Influence or ignorance : an analysis of the influence of the hypnotherapy national occupational standards on hypnosis and hypnotherapy teaching and learning, and professionalism in the UK

• Main Author: Beaven-Marks, Kathryn
• Other Authors: Goddard, William
• Published: University of Greenwich 2013
• Subjects: 370; LB Theory and practice of education
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.616542

This thesis analyses the influence of the Hypnotherapy National Occupational Standards (H.NOS) on teaching and learning, and professionalism, amongst four groups: hypnosis and hypnotherapy practitioners, researchers, educators and professional organisations. H.NOS describe effective performance of a role, in terms of the knowledge, understanding and actions. The hypnotherapy profession has recently encountered voluntary regulation with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. Practitioners whose training meets H.NOS are eligible for registration. In response to government initiatives, there is a progression towards professionalism of hypnotherapy, yet wide-spread review of the literature considered the lack of agreed definitions for hypnotherapy and hypnosis, despite a long history and diverse applications. There is little current research investigating any potential influence of the H.NOS, despite implications for current and future practice. Online quantitative questionnaires completed over a nine-month period assessed awareness of H.NOS and the consultation process, together with their influence on teaching and learning, professional bodies, competence and professionalism. Developed for this study and a unique contribution, the T.A.P. model (Thought, Action, Professionalism), was employed in the questionnaires, to enable respondents to classify their past training in relation to the model, where the H.NOS fits into the model, and where qualifications for practitioners and researchers would be located. Exploration and inferential analysis with chi-square tests and textual analysis of questionnaire comment boxes, indicated positive outcomes for both research questions regarding the influence of the H.NOS on teaching and learning, and the influence of H.NOS on professionalism. Original contributions to knowledge and practice comprise the T.A.P. model; the review of a diverse range of literature, and the unique survey and resulting data analysis, together with a range of planned and potential disseminations. Future directions for research include greater research following raising of H.NOS awareness, together with deeper exploration of the potential of the T.A.P. model and surveying practitioners about engagement in research. Recommendations are for an increase in awareness of H.NOS, more access for practitioners to research, and for an externally verified Hypnotherapy National Vocational Qualification for all using hypnosis, undertaken prior to specialisation.