Clinical Hypnosis Training for Practitioners — WITH BARB DAVIES, RSW, CCH, CHI
Start Your ApplicationYour Instructor, Barb Davies
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist (RSW), Certified Hypnosis Instructor and Transformational Coach
Creator of the PRIMER™ Method, a neuroscience-informed framework for guiding lasting cognitive and behavioural change.
More Tools. Better Results. More Opportunities.
You already care deeply about helping people create change. But there may be times when you wish you had more tools to help a client move forward, especially when insight and the approaches you're already using aren't creating the change you hoped to see.
You may also be looking for ways to expand your practice. In a crowded marketplace, adding a specialized skill can help differentiate what you offer, attract clients who are specifically seeking hypnosis and create opportunities for new services and additional streams of income.
Clinical hypnosis gives you another powerful way to help people change while expanding what's possible in your work.
Whether you're adding hypnosis to an existing practice or building something new, this certification gives you the knowledge, practical skills and confidence to use hypnosis professionally and effectively.
Caring doesn't make you stand out.
Creating transformation does.
Your clients appreciate your support and insight.
But what they truly need is a breakthrough.
This professional certification training teaches you how to facilitate change safely, effectively and with skill.
And when you do that well, you don’t chase clients. They return. They refer. They remember your work.
Why the PRIMER™ Method Is Different
Learn the clinical judgment and structure behind effective hypnosis sessions.
Effective hypnosis involves much more than choosing the right words or delivering a technique. Practitioners need to know how to conduct an in-depth assessment, look beyond the presenting concern and make informed decisions throughout the entire process.
The PRIMER™ Method provides a flexible framework for identifying the problem underneath the problem, recognizing the patterns and factors that maintain it and designing an individualized approach from beginning to end.
You will learn how to:
- Conduct an in-depth assessment that goes beyond the presenting concern
- Identify relevant patterns, triggers, beliefs and maintaining factors
- Prepare the client and create the conditions for effective change
- Select and adapt techniques based on the individual client
- Strengthen and integrate new learning
- Evaluate progress and recalibrate the approach when needed
Rather than relying on one induction, technique or sequence of words, PRIMER™ helps you develop the knowledge, clinical judgment and confidence to design purposeful, responsive and individualized hypnosis sessions.
As one graduate described it:
“Barb doesn’t just give us a recipe to follow. She teaches us how to cook.”
Clinical Hypnosis Is Grounded in Science
Hypnosis has been studied for decades across medicine, psychology and neuroscience, with thousands of peer-reviewed studies examining its effects, clinical applications and underlying mechanisms.
Research supports the use of hypnosis in areas such as pain management, medical procedures, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and many other psychological and health-related concerns. It is used by psychotherapists, physicians, psychologists and other health professionals around the world.
This training goes beyond teaching hypnosis techniques. You will learn the science and research behind hypnosis, how it influences attention, perception and responsiveness and how to apply it ethically and effectively within your professional scope.
Explore the Research Behind Clinical HypnosisProfessional Hypnosis Certification
Your tuition includes:
- Live online class sessions with lessons, Q&A, practice and feedback
- Online class portal with lessons, videos and live class recordings
- Membership to a private Facebook community during training
- A comprehensive 400+ page training manual
- Online and/or live training, practice, and certification* as a Certified Professional Hypnotist or a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist (if you are a licensed mental health, medical or healthcare professional).†
*either live in Thunder Bay, ON or online via Zoom.
† Not included in Refresher Offer.
BONUSES:
- Your first-year membership to the ICBCH – International Certification Board of Coaches and Hypnotists (Formerly known as International Certification Board of Clinical Hypnotherapy)†
- Training in Barb Davies' PRIMER™ Method
- Lifetime Access to the online training content
- Membership to a private Facebook community for graduates
- Free Refresher training to reinforce learning
- Comprehensive business training
- Receive the Shine Collection of hypnosis audios for entrepreneurs, along with additional hypnosis experiences and personal and professional development training.
- Preferred pricing for tickets to the next annual Canada Hypnosis Conference
- And more!
