career in hypnotherapy
A career in Hypno-CBT®
Start a new career as a hypnotherapist
Train in Hypno-CBT®, a science-informed approach that brings together cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness and modern hypnosis. The Diploma programme runs online and is typically completed within 12 months, so you can train around your current job.
Thinking about becoming a therapist?
Our students come from different backgrounds. Some have spent years in teaching, healthcare or business but want to work with something that aligns with their values of helping people. Others have been the person friends turn to for years and want proper training to help people well.
If you’re weighing it up, you probably have questions like these:
- Can I become a therapist without a psychology degree?
- How long will it take, and can I keep working while I train?
- Can I make a living from private practice?
- Is hypnosis credible, or is it all hype?
We answer each of them below.
What a Hypno-CBT® therapist does
Hypno-CBT® therapists work with clients one to one, in person or online, usually over a short series of sessions. Each session combines practical cognitive behavioural methods with evidence-based hypnosis, which helps clients rehearse new ways of thinking and responding.
Graduates commonly help clients with:
- anxiety and stress
- habits and behaviour change
- sleep
- chronic pain and IBS
- confidence and performance, including sport
- workplace wellbeing
Most graduates run their own private practice and set their own hours and fees. Others add Hypno-CBT® to existing work in coaching, healthcare or wellbeing. Your training covers scope of practice in detail, so you’ll know what you’re trained to work with and when to refer a client elsewhere.
What about hypnosis? Here’s what the research says
Hypnosis has a mixed reputation, mostly thanks to stage shows and films. In psychology it’s a serious research subject, studied in university labs including Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and UCL, because it shows how attention, expectation and imagination shape what we feel and do.
In Hypno-CBT®, hypnosis means using focused attention, expectation and imagination on purpose to help a client practise new skills. Nobody swings a watch, and clients stay aware and in control throughout. We teach a model with no reliance on “trance” or a hidden subconscious, because the research doesn’t support either idea.
Studies that compare CBT on its own with CBT combined with hypnosis have found that, on average, adding hypnosis improves results.
How to get started
Join the free webinar or book a call
Spend two hours with Mark R. Davis hearing how the training works, what the research shows and what practice looks like, or talk your situation through with a Course Advisor.
Enrol
Choose how you’d like to pay and get access to the programme.
Train and qualify
Work through the Diploma online, with live practice, tutoring and assessed client work.
Start your practice
Apply for a listing in the Hypno-CBT® Directory and keep learning with our graduate community.
Can you make a living from it?
Most hypnotherapists in the UK are self-employed, so your income depends on your fees, the hours you choose to work and how you market your practice. Many people start part time alongside their current job and build up from there. You can project your approximate income with this calculator:
From a different career to a practice of her own
Anne Glennie worked as a literacy specialist in Stornoway, with no background in psychology, before she trained in Hypno-CBT®. She now runs an online practice supporting people with chronic pain.
Already studying or working in psychology?
About a third of the people who join our webinars already work as therapists, psychologists, CBT practitioners or coaches. If you have a psychology degree or you’re training to become a psychologist, our psychologists’ page explains how Hypno-CBT® fits with your qualification and where it can take you.
FAQs
No. Many of our graduates came from unrelated careers.
Most students complete it within 12 months. You can take longer if you need to.
Yes. The programme is online and you choose a training format that fits your schedule.
Current fees and payment options are on our Fees & booking page.
Hypnotherapy has no statutory regulation in the UK, so the quality of training varies a lot. That’s why it’s worth checking what any course is based on, who sets its standards and how it’s assessed.
The Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, an NCFE Customised Qualification.
No. Titles such as clinical psychologist and counselling psychologist are protected by law and need HCPC registration. You’ll practise as a Hypno-CBT® therapist, or cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist.
It’s built on cognitive behavioural therapy and current research into attention, expectation and learning. We don’t teach trance-based or regression methods, and every technique on the programme is chosen for its evidence base.
See if it’s right for you
The best next step is the free webinar. You’ll get a clear picture of the training and the work, and you can ask Mark anything.
Ready to start your Hypno-CBT® journey?
Book a discovery call with our admissions team and find the right pathway for you.