The ISHI Hypnosis Shuffle

One of the many things there we were "encouraged" to participate was hypnotherapy certification. This course of training and certification cost some two thousand dollars and resulted in a big certificate printed on parchment proclaiming that the bearer is a certified hypnotherapist.

The training was conducted in day-long classes held over a series of weeks. The training was part lecture and part practical application. There was a lot of practice with fellow students and many practice sessions. Not much in the way of books to read outside of a binder labeled "BASIC STUDENT MANUAL" and a spiral-bound book of scripts. The BASIC STUDENT MANUAL was created and issued by the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) and was available from any of the NGH-recognized hypnotist training programs. One of the script binders were written by a local hypnotist, not affiliated, trained or otherwise connected to ISHI Hypnosis. The other was a standard set of scripts, also issued by the NGH. I don't recall seeing any material originally developed by ISHI Hypnosis. It appears that the study material would have been available anywhere.

We were told that certification was accredited by the National Guild of Hypnotists and was sufficient to engage in the practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Starting one's own practice was mentioned but mostly, participation on the ISHI Hypnosis clinic and continuing education was encouraged. Hypnotherapists practicing in the ISHI Hypnosis clinic were not paid (even though clients coughed up fees for treatment) and continuing education classes were actually regular ISHI Hypnosis training classes opened up for "graduates".

After the arduous process of practice, study (most of which was memorizing hypnosis scripts, not studying theory) and sitting in lectures, the certification exam was administered. That exam was a fairly large document with pages and pages of questions, some multiple choice, some short answer. There were so many questions, it took some two to three hours to complete it. Once you passed that exam, you would be a real, certified hypnotherapist.

I took that training. Once the training was finished, I took that exam. Once the exam was over, I was presented with a certificate proclaiming me as a Certified Hypnotherapist and was presented with materials for membership with the National Guild of Hypnotists with the blessing of ISHI Hypnosis.

There was one problem, though: I failed the exam.

That's right. I failed.

On the day of the exam, I was running a fever. I was sick to my stomach, had a pounding headache, coughed frequently, was sore all over and somewhat disoriented. I obviously had the flu.

The text started to take on that moving, shimmering quality that you see after your third boilermaker. Not only did I not have the answers, I couldn't even understand the questions! I left about 20-25% of the answers blank. BLANK! The rest, I guessed at.

At best, I estimate I got 75% of the answers right - ONLY if ALL my guesses were correct. And if they were, I think my next stop should be a Keno table. More than likely, I got half or fewer of the answers correct.

I never knew how I actually did. No one ever got back their test. No one. And to my knowledge, no one ever failed the certification exam. No one. There was no provision for a second pass after a failed exam - no one needed a second chance. I recall that everyone who took the ISHI Hypnosis certification course was, indeed, certified.

So, if you failed the test, would you complain? Probably not. There was so much encouragement and reward for participation in the ISHI Hypnosis training program you just could not fail. Literally. What are the odds that 100% of those taking a certification exam passed on the first try each and every time?

I didn't complain. I never practiced hypnotherapy either. At least not on my own. I was required to practice in the ISHI Hypnosis clinic for no compensation, though. If my test results were as dismal as it appears (and by leaving much of the answers blank, I'd say that was pretty dismal) you wouldn't want me putting you into trance no matter what that parchment said.

But that leads me to a question: If I failed miserably but still obtained certification, how many others failed? How many of them have received certification despite failing their final exam? How many of them are in practice today?

Would you want to receive hypnotherapy from a practitioner who has not fulfilled the requirements for certification? Would you trust an ISHI Hypnotherapy graduate with your mental and emotional well being?

If you do, give me a call. I'll trance you. No guarantee that I can get you into trace. Hell, there's no guarantee you'll come out of trance even if I could get you in it!

I wonder if ISHI Hypnosis graduates have come out of their trance?

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