Hypnotherapy CPD Training:
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're a qualified hypnotherapist looking to develop your skills, specialise in new areas or simply become more confident in your client work, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) gives you the opportunity to keep learning throughout your career.
At Academy of the Inner Mind (AIM), our hypnotherapy CPD training includes online, self-paced courses and live workshops covering a wide range of specialist and integrative approaches. This page answers some of the most common questions about hypnotherapy CPD, choosing the right training and studying with AIM.
About Hypnotherapy CPD
What is hypnotherapy CPD?
Hypnotherapy CPD, or Continuing Professional Development, is training undertaken after your initial hypnotherapy qualification to maintain and develop your professional knowledge and skills. It can include specialist courses, workshops, additional therapeutic approaches, clinical skills training and other learning relevant to your work as a practitioner.
Why is CPD important for hypnotherapists?
CPD helps you continue developing after your initial qualification. It can improve your confidence and skills, introduce you to new approaches, help you work with a wider range of client needs and allow you to develop specialist areas within your practice.
For me, good CPD should be about much more than simply collecting the hours required by a professional body. It should make a genuine difference to how confidently and effectively you work with clients.
How much CPD should a hypnotherapist complete?
IThere isn't one CPD requirement that applies to every hypnotherapist. Professional organisations and registers, such as the NCH and GHR, set their own requirements, so you should always check the current guidelines of any professional bodies you belong to.
Rather than choosing training simply to accumulate CPD hours, it's also worth thinking about what knowledge and skills would make the greatest difference to your practice.
What counts as CPD for hypnotherapists?
CPD can include courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, supervised learning and other activities that develop knowledge or professional skills relevant to your practice. Your professional organisation may have its own rules about what it accepts as CPD, so check its individual requirements.
Can I complete hypnotherapy CPD online?
Yes. Many hypnotherapy CPD courses can be completed online. AIM offers both self-paced online training and live online workshops, allowing practitioners to choose the learning format that suits them.
AIM's self-paced courses aren't simply recordings of previous workshops. Training includes written materials, demonstrations, scripts, extensive client resources, protocols and additional learning materials such as demonstration videos.
Choosing Hypnotherapy CPD Training
How do I choose a good hypnotherapy CPD course?
Start by thinking about what the training will enable you to do differently in your practice. Look at the trainer's experience, course content, evidence or theory underpinning the approach, accreditation where relevant, and whether the course provides practical guidance for translating what you learn into client work.
A good CPD course shouldn't simply give you more information. It should help you become a more knowledgeable, confident and effective practitioner.
Does hypnotherapy CPD need to be accredited?
Not every useful CPD activity needs to lead to an accredited qualification, and professional bodies have different CPD requirements. However, external accreditation can provide additional reassurance that a structured training course has been reviewed by an organisation outside the training provider.
If accreditation is important to you, check the accreditation stated on the individual course rather than assuming that every course offered by a training provider carries the same accreditation.
What should a good hypnotherapy CPD course include?
This depends on the subject, but good practitioner training should provide sufficient context to understand why an approach is being used as well as teaching you how to use it.
At AIM, I place particular emphasis on giving practitioners the theory, research and clinical context behind an approach alongside practical resources such as protocols, scripts, demonstrations, forms and client materials where appropriate.
What are the best areas of CPD for hypnotherapists?
There isn't one area of CPD that's right for every hypnotherapist. Your choice should reflect your existing skills, the clients you work with and the direction in which you want your practice to develop.
You might choose to specialise in a particular client need, such as IBS, trauma or chronic pain, or develop your therapeutic approach by studying areas such as CBT, NLP or mindfulness alongside hypnosis.
Can CPD help me specialise as a hypnotherapist?
Yes. CPD is one of the best ways to gradually shape your practice around particular client groups or areas of interest. Specialist training can help you develop both the knowledge and practical skills needed to work more confidently in an area rather than relying solely on the general techniques covered during initial hypnotherapy training.
AIM Hypnotherapy CPD Courses
Who are AIM's CPD courses for?
