Hypnotherapist Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Hypnotherapist

Hours

Variable
Starting salary

Variable

As a hypnotherapist, you would aim to access the deeper parts of people’s minds to help them overcome a wide range of psychological and physical conditions. If you've got good listening skills and can build rapport with people, you could be suited to this job.

To be good at this job you would also need to be understanding and non-judgemental. You would need to enjoy helping people with their problems, and have honesty and integrity.

You could prepare for this job by doing a course recognised by one of the professional bodies associated with hypnotherapy.

The work

As a hypnotherapist, the psychological and physical conditions you could help with include:

anxiety
panic attacks
phobias
sleep problems
lack of confidence
stress-related physical conditions
unwanted habits such as smoking or overeating.

You would bring about a state of deep relaxation in your clients, and then make suggestions to their subconscious mind to help them alter negative patterns of behaviour and thinking. Some people may need several sessions for the treatment to be successful.

Your work would involve:

setting up an initial consultation with your client
discussing their medical and social history
recommending a course of treatment
inducing a hypnotic trance
making positive suggestions and statements.

You might choose to combine hypnotherapy with other types of psychotherapy and counselling techniques.

Hours

Most hypnotherapists are self-employed and run their own practices. This means that you could choose your own working hours, although you would often provide evening and weekend appointments to suit your clients.

You could work from your own home, or from rooms in a shared practice, private hospital or clinic. You may also practise hypnotherapy in some NHS hospitals.

Income

As a self-employed hypnotherapist, income depends on the hours you work and the number of clients you see. You would typically charge an hourly rate of anything between £40 and £100.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

To prepare for work as a hypnotherapist, you can take a qualification recognised by one of the professional bodies associated with hypnotherapy, such as:

the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH)
the Hypnotherapy Society
the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC), through the General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR).

Check each organisation’s website for more information.

Many courses approved by the professional associations, such as the NCH Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD), involve a series of practical weekend workshops spread over a few months, plus self-study and written assignments.

You will not usually need qualifications to get on to most hypnotherapy training courses, although it may be useful to have a background in healthcare or counselling.

Some hypnotherapy courses are at postgraduate level and aimed at qualified psychologists or healthcare professionals, and require a relevant degree or professional qualification.

Contact course providers for exact entry requirements.

Training and development

Joining an association should prove that you are competent to practise, which should help your career. Each association has its own eligibility rules for joining, but in general you will need a recognised hypnotherapy qualification and a certain amount of supervised practice. See the NCH, GHR and Hypnotherapy Society websites for full details.

You will need to keep your skills and knowledge up to date throughout your career, for example by researching new techniques, and attending conferences and short courses.

Voluntary Self-Regulation

The aim of the CNHC is to protect the public by registering practitioners, setting standards for safe practice and providing a means of redress if things go wrong.

To register, your profession must be a member of the CNHC (this is being rolled out in stages). If you are interested in joining, you should check with your professional body and on the CNHC website regularly for updates.

Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

Skills and knowledge

To be a hypnotherapist you should have:

the ability to build trust and rapport with patients
good listening and communication skills
maturity and emotional stability
understanding and sensitivity
a non-judgemental attitude
the desire to understand and help people with their problems
a calm and professional manner
honesty and integrity.

More information

National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) (Opens new window)
PO Box 89
York
YO43 4WL
Tel: 0845 544 0788
www.hypnotherapists.org.uk

Skills for Health (Opens new window)
Goldsmiths House
Broad Plain
Bristol
BS2 0JP
Tel: 0117 922 1155
www.skillsforhealth.org.uk

General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR) (Opens new window)
PO Box 204
Lymington
SO41 6WP
Tel: 01590 683770
www.general-hypnotherapy-register.com

Hypnotherapy Society (Opens new window)
Tel: 0870 850 3387
www.hypnotherapysociety.com

British Society of Clinical Hypnosis (Opens new window)
Thomas Connelly
Organisation Secretary
01262 403 103
sec@bsch.org.uk
www.bsch.org.uk

Opportunities

You would usually be self-employed and run your own practice. Interest in hypnotherapy is growing, due to an increasing volume of referrals from GPs and private health insurers.

