ASCH Certification in Clinical Hypnosis is a voluntary credential for licensed health care professionals. The published path combines a master's degree, independent-practice licensure, professional-society membership, Level 1 and Level 2 ASCH-approved workshops, 20 hours of consultation with an ASCH Approved Consultant, and two years of independent practice using clinical hypnosis. ASCH reviews your uploaded documents; no written examination appears in its published requirements. Certification renews every three years with 20 hours of ASCH-approved training.
What this credential actually is
ASCH Certification in Clinical Hypnosis is a voluntary, non-statutory credential. It recognizes licensed health care professionals who have completed advanced training in clinical hypnosis; it is not a license to practice.
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) describes certification as recognition of the advanced clinician who has met educational and training requirements in clinical hypnosis. ASCH positions it as a voluntary, non-statutory credential: it sits on top of your existing professional license rather than replacing it.
A key boundary follows from that design. Every applicant must already be licensed in their state or province to provide medical, dental, or psychotherapeutic services independently. ASCH is explicit that people trained only in hypnosis lack the diagnostic skills and licensure needed to treat medical, psychological, or dental problems with hypnosis.
You may be expecting a study guide for a written board exam. That is not what ASCH publishes. Its certification page lists training, consultation and practice requirements, and asks you to upload documents for application review. If ASCH later adds an examination, the certification page on asch.net is the place to confirm it. Prepare for this credential by building a documented training record, not by memorizing question banks.
- Voluntary credential: it signals advanced hypnosis training but does not authorize practice
- Practice authorization comes from your own professional license in medicine, dentistry, psychology, nursing, social work, counseling, or a related discipline
- Recertification is required every three years, based on 20 hours of ASCH-approved hypnosis training in that period
Official sources: ASCH Certification Program – ASCH — Certification and Approved Consultant requirements; About Hypnosis – ASCH — Definition, myths, and ASCH Certification description
Who qualifies: the six published requirements
You need a master's degree in an approved health care discipline, independent-practice licensure, professional-society membership, Level 1 and 2 workshops, 20 consultation hours, and two years of independent practice.
ASCH publishes a single list of certification requirements, and each one is verifiable before you apply. All applicants must also create an ASCH account before starting an application, because documents are uploaded during review.
Plan around the two-year independent-practice requirement. ASCH counts that period from completion of the basic course; completing both workshops alone does not satisfy it.
| Requirement | What satisfies it |
|---|---|
| Degree | Master's degree or higher in an approved health care discipline |
| License | Independent-practice license or certification in your state or province |
| Membership | Membership in a professional society consistent with your degree |
| Workshops | ASCH-approved Level 1 and Level 2 Clinical Workshop training |
| Consultation | 20 hours with an ASCH Approved Consultant |
| Practice | Two years of independent practice using clinical hypnosis |
Official sources: ASCH Certification Program – ASCH — Certification and Approved Consultant requirements
What Level 1 training covers
The Level 1 fundamentals workshop teaches definitions, neurophysiology, elicitation and deepening, suggestions, assessment, ethics and treatment planning through supervised practice.
Level 1 is the entry point of the certification training path. A 2026 ASCH-approved Level 1 workshop agenda shows the scope: definitions and history of hypnosis, neurophysiology, the structure of a formal hypnotic session, and the vocabulary of trance facilitation, intensification, phenomena and reorienting.
The heart of the workshop is supervised practice. Participants rotate through facilitator, recipient, and observer roles in small groups, practicing a sequence of elicitations: diaphragmatic breathing, eye fixation, eye roll, arm levitation, and muscle relaxation. Faculty demonstrate each method first and monitor all practice sessions.
Later sessions cover intensification methods such as progressive relaxation, counting, imagery and fractionation; formulating direct and indirect suggestions; ego strengthening; teaching self-hypnosis; managing resistance; patient assessment and informed consent; hypnosis with children; treatment planning; and ethical principles and professional conduct. Note that this agenda documents one 2026 approved workshop, not a published exam blueprint. Level 2 content was not covered by the sources used here, so treat it as a preparation priority and confirm topics on ASCH's workshops pages.
- Fundamentals: definitions, history, common misperceptions, and hypnosis-related terminology
- Neurophysiology: brain and autonomic changes associated with hypnotic states
- Process: rapport, attunement, elicitation, intensification, suggestions, and reorientation
- Applications: assessment, informed consent, self-hypnosis teaching, children, and treatment planning
- Ethics: professional conduct and limiting hypnotic work to conditions you are otherwise qualified to treat
Official sources: ASCH Level 1 clinical hypnosis workshop objectives, 2026 — Timed agenda and session objectives
Fees, application and renewal
Initial certification costs $150 for members or $300 for non-members; recertification every three years costs $65 or $125 respectively.
Create your ASCH account before you apply, and gather your documents first, because the application cannot be reviewed until everything is uploaded. Expect to evidence your degree, license, professional-society membership, workshop completions, consultation hours, and practice history.
Budget for the renewal cycle as well as the initial fee. Every three years you must recertify, and renewal requires at least 20 hours of ASCH-approved hypnosis training completed within that three-year window. A practical habit is to log approved hours as you earn them rather than reconstructing them at renewal time. For example, if you certify in June 2026, you would need 20 documented hours by your June 2029 renewal date.
| Status | Initial certification | Recertification (every 3 years) |
|---|---|---|
| ASCH members | $150 | $65 |
| Non-members | $300 | $125 |
Official sources: ASCH Certification Program – ASCH — Certification and Approved Consultant requirements
The Approved Consultant step beyond certification
Approved Consultants add 40 advanced workshop hours, a 10-hour Teaching and Consultation Workshop, five years of practice, and five years of society membership.
ASCH Approved Consultant is the senior credential, and consultants are the people who deliver the 20 consultation hours certification candidates need. The published requirements start from everything Certification requires, then add more.
If you plan a long-term career in clinical hypnosis, this path matters early: the five-year practice and membership clocks run from your basic program and membership start dates, so delays compound. Keep the ASCH certification page open as your checklist when you reach this stage.
- All Certification requirements, plus 40 additional hours of ASCH-approved advanced workshop training
- Completion of the 10-hour Teaching and Consultation Workshop (TCW)
- Five years of independent practice using clinical hypnosis, counted from completion of the basic program
- Five years of membership in ASCH, SCEH, or an equivalent society
Official sources: ASCH Certification Program – ASCH — Certification and Approved Consultant requirements
Your preparation checklist
Confirm eligibility, plan around the two-year practice clock, and document every training hour as you go.
Because this credential is document-based, your preparation is administrative as much as academic. Work through the list below in order, and keep the official certification requirements page beside you as the authoritative version.
- Verify your degree and independent-practice license meet ASCH's discipline expectations before booking workshops
- Complete Level 1, then Level 2, with an approved provider
- Schedule your 20 Approved Consultant consultation hours and record each session
- Track your two-year practice window from your basic course completion date
- Create an ASCH account early and upload complete documents when you apply
- Plan renewal hours (20 per three years) starting the day you certify
Official sources: ASCH Certification Program – ASCH — Certification and Approved Consultant requirements
Official sources
Facts checked against ASCH sources: