Wednesday, November 7, 2007

A Discourse on Degree

Yesterday I talked about counseling and therapies that could go hand in hand with hypnosis. That has caused me to lament that there are not many resources in the US for college programs that specialize in hypnotherapy. There are some programs, but you have to careful if you want a degree from an accredited school, provided this is important to you. So what does that leave? Psychology and counseling, perhaps.

One such college that does offer a plethora of degrees is capella university, which is an online college (meaning the computer is your classroom). They are accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and are a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Out of their 104 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs, they feature mental health counseling and have a whole division related to various forms of psychology. These include:

* Clinical Psychology
* Counseling Psychology
* Educational Psychology
* Evaluation, Research, and Measurement
* General Psychology
* Industrial/Organizational Psychology
* Leadership Coaching Psychology
* Organizational Leader Development
* School Psychology
* Sport Psychology

Not only do they serve the US, but have an international student base. They have been around since 1993 and are listed as one of US News and World Report's Best American Colleges of 2008.

So now my question is do you think having such a degree would help in the practice of hypnosis?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A degree in psychology can be vital for 'credibility' for a hypnotherapist. -- it does bring some problems.

For example, as a lay hypnotherapist you do not need to subscribe to the APA (or other organization's) code of ethics. Also that really inexpensive malpractice insurance for hypnotherapists is replaced by a much more expensive policy for psychological professionals.

But you can get a steady stream of clients, though!!

The Transparent Hypnotist said...

Thanks, Jim! That kind of sucks about the malpractice insurance! Would that include those who have a degree in psychology who do not say they are a psychologist and advertise themselves as just hypnotist?

Anonymous said...

I'm familiar with the license track for a Marriage and Family Therapist, as that is the path that I'm on.

If you want to do 3rd party billing, you need to be licensed in the state (actually I'm only familiar with the law in Hawaii, but its almost always the same in state to state).

To get licensed in the state, for example as a Marriage and Family Therapist, you need to belong to the AAMFT (the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists). To belong to the organization, you need to adhere to the code of ethics.

Once you are licensed, you may use the words "Marriage and Family Therapist" in your advertising. Specifically you are prohibited from using that exact phrase if you are not licensed.

I'm not sure what would happen if you said you were a "Marriage Hypnotherapist," or something like that, but you would not get many referrals from the established psychological industry.

It boils down to credibility with the established order, and that's not entirely bad.