I recently ran a train-the-trainer course and spent some time at the end considering what are the five skills that really stand out which make hypnotherapy trainers not just capable of delivering a course, but capable of delivering a great course that meets their students' needs. When people think of what’s needed to set up a hypnotherapy school and deliver training courses, the first thing that might spring to mind is a teaching background. Whilst this doesn’t hurt and I’ve certainly found it useful to draw on my own background in lecturing, teaching other people how to be hypnotherapists goes way beyond teaching them the skills involved. Having recently run a very-rewarding train-the-trainer course with three passionate hypnotherapists who are ready to take the next step, if I had to summarise which skills people need to deliver hypnotherapy courses, here’s what came out on top.

Essential skills for delivering a hypnotherapy training course

1.        Professionalism

From the first moment we come into contact with potential students, we need to act in a professional manner. So much of what makes a good therapist is around acting professionally and establishing a safe and ethical therapeutic relationship from our first point of contact with our clients. We need to model that behaviour with our students, as how we act with them teaches them in a fundamental way about the types of behaviours that are appropriate with their clients. We need to have clear, healthy boundaries and acknowledge the unique place that a teacher-student relationship holds. Although it’s different to our client relationships, many of the same principles hold around always prioritising a professional level of care and interaction.

2.        Supportiveness

Students who are studying any kind of therapy course, including hypnotherapy courses, aren’t just learning skills, theory and techniques. They’re learning about themselves and how they interact with other people. They’re discovering things, from their past and present, that might impact them more than they’ve realised. Things come up during hypnotherapy training that are unexpected and sometimes difficult to deal with and trainers need to ready to support their students fully.

3.        Commitment

Following on from supportiveness is being there for the long haul. Hypnotherapy training doesn’t end on the last day of the course. That’s just the beginning for students who have case studies to complete, clients to attract, and those first difficult clients to cope with. I’m still in touch with students who completed my training years ago (one of the students on my train-the-trainer course trained with me ten years ago!). Being able to provide support, often in the form of an answer to an email query, can make all the difference whilst people take their first steps to working with clients. And as well as having commitment to your students, it’s important to remain committed to developing your school, being prepared to not only take a short-term view of delivering those first courses but of allowing it to grow and develop over the years.

4.        Vision

Having supported several people in establishing their own hypnotherapy schools, I’ve realised that we all have very different visions of what we want from training others. Some people want to maintain a small school, teaching a few students at a time locally. Others want to focus on bespoke 1-2-1 training, which attracts a premium fee. Some students have a clear idea of the types of modules they want to specialise in and some are committed to running online courses, with the potential to attract large numbers of students and run several courses simultaneously. Everyone’s vision is valid and different, reflecting their values and needs, and clarifying that vision is an essential step in setting up a school that works for you.

5.        A love of hypnotherapy!

This one is probably obvious but if you’re going to teach something, you should love it. Most of us come to hypnotherapy because we’ve experienced its effects in our own lives and as soon as we look into it, we realise what a complex and fascinating subject it really is. It’s not hard to love hypnotherapy and being able to share that passion, and our own experiences as hypnotherapists, with other people is a joy.

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