† Not included in the Refresher Offer.
ICBCH Student Resources
Included in this training course, you’ll receive your first year of membership, several digital hypnosis books, and access to exclusive ICBCH training material that will deepen your knowledge and skills in your new career.
The International Certification Board of Coaches and Hypnotists (formerly known as International Certification Board of Clinical Hypnotherapy) is a worldwide hypnosis association organization that provides education to the public and professionals via live training classes and home study courses about the benefits of clinical hypnosis, and recognizes hypnosis certification programs and hypnotherapy certification courses. It was created to set international standards of excellence and to promote clinical hypnotherapy and related fields of social science.
Apply Now for the 2026–2027 Certification Program.
Start Your Application
What You Will Learn in This Professional Certification
Learning hypnosis involves much more than choosing the right induction, following a script or collecting techniques. This program teaches you how to assess what is happening, make informed decisions and design purposeful, individualized hypnosis sessions from beginning to end.
Throughout the certification, you will learn to apply Barb Davies’ PRIMER™ Method, a neuroscience-informed framework for practitioner-led and self-directed hypnosis. The PRIMER™ Method helps you identify the problem underneath the problem, recognize the patterns and factors maintaining it and determine how to prepare, structure and adapt the change process for each client.
Professional Foundations and Ethical Practice
Develop the professional knowledge and judgment required to use hypnosis responsibly. Topics include ethics, informed consent, scope of practice, professional boundaries, contraindications, client safety and integrating hypnosis appropriately within counselling, coaching and wellness settings.
The Science of Hypnosis and Change
Discover what makes hypnosis such a powerful tool for change. Explore how focused attention, expectation, suggestion, imagination, memory and learning can influence perception, behaviour and the way clients respond to familiar situations.
Explore how hypnosis can help clients interrupt established patterns, create new associations, rehearse more adaptive responses and strengthen learning beyond the session. Current research and neuroscience-informed models will help you understand not only how to use hypnosis, but how to design change work with greater precision and purpose.
You will also learn how to explain modern hypnosis confidently, answer common questions and communicate the research without relying on myths, outdated theories or exaggerated claims.
In-Depth Client Assessment and Case Formulation
Learn how to conduct an in-depth consultation that goes beyond the presenting concern to identify the problem underneath the problem.
You will develop skills for recognizing relevant patterns, triggers, beliefs, emotional responses, learned associations, contextual factors and maintaining cycles. This information helps you determine whether hypnosis is appropriate, establish clear goals and decide where the change process needs to begin.
Preparing the Client and Practitioner for Hypnosis
Discover how to create the conditions that support focused attention, responsiveness and client participation. This includes addressing misconceptions and concerns, strengthening expectancy, building trust, introducing hypnosis in language that fits the client and preparing yourself and them for achieving optimal results with hypnosis.
Designing Individualized Change Work
Move beyond rigid scripts and cookie-cutter protocols. Learn how to select, combine and adapt hypnosis techniques according to the client’s goals, assessment findings, responses and readiness for change.
You will explore a range of approaches for working with habits, beliefs, emotional responses, learned patterns, identity, performance and other common client concerns.
Strengthening Change and Supporting Lasting Results
Learn how to strengthen new learning so it continues beyond the hypnosis session and influences how clients respond in everyday life.
You will develop the judgment needed to evaluate progress, build on what is working and adapt the change process to support lasting results.
Practitioner Development and Experiential Learning
Develop your skills through live demonstrations, guided hypnosis experiences, supervised practice, case discussion and constructive feedback.
Experiential learning helps you strengthen your presence, adaptability, self-awareness and confidence while developing the clinical judgment required to work responsively with individual clients.
Bonus Training: Building a Successful Hypnosis Practice ($997 Value)
Explore practical strategies for developing a professional and sustainable hypnosis practice, including positioning your services, attracting suitable clients, creating and pricing offers and developing additional income streams within your professional scope.
Practitioner Resources
Access an extensive collection of downloadable resources, including e-books, hypnosis scripts, script-writing tools, assessment forms, session-planning worksheets, case studies and business-building materials.
