Why train with us?

NZSPH - Our Philosophy

"My personal philosophy is that we all have within us every resource and tool we need to overcome problems and to be successful in life. Hypnotherapists who understand this process are able to help clients unlock their true potential in a way many people consider impossible. This is also the process and belief we follow at the NZSPH as we teach our students how to become super successful hypnotherapists.

As well as teaching you advanced levels of theoretical and practical knowledge, in a way that is profoundly enjoyable and will help you in your own personal journey towards your goals, we are dedicated to teaching you advanced business and marketing skills other schools fail to understand. We teach you in a way that allows you to bring your unique strengths, passions and life experiences to your future life and career success.

When I meet a new client, I have a profound belief that I can help that person to achieve incredible personal transformations. My confidence and positivity about my clients' and students' success is unconditional, and my faith in their potential unwavering. I am committed to ensuring that every student who goes through our diploma training program will quickly achieve the same level of confidence and belief in their ability to help others. Caring, dedicated individuals joining the hypnotherapy profession and receiving the highest level of training and support available, offers future long term benefits to the general public which I believe are enormous and profound."

-Ed Lester, Founder

The Many Benefits of Studying with the NZSPH

When deciding to train as a hypnotherapist, we are well aware that you have many choices and that it can be very confusing and difficult to determine which course would suit you best. To help, we have listed the primary benefits of training with us, including some questions that you might like to ask other schools if the issues raised are important to you.

We walk the walk!

  • The NZSPH was founded by Ed Lester, and is strongly affiliated with the UK Academy, which is a large UK national group of training centres. So you can be sure of a secure structure with plenty of support available before, during and after your course. We can offer supervision and ongoing training if you want to do this with us, but you are free to move on to others if you choose. If support matters to you, you may like to ask other schools about the breadth and depth of their support structures, and whether you are tied to them for supervision or ongoing training after their diploma.
  • NZSPH tutors are trained hypnotherapists, with a background both in hypnosis and training. All future trainers for the NZSPH will also be trained hypnotherapists. This ensures that they can 'walk the walk' as well as 'talk the talk'. You will find that we often have examples of practice clients to tell you about that illustrate theoretical points.

Training Centres now open across New Zealand's major centres

  • We offer world class diploma courses in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.  We are a truly national organisation with centres in both the North and South Islands, and cover more areas of the country than any other training school. This means you can enjoy the very highest level of training without having to spend a fortune in time and travel.
  • In addition, more students have the opportunity to access our courses and you don't have to settle for a less rigorous course and miss out on the wonderful benefits of practical learning in a supportive group environment.

The very highest training standards so you enter the profession fully confident

  • The Principal and Vice-Principal of the UK Academy were on the panel which created the UK National Occupational standards in the UK so you can be sure that your training will meet those standards and beyond and will fully prepare you for clinical practice in New Zealand.
  • The HPD (Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma) was the first nationally accredited qualification in hypnotherapy in the UK open to all regardless of background. The UK Academy's Principal and Vice-Principal were instrumental in its development and introduction in 2001. In the UK it is considered by many to be the ‘gold standard’ in hypnotherapy qualifications. Including its requirements in this course is representative of the aims of the NZSPH. We strive to be a beacon of excellence in the delivery of this qualification.

Practical skills are vitally important

  • We believe it is vitally important that you see demonstrations of techniques and are also given the opportunity to practice these. This gives you the confidence to practice with 'real people', as soon as (if not before) you qualify. We say before because you will be given permission to work with certain issues at certain points in your training. Not all trainers demonstrate, and not all give you a chance to practice and build your confidence.
  • We believe that schools should train to minimum standards of 120 hours face to face, and 450 hours of total study time. This ensures that you have time to learn and consolidate your knowledge and experience.
  • It is important that you are able to see a full syllabus before you start the course and that this has sufficient depth to enable you to start in full practice as soon as you qualify. Our prospectus lists all elements of the course, and not only do you get full coverage of hypnotherapy, but Neuro-Linguistic programming is covered to Practitioner level too.
  • Our course also includes advanced business and practice management. So often hypnotherapists fall at the first hurdle because, while they may be wonderful at what they do, they don't know how to get clients. The NZSPH has a great depth of knowledge and experience in this area that you can draw on. We are enthusiastic about sharing with you what works and what doesn't so that you can learn from our successes, and our mistakes!If you are keen to make a successful career out of helping others then you couldn't have come to a better place.

Multiple professional certifications and NCH membership

  • The NZSPH course offers you the chance to gain six qualifications in one. On successful completion of the course and relevant assignments, not only do you gain the DipCAH, HPD and NLP Practitioner Certificate but you may also submit assignments to be awarded Specialist Certification in Smoking Cessation, Treating Anxiety and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy.
  • Our course is accredited internationally, and as part of the course you will receive (once all fees are paid) a free student membership of the National Council of Hypnotherapy in the UK.

Our students come first

  • We are happy to receive student feedback: questions, comments or suggestions at any time in the course and will do our best to adapt to any requests that are made. Hypnotherapy is an ‘individual’ profession in that it is important that you are encouraged to be yourself as a therapist and to find your way to practice. So your opinions matter!
  • Ethical considerations are all important in a field where one is working with vulnerable people. We cover these in depth. Check with other schools as to which, if any, code of ethics they subscribe to. They should be bound by a training code of ethics as well as teaching you one for practice.
  • We do not take just anyone onto our courses. You will be interviewed to ensure that you are suitable for this profession of working with sometimes vulnerable people and, just as importantly, to ensure that the NZSPH is right for you. If we feel that another course would be better for you (and this does happen), we will tell you, and advise you of who to approach.
  • We actively enforce all our policies, including equal opportunities. We will make any reasonable adjustments to ensure that anyone can take our courses, if suitable, and we do not discriminate on any grounds. Any special learning needs will be catered to if possible. For example, a student with dyslexia would be able to provide portfolio evidence in recorded rather than written form if they wished to do so. The learning environment is safe, confidential and supportive.