hypnotherapy in Practice Diploma (HPD) from the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH)

The HPD is a Level 4 qualification, which is equivalent to the first year of a university degree or a Higher National Certificate (HNC). It is considered to be a gold standard in hypnotherapy training.

Additionally, I am listed with the following organisations, all of whom have done due diligence in checking my qualifications, insurance, supervision and continuous professional development:

• AfSFH (Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy) – professional membership
• NCH (National Council for Hypnotherapy) – professional membership
• CNHC (Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council) – registered
• Hypnotherapy Directory – registered
• GHR (General Hypnotherapy Register) – registered
• ANLP (Association for NLP) – professional membership – NLP Master Practitioner, Professional Standard: GOLD

Finally, I am Enhanced DBS checked, registered with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) and fully insured.