Every day there are more media reports and research studies showing the efficacy of hypnosis as an adjunctive as well as primary treatment for many health issues. Hypnosis has also proven itself as a strong modality for behavior modification, self-development, performance improvement, coaching, stress reduction, and in many many more areas. Despite this growing clinical recognition of the value of hypnosis there are still very few professional training programs for Doctors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Nurses, Psychotherapists, and Counselors that provide any in-depth training in hypnosis. Most provide none at all.
The training for Hypnosis Practitioners varies widely and comes from a variety of sources. A few medical schools and psychology graduate 
programs offer training in hypnosis. The graduates from these programs typically focus on research and do not make up a significant proportion of practicing hypnosis professionals. Some small percentage of qualified mental health professionals, already versed in the practice of therapy, seek private training and incorporate hypnosis into their practice.
A large portion of the Hypnosis Practitioner profession is made up of people that have paid a membership organization and taken their trainings in the techniques of hypnosis. These programs are typically costly and virtually all of the fees go to the trainer and or member organization. The quality of these programs varies wildly from weekend training classes of 20 hours to more in-depth trainings lasting a few weeks or a month. Some cover the basics of the practice of therapy, legal and ethical concerns, and the dimensions of scope of practice, while others brush over this material in just a few hours.
With the practice of hypnosis being virtually unregulated in most jurisdictions, there are no established standards for training and most anyone that learns the basic techniques of inducing hypnosis can offer their services as a hypnotherapist.
Our mission at HPTI is to help lead the way to meaningful standards of education. We believe merely learning how to induce hypnosis and a few hypnosis techniques is not nearly adequate to call yourself a professional. An understanding of law and ethics, some education in basic anatomy, physiology, and psychology, some understanding of the health and mental health fields and how the scope of practice for hypnosis applies to them are all important factors for a Hypnosis Practitioner.
We also believe that, as a professional, a Hypnosis Practitioner should have a firm grasp of their craft. They should be challenged in a competetive academic program to not just have information presented but to have learning integrated and tested. To learn to present their gained knowledge intelligently and concisely. To prove themselves to be consumate professionals able to explain their interventions to others and able to understand the roles other professionals play.
It is intended that our students are fully prepared to be full partners in any treatment team, in any facility, and able to represent themselves as academically trained professionals in any community.