Bonus Training†
Expand your learning through additional hypnosis experiences and personal and professional development training.
† Some bonus training is not included in the Refresher pathway.
2026–2027 Class Schedule
The next 12-month certification program begins September 30, 2026.
Live online classes are currently scheduled biweekly on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.*
An evening class option may also be added based on enrollment demand. If daytime classes don’t work with your schedule, please indicate your availability on your application.
The schedule may be adjusted if the class agrees that another time works better for everyone.
Train from anywhere through live online classes, with optional in-person training opportunities available for students who live in or can travel to Thunder Bay, Ontario.
*Individual class dates may occasionally change due to holidays, instructor availability or other scheduling considerations.
Certification†
The certification assessment for the 2026–2027 class is scheduled for September 25, 2027 online. Additional assessment dates may be added depending on class size.
† The certification assessment is not included in the Refresher pathway.
Choose Your Certification Pathway
Applicable taxes will be added at checkout.
Early Registration Pricing Ends August 31, 2026
Refresher Hypnosis Training
$1997 CAD
Regular $2497
Pay in Full or Installments
For Previously Certified Hypnotists
Already certified and want to update or strengthen your skills?
Refresh your training, learn the PRIMER™ Method and Barb's neuroscience-informed approach to hypnosis and change.
Hypnosis Certification
$2997 CAD
Regular $3497
Pay In Full or Installments
Complete Professional Training
Become a certified hypnotist through comprehensive, neuroscience-informed training that combines science, practical skills and extensive hands-on experience.
Includes the complete certification curriculum, live instruction, practice and feedback, and the PRIMER™ Method.
VIP Hypnosis Certification
$4997 CAD
Regular $5555
Pay in Full or Installments
Certification + Private Mentorship
Receive everything included in Hypnosis Certification, plus 10 hours of flexible private coaching and mentoring with Barb Davies to support your learning and client work, to be used within two years of registration. You’ll also receive complimentary access to the Capacity program. Value: $7500+
Space is limited to 12 students.
Start Your Application
Barb Davies
When choosing hypnosis training, look for an instructor with substantial, recent experience working directly with clients, not simply experience teaching hypnosis.
Barb Davies is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist (RSW), Certified Hypnosis Instructor and Transformational Coach with more than twenty years of experience in counselling and coaching.
A Registered Social Worker since 2008, Barb expanded her practice to include clinical hypnosis in 2017. She continues to work directly with clients in Thunder Bay and internationally through Barb Davies Hypnotherapy & Counselling.
Barb is the founder of Healing Minds Academy, where she provides clinical hypnosis certification and professional development for practitioners. She is also the owner of Amethyst Wellness Group, an award-winning multidisciplinary practice, coordinator of the Canada Hypnosis Conference and founder of the Canada Hypnosis Guild.
Drawing on her clinical work and practitioner training, Barb developed the PRIMER™ Method, a neuroscience-informed framework for guiding lasting cognitive and behavioural change through practitioner-led and self-directed hypnosis.
Her work has received multiple Reader’s Choice and CommunityVotes awards for psychology, hypnosis and coaching services. She has also been recognized as one of Thunder Bay’s top hypnotherapists for seven consecutive years.
Visit www.barbdavies.com to learn more.
