In 1973, the Hypnotist Examining Council was created as a non-profit professional organization engaging in self-regulation of all who utilized hypnosis/hypnotherapy as an integral part of a professional practice. The primary focus was on formal and appropriate education and training followed by a comprehensive written examination and a practical demonstration of hypnosis skills before a Board of Examiners. A code of ethics and principles of practice were formulated and adopted.
Shortly afterward, Gil Boyne was elected President of the organization and, in 1980, he founded the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners, a national organization that now certifies more than nine thousand hypnotherapists worldwide, including numerous physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and representatives of the healing arts, counseling and allied professions.
Examination and registration is done by Regional Examining Boards, while certification is by the national parent body, the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
The Regional Councils are the result of the demand for full participation by the experienced and influential practitioners in other states.
Currently there are Regional Examining Councils covering most of the United States and Canada and affiliates in the United Kingdom, Australia. New Zealand, Republic of China (Shanghai and Hong Kong), Iran, and South Africa.
Hypnotist Examining Boards consist of not less than five and not more than eleven members. All board members shall have not less than three years of professional experience in a profession in which the use of hypnosis is an integral part. The majority of the board must be made up of non-licensees who are identified publicly by the primary professional title of Hypnotherapist or Clinical Hypnotherapist.
It shall be the responsibility of the board to educate, examine and register all applicants who meet established requirements, and to conform to and comply with the bylaws, ethics and requirements of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
Certification is awarded to qualified applicants by the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
