IHA or ICHP

anamcarame

Just wondering if anyone has any views on the above bodies. I would really love to train in this area but not too sure which body is better. I would love to hear from people with first hand experience of the two courses. All positive or negative information will be taken on board. Thanks.

hotspur

ICHP are hypnoanalysts which is a rather antiquated form of hypnotherapy. Also the fact that they call their hypnotherapy diploma a diploma in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy is a joke and an insult to those who train properly in psychotherapy. You get their members calling themselves psychotherapists which annoys me.

IHA are more cognitive behavioural in focus and there no nonsense with them.

The IHA don't strictly run a training course, but the hypnosis academy is run by their founder and leads to accreditation with them.

I should point out that I have an affiliation with IHA. But I chose to train with them for the reasons above.

anamcarame

Hotspur, thanks. This is exactly the kind of insight I need. Could you tell me anything else about it please. How can ICHP graduates be able to claim to be psychotherapists? Are IHA regulated? Is the qualification superior to ICHP? I want to be sure that which ever course I do wont be void in years to come.

hotspur

There is no statutory regulation of hypnotherapists in Ireland and there is no prospect of there being. So it is a self-regulated profession, but psychology has been too until the very present when a registration board is being set up, and the psychotherapy profession is also self-regulated although hopefully it will be statutorily regulated within the next couple of years.

The ICHP and the IHA are the main 2 organisations in Ireland which accredit and regulate hypnotherapists, but there are a bunch of smaller ones too. ICHP has the most members it seems. Both have affiliations with UK accrediting organisations, but here's the thing - hypnotherapy is infested with accrediting organisations. Mostly they all train, give out diplomas etc.

Organisations in this hypnotherapy are always setting up other organisations to look like independent accrediting ones which will then accredit the original one etc. It's a joke tbh.

The whole thing mostly emanates from the fact that hypnotherapy is not taught in respectable 3rd level educational institutions and so they have to make up their own educational credentials. Nonsense qualifications abound in the area, and the head of ICHP has his doctorate from a diploma mill.

What I'm saying is, in entering hypnotherapy I wouldn't worry about qualifications being legitimate.

If you go through training by ICHP or IHA you will find yourself equipped with the knowledge to do hypnotherapy, such as it is. The difference, as I mentioned, is that ICHP is more psychoanalytically focused in the type of hypnotherapy that it teaches. If you are interested in that type of hypnotherapy then ICHP would be a better fit for you, if not then IHA would.

I don't think that hypnotherapy courses are of sufficient training depth, have sufficient (any) screening of students, or have any sufficient (any) personal development components in order to have their graduates engaging in the kind of thing that hypnoanalytic hypnotherapists engage in. Just look at what people in train in psychoanalysis have to go through in order to qualify with their years of training and personal analysis, hypnotherapists from the ICHP get their qualification in 5 or 6 weekends.

ICHP seem to have 2 courses and their clinical hypnotherapy one is more similar to the IHA one.

Ultimately it doesn't matter a huge deal which one you pick. I have issues with the ethical claiming of training psychotherapy in 5 weeks, the type of therapy they encourage para-professionals trained for 10-12 days to engage in etc. with the ICHP. I personally wouldn't want to be associated with the ICHP hypnotherapists who claim to be psychotherapists.

But as I said I have an affiliation with IHA. My best advice in navigating the world of hypnotherapy is go with the ones who spout the least amount of rubbish, because there's a whole lot of that around the field.

Pebbles68

The information posted about the ICHP is totally wrong and very misleading. After going to hypnotherapy myself(an ICHP therapist) and having a life changing experience I contacted the ICHP to find out what was involved in training as a hypnotherapist. Here's the information I got;
The diploma is done by distance learning and you recieve a pack every 2 weeks for 6 months. This includes recorded lectures and reading material. There is also an extensive reading list of books that cover, hypnosis, therapy strategies and psychology. You complete 3 exams during the 6 months and then a final exam that is 100 questions including script writing, recording cd's etc The guy I spoke to suggested that all told I should consider about 15 to 20 hours per week for the 6 months. But most people don't have that time if they're working so assume it'll take longer than 6 months. The way it works is that you don't get your next pack until you have completed the exam, so in theory, I guess you can take as long as you want.
The advanced diploma takes a year. This is 12 residential weekends of lectures and practical sessions, 1 per month. There are also more projects, a thesis to be submitted and then you have to undergo your own therapy before you get the advanced diploma and are allowed take any clients.
Some people have qualified in a year by doing both the theory and practicals at the same time but the work load is way too much for anyone in a full time job.
As for the qualifications of the head of the ICHP? I can't comment
Anyway, I don't have the time so I'm staying in I.T.

JFLdotCOM

As a practical tip for anyone about to do hypnotherapy I'd highly recommend that if you want to do hypnotherapy that you find a therapist whose personal approach makes sense to you and who you feel you can have a good working relationship with.

As for the various schools and organisations: in my view they all have different strengths but it should be taken into account that just because someone is a member of a given organisation or has trained with them that this doesn't mean that they practice in the same way as everyone else with the same background.

Until there is some form of regulation in place for hypnotherapy the best you can really do is assess each therapist on an individual basis (and many are a member of several organisations).

A really good way, where possible, is by recommendation from past clients.

As for training - do something similar - contact the different organisations, attend some of their training courses, see which style is for you. You'll probably get a more accurate experience if you see for yourself rather than take anyone's word for it.