Call me old fashioned, but I fail to see how people who’ve done just 3 DAYS of a course with Tad James can seriously call themselves a qualified hypnotherapist. It appals me that people think themselves ready to see clients after the most shallow and basic of training which seems best suited for self-hypnosis and not client work.
Don’t get me wrong. He’s good at what he does. He just didn’t learn it in 24 accrued hours. What he’s really good is marketing. He wants to sell his product and have people sign up for his courses, and they do. Doesn’t give them a professional qualification. Never will.
I did a year training on a well-structured course which contained assignments, practical assessments and 40 hours of clinical practice before I could get my Cert IV Certificate and it’s a nationally recognised qualification. I then went on to do my Diploma which is another year of advanced training and each one cost over $7k.
Tad James’ website makes it sound like you can learn it all and be ready to set up shop after just 3 days – which you can’t. It’s like someone thinking they can work as a surgeon in a hospital after doing a first aid course. The skills take time to learn and feedback is essential to best practice.
I sincerely doubt that Tad (or any of his staff) are going to teach about micro signals to identify when you’ve triggered an issue in your client, let alone how to handle it to not just manage the crisis but work with it to a good outcome.
His website talks about Time Line Therapy and NLP. Well, great. Both are very helpful tools to have in your kit. However, I’ve found Ego State Therapy to be massively more effective and even woven both Time Line and Ego State into a combination of my own making to achieve a better resolution for my client.
And what happens when your client is resistant to classic hypnosis? What is the recommended solution for that according to Tad? To address such things, you need a vast array of techniques to fall back on and experience in using them in order to move seamlessly through your session. You may be paddling like crazy underneath the waterline, but the therapist must always remain calm and in control above it.
And what about confidentiality and ethics? What training is there in these things? Or are they too busy teaching just 2 techniques to touch on such a crucial element? What if a client is disclosing something deeply personal such as child sexual abuse? What are your legal obligations? What is the best form of therapy to address it?
And how old should a client be before you agree to work with them? If they’re underage and want help with focus to study, what are your legal requirements? Is it appropriate to work with a child the way you would an adult? What are the boundaries you need to set in place and ensure are observed to make the session safe for everyone?
It seems to the height of hubris for people to seriously think that because they did a paltry 3-day course, that they are ethically and legally qualified to hang out a shingle. In my opinion, they are without a doubt, dangerous.
It’s all very well to suggest that you tell someone they can float high in the sky above their time line until they find the first time the issue occurred. And if you didn’t ask the right questions up front, you could be sending them into a panic attack if they have a fear of heights.
And isn’t it lovely that in most cases, when a client abreacts, it is recommended to tell them to float above the feeling so they can observe it but not be touched by it. Marvelous when you’re telling them to float was what set it off in the first place. How do you respond when you’re in a bad situation that you created and you have to fix on the fly?
Is there any guidance offered about identifying a medical history to determine if the client may have issues you need to deal with during a session such as shortness of breath? And what if your client is on anti-depressants or anti-psychotics and has an unexpected reaction? If you don’t know to ask all that stuff up front BEFORE you start induction, you could be asking for a massive amount of trouble and it’ll be the client that wears it.
I also find myself wondering if there is any mention of memberships to industry Associations or the need for Liability Insurance. In three days, with a huge amount to cover, I doubt it. Would any Association or Insurer agree to cover anyone with such limited training? I doubt that also.
If you don’t understand the triggers and reasons behind a pathology, how can you hope to address it, let alone resolve it? Would you seriously let someone work on a wound you have with a scalpel when they’re not a doctor and have no comprehensive and legally recognised training? I wouldn’t. Not in a pink fit.
And yet, there are those who have the hubris to give themselves the ‘el cheapo’ training and think they’re ready to mess with people’s mental and emotional wellbeing. I find that highly disturbing at best and terrifying at worst.
If you’re that serious about being a hypnotherapist, forget the quick fix cheap courses and invest in some bona fide training that will give you a proper qualification and one which is reputable. Sure, it costs more, but if that’s your goal, why not give yourself the best opportunity for success?
Save the 3-day courses for learning a hobby. When you are trying to learn a whole occupation, that takes time and ongoing effort. Even when you accept a new job, there’s a training period and 3-month probation to see how you do before they agree to keep you, and nobody thinks that’s stupid or unreasonable.
If it’s fine for all other occupations, why should it be any different for this? Training. Effort. Documented clinical hours. Written assignments and practical exams. These things matter.
And nobody gets all that in just 3 days. Ever.
PepSpill 