There are a lot of hypnobirthing practitioners out there and there are also a fair few hypnobirthing practitioner training courses out there too. In fact, if you have decided you want to become a hypnobirthing teacher then you are probably not sure where to start. This blog will give you a few pointers in the right direction and a few questions to consider when looking for the right course (and teacher) for you.
What are the qualifications of your hypnobirthing teacher?
This may seem like an obvious one, after all you wouldn’t get your kid tutored in maths by someone who hadn’t passed their maths GCSE, but you would be surprised how many trainers that are out there who actually don’t have the relevant qualifications.
- Many of the trainers are hypnobirthing teachers, which is great, because they have first-hand experience of what it is like to teach pregnant couples, but how long have they been training others to teach hypnobirthing for and how much wider information are they going to be able to give you? Don’t get me wrong, if you are looking for a course that will train you to teach hypnobirthing verbatim and you want to get it up and running as soon as possible – then this may be exactly what you are looking for. However, ask yourself if this is the best hypnobirthing instructor training for you because it may not give you the level and depth of knowledge or the degree of flexibility you may be looking for if you want to run your own classes in a way that suits your personality, experience and own knowledge.
- Is your trainer a hypnotherapist? No? Well, wouldn’t you want them to be? It’s true that hypnobirthing is about so much more than JUST hypnosis but hypnosis IS a pretty major factor in what you will be teaching your clients. Whilst I agree that you are not going to be training your clients to be hypnotherapists themselves, nor will you be delving deep down into the dark, murky depths of their innermost secrets but having a deeper understanding of the intricacies of the sub-conscious, the do’s and don’ts of working with powerful suggestions and how to handle special circumstances is essential. Is someone who is not qualified as a hypnotherapist going to be able to teach you those skills in the most comprehensive and safest way possible? Plus, wouldn’t you want to understand how a hypnosis/relaxation script works so you can write your own or tweak existing ones to make sure your future clients are being supported in the best way possible?
- Is your trainer a birth specialist? In other words, have they actually been at and supported births? I don’t mean their own (if they have children) because we tend to be a little pre-occupied when giving birth to our own babies, but other people’s births in the capacity of a doula or a midwife perhaps? The theory of birth physiology is all very well, but does your trainer know what giving birth in today’s maternity system is like in reality? Have they seen these techniques used in all types of birth? If the answer is no, how can they give you all the up-to-date, real-life information of how hypnobirthing can be used in any, and all, types of birth?
Is the course accredited?
Is the course you are looking at a fully accredited hypnobirthing instructor training course? This can be a tricky one because anyone can say their course is accredited but due to the fact that there is no official governing body for hypnobirthing teachers there is no specific official accreditation. There is an ‘association’ out there that is linked to hypnobirthing but that is a construct of a particular brand and it is not Government regulated. You also have to be wary of the accreditations that look impressive but are attached to particular organisations because it may just mean the practitioner has paid a tonne of money to be able to put the badge on their website rather than it meaning one course is more ‘official’ than another.
Perhaps a better indicator of how ‘good’ a course is, is whether you are able to gain insurance as a hypnobirthing teacher after doing a particular course. The reputable courses will have made sure that they are insured to train hypnobirthing teachers and that their trainees will be able to get cover by the fact they have done that training course. It is also worth checking to see if the course gives you CPD accreditation. This is very useful if you are already a birth professional and need to meet a CPD (Continuous Professional Development) requirement each year. CPD points also means you can justify taking the time out of your job to do the training!
Is the hypnobirthing practitioner training face to face or online?
This may be a very important consideration for you. Are you going to be able to travel to a venue or will it be easier for you to log in and take part virtually? Obviously, this is a very personal choice which very much comes down to your personal choice and personal set of circumstances. However, there are huge bonuses to being in-person with people when they are not separated by many miles and technology – you can have an un-interrupted conversation without accidently cutting each other off, you can get real-time responses and soak up the atmosphere and practise on people when you are in the room. I personally do not miss the whole “you are on mute!” situation that always accompanies any zoom call! Joking aside, there is something very special about being with like-minded people to learn hypnobirthing now that we can.
How many others will I be training with?
Also an important consideration. Do you want to be one of a few which means you get individual attention and support as you are going through the qualification process, or do you prefer to be in a large cohort? If you know you would like support and guidance from the course provider, you may be better off in a group that has a limited number of participants at any one time.
How will I be assessed?
You have to think about whether you want to do this quickly or whether you want to do it properly. You can qualify as a hypnobirthing teacher just by attending a course but if you want to feel confident you are doing it correctly and be competent to use and teach the hypnobirthing techniques on actual clients, you need to put the work in. You should be looking for courses that test you on what you have learnt – not necessarily in an exam format but providing some sort of written assessment should be the very least you should expect. Don’t worry about spelling or the ability to write academically, it is more to do with showing you understand what you are going to be teaching. Writing essays etc might seem like a lot of work but often the process is part of the learning. The gold standard assessment is teaching case studies. All professions give their trainees the opportunity to do a ‘dummy run’ before they are let loose in the world, so they can see what areas they need to read up on and which ones they have understood fully. Why should teaching hypnobirthing courses be any different?
How much does a hypnobirthing teacher training course cost?
If you are looking to train, you will see that there are a range of prices and the price charged does not necessarily reflect the quality of the course or the experience of the trainer, so here are a few pointers you should consider:
- What is the initial cost and are there payment plans available?
- Are there any on-going fees?
- Are you expected to buy their products for each client you book?
- Is there any on-going support? And what does that support look like – are you going to be able to speak to the trainer anytime you need to?
- What’s included in the initial cost? Are you gaining access to any other useful resources?
- Are you tied into a form of contract whereby you have to rigidly stick with, and invest in, a set programme
Does the hypnobirthing teacher training course FIT with you and your personality?
In other words, some courses will only focus on particular types of birth. Some of them will refer to contractions as ‘Waves’ or ‘Surges’ and some of them may appeal to personalities that are completely different from yours. Are you expected to teach the course you have trained in, in exactly the way you have been trained to? i.e. teaching somebody else’s vision and words? Or do you get the flexibility to make the course your own and able to incorporate existing skill sets or professional qualifications you may already have?
Which is the best hypnobirthing instructor training course in the UK?
There is no such thing as the best, although there are, undoubtedly better ones – there is what is best for you once you have considered all of the above.
About MamaSerene Hypnobirthing Practitioner Training Courses
I’m so passionate about supporting people wanting to train to become a hypnobirthing practitioner and I’ve developed my unique courses based on over 18 years of my own experiences. Take a look at the course I offer here.
Not only am I an antenatal educator, hypnobirthing instructor, hypnotherapist, doula and best-selling author, I have taught clients all across the world. Having experienced things from both sides, I know the importance of being independent from a business perspective and doing things in a way that I choose but it has also meant I can better support my pregnant clients in the ways they need.
My course is unique in that it enables you to be completely independent and create a course that is individual to you. Click here if you would like to find out more about it and available training dates.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Dani x