There are a few opportunities within the NHS but these are mainly for qualified medical practitioners.

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The health sector is represented by Skills for Health Sector Skills Council, which comprises three sub‐sectors:

National Health Service (NHS)
Independent Healthcare Sector (such as private and charitable healthcare providers)
Third Sector (healthcare) (such as small local community and voluntary groups, registered charities, foundations, trusts, social enterprises and co‐operatives)

The health sector is made up of hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, dental practices, the ambulance service, nursing homes, residential care homes, complementary medicine and a huge range of other health related activities, from sight tests in opticians to research in medical laboratories. Most people in the health sector work in the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS), which includes:

primary care (organisations which the public goes to first) – Doctors/General Practitioners (GPs), NHS Walk in Centres, NHS Direct, Out of Hours Emergency Care
secondary care (organisations which the public are referred onto) – Ambulance Trusts, NHS Trusts/hospitals, NHS Foundation Trusts/hospitals, Mental Health Trusts, Care Trusts (provide joint health and social care activities)

NHS policy in England is directed from the centre by the Department of Health. Local organisations, known as Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), are in charge of providing and commissioning services, controlling the majority of the budget. PCTs are overseen by 10 regional organisations called Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs).

The independent sector includes companies and charities that offer hospital and specialist services usually after referral from a doctor. Operations and other work are carried out in private hospitals, independent treatment centres, mental health units and hospices.

Key facts:

The health sector is the largest employer in the UK, representing 5.5% of the working age population of the UK and 7.3% of the working age population that are currently in employment.
It is estimated that the sector employs over 2 million people, including:
- over 1.5 million people in the NHS (72%)
- over 0.5 million people in the Independent Healthcare sector (26%)
- almost 40,000 in the voluntary sector (2%)
56% of the workforce has a higher education qualification (or equivalent).
The age profile for the sector shows an older than average workforce, which is due in part to the fact that it takes some professions a long time to train and can mean that people enter the sector later.

There is a varied list of jobs in the sector ranging from a diverse number of clinical roles, to support and infrastructure staff, for instance: Allied Health Professionals (AHPs); Ambulance Staff; Dental Staff; Doctors/Medical staff; Nursing staff; Midwifery Staff; Healthcare Scientists; Health Informatics Staff; Management; Wider Healthcare Team; Complementary Therapists.

National and regional data

High proportions of the health sector workforce are located in:

London
South East
North West

East Midlands

The health sector employs 131,515 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
The East Midlands employs 8% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 29% of all employment across the sector or 41,200 employees.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

East of England

The health sector employs 164,720 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
The East of England employs 9.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 52,300 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 14% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 103,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

London

The health sector employs over 249,524 people, which accounts for 6% of all the employment in the region.
London employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 33% of all employment across the sector or 78,500 employees.
Vacancies in health and social work account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 146,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

North East

The health sector employs 89,201 people, which accounts for 8.7% of all employment in the region.
The North East employs 5.3 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 23,800 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be almost 46,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

North West

The health sector employs 251,960 people, which accounts for 8% of all employment in the region.
The North West employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

South East

The health sector employs 264,071 people, which accounts for 7.1% of all employment in the region.
The South East employs 15.7% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 164,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

South West

The health sector employs 182,187 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
The South West employs 10.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 60,700 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 105,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

West Midlands

The health sector employs 168,746 people, which accounts for 7.2% of all employment in the region.
The West Midlands employs 10% of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 43,000 employees.
Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 9% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 108,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

Yorkshire and the Humber

The health sector employs 182,848 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
Yorkshire and the Humber employ 10.9 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
The private sector accounts for 24% of the total health care workforce or 42,000 employees.
Vacancies in health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 97,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.

Northern Ireland