Most AIM CPD courses are designed for qualified hypnotherapists and other practitioners who want to extend their existing skills. Some courses are also suitable for professionals from related backgrounds, including counsellors, coaches, nutrition professionals and other healthcare or wellbeing practitioners.
Entry requirements can vary, so check the individual course page if hypnotherapy isn't your primary professional background.
Does hypnotherapy CPD need to be accredited?
AIM courses carry external accreditation or validation and meet the requirements of the NCH. GHR and similar organisations. Accreditation is externally provided by the ACCPH, who quality check CPD course materials.
The Advanced Hypnotherapy Practitioner Programme has separate GHSC validation and leads to a recognised advanced GHSC/ GHR qualification.
Are AIM courses evidence-informed?
Yes. Evidence, research and critical thinking are important parts of the way I develop AIM training. Where a therapeutic approach has an established research base, you'll learn about that evidence as well as its practical application.
Where evidence is more limited, it's equally important to understand those limitations. My aim isn't simply to teach techniques, but to help practitioners understand what they're doing, why they're doing it and how to apply it responsibly.
Are AIM courses self-paced or live?
AIM offers an extensive range of online, self-paced CPD courses that you can begin without waiting for a scheduled workshop.
This can be particularly useful if you're fitting CPD around an existing practice, employment or other commitments. We also offer an extensive range of live workshops, and if you take a self-paced course you're welcome to attend a workshop at any time.
Can CPD help me specialise as a hypnotherapist?
Yes. AIM also runs live online hypnotherapy workshops throughout the year. These provide opportunities for discussion, demonstration and practical learning with other practitioners.
What is included in an AIM CPD course?
The exact materials vary according to the course, but AIM training is designed to give you practical resources you can take into your client work.
Courses may include comprehensive written materials, teaching videos, demonstrations, scripts, structured protocols, client forms, handouts, recordings and other practitioner resources.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. All courses included certification which is externally accredited.
How many CPD hours are AIM courses worth?
This varies according to the course. Some AIM programmes also offer different CPD hours depending on whether you complete the learning materials alone or undertake additional assignments.
For example, a number of current courses provide 8 hours of CPD/CE through the course materials or 15 hours when the additional assignment route is completed.
Online Courses and Live Workshops
Should I choose self-paced training or a live workshop?
It depends on how you prefer to learn. Self-paced training gives you greater flexibility and allows you to work through materials in your own time. Live workshops provide opportunities for interaction, discussion and practising or exploring techniques with other practitioners.
Neither format is automatically better: the important thing is choosing training that provides sufficient depth, context and practical guidance.
Can international students study AIM courses?
Yes. Because AIM's self-paced courses and many workshops are delivered online, practitioners can study from outside the UK. Individual course pages provide the relevant enrolment options and information.
Developing Your Hypnotherapy Practice
How can I become a specialist hypnotherapist?
Specialisation usually develops gradually through a combination of additional training, experience and working repeatedly with particular client groups or presenting issues.
CPD can give you the specialist knowledge and therapeutic tools to begin developing that area of your practice, while your ongoing clinical experience allows you to continue building expertise.
Is there advanced training for qualified hypnotherapists?
Yes. CPD doesn't have to consist solely of short specialist courses. Experienced practitioners may decide to undertake a more substantial programme of advanced study.
AIM's Advanced Hypnotherapy Practitioner Programme, for example, is a GHSC-validated programme aligned to Level 6 learning and incorporates advanced therapeutic approaches alongside hypnosis.
Can I learn how to market my business?
Yes. AIM offers a range of subject-led courses and practical skills, such as running groups and making recordings, in addition to Thrive Entrepreneur, which teaches female entrepreneurs how to run their practice and gain confidence, in addition to gaining skills to working with other female entrepreneurs.
I'm not sure which hypnotherapy CPD course to choose. Where should I start?
Think about the situations in which you currently feel least confident, the clients you'd like to be better equipped to help, and the areas of therapy you genuinely find interesting. The best CPD isn't necessarily the course everyone else is taking: it's the training that helps you develop the practice you want while becoming a more knowledgeable and capable practitioner.