Qualifications
Certifications
- Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist/Advanced through ICBCH (International Certification Board of Clinical Hypnotherapy)
- Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist at NGH (National Guild of Hypnotists)
- Certified Hypnosis Instructor at ICBCH
- Certified Advanced BLAST Technique® Practitioner (EMDR, PTSD and Trauma) through the Warwickshire School of Hypnotherapy
- Certified in Scientific Hypnotherapy by USBCH (United States Board of Clinical Hypnosis)
- Mindfulness, Meditation & Self Hypnosis Certificate through Warwickshire School of Hypnotherapy
- Sports Performance Mind Coaching Diploma through Warwickshire School of Hypnotherapy
- Hypnobirthing Instructor
- Certified OldPain2Go® Practitioner
- Certified Life Coach Practitioner
- NLP Practitioner Certificate
- Breathwork Healer Certificate
- Personal Financial Planning Certificate
- Mental Health First Aid Certificate
- ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) Certificate
- Non-violent Crisis Intervention Certificate
- Asking the Right Questions 2: Talking with Clients about Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Workshop Certificate
Education
- Honours Bachelor of Social Work degree
- Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology
Experience
- Over 20 years of counselling and coaching experience
- Over 20 years of business, sales and marketing experience
- Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Recognition
- Recipient of an Ontario Volunteer Service Award presented by The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for volunteer contributions in the mental health field
- CommunityVotes Thunder Bay Platinum award for Professional Coaching, 2024, 2025, and 2026
- 2025 CommunityVotes Thunder Bay awards for Psychology Clinic (Platinum), Therapy and Counselling (Gold), and Weight Loss and Nutrition (Gold)
- 2024 Chronicle Journal Reader's Choice award for Psychology & Counselling
- Three Best Rated Hypnotherapy in Thunder Bay award 2019 to 2025
Develop the Skills to Practice Hypnosis with Confidence and Purpose
Self-Hypnosis
Use self-hypnosis to support your own growth and teach clients practical techniques they can use between sessions.
Introduction to NLP Techniques
Expand your toolkit with practical NLP techniques that can enhance communication, shift unhelpful patterns and support effective change work.
Waking Hypnosis
Use conversational hypnosis and purposeful suggestion to support change without a formal hypnotic induction.
Business Success
Build a profitable, sustainable hypnosis practice with practical strategies for positioning, attracting clients, creating compelling offers and developing multiple income streams.
Practitioner Development
Strengthen your confidence, presence and adaptability through personal experience, practical application and constructive feedback.
Individualized Session Design
Create purposeful hypnosis sessions based on each client’s goals, patterns, needs and responses rather than relying on one-size-fits-all scripts.
Who This Program Is For:
This certification is designed for individuals who want to develop the skills required to use hypnosis professionally and responsibly with others.
Students in this program often include:
- therapists, counsellors, and social workers
- coaches and consultants
- wellness practitioners
- professionals interested in adding hypnosis to an existing practice
- individuals committed to developing strong practitioner skills.
The training emphasizes assessment, professional standards and structured session work, making it especially valuable for practitioners who want to add hypnosis to what they already do, expand the ways they can help their clients and enhance the effectiveness of their existing work.
If you are ready to deepen your understanding of hypnosis and develop the skills to guide meaningful change with clients, this certification program may be the next step in your professional journey.
Become a confident hypnosis practitioner with a hybrid learning approach. Review the online materials as often as you wish and gain practical experience with the live portions of the program. The program can be completed 100% online.
Experience Hypnosis from the Inside Out
Students learn hypnosis techniques and they also experience hypnosis themselves through guided sessions designed to deepen understanding and support personal and professional growth.
This experiential learning helps practitioners develop the presence and confidence required to facilitate powerful sessions with clients.
What It’s Like to Learn With Barb Davies
Tom Silver joined the certification class as a guest instructor and shared these thoughts about Barb and her teaching.
This Certification Program Is Beyond What I Expected
I enjoyed the large amount and wide variety of content. Barb sharing her knowledge, experiences, and wisdom was reassuring that I do not need to 'get it' all at the start. It is a process and one that I look forward to. I’m very impressed and so happy I took this course. To anyone who is considering enrolling in this program, I say do it! I experienced hypnosis by Barb previously. I was definitely impressed and interested in learning more about hypnosis for my own personal growth. When I saw that Barb was offering the hypnotist certification program, I jumped at the opportunity. I knew Barb to be someone who is authentic and who lives with integrity; I was confident the course would be quality. This hypnosis certification program is beyond what I expected. I highly recommend it.
~ C.B. | Ontario, Canada
It Led Me to Make Changes for the Better
I thoroughly enjoyed this program, because it made me think a lot about my actions and beliefs in my everyday life and has led me to make changes for the better. I have become more mindful, and practise meditation regularly. I am more present and take more time to listen to other people. Whether you decide to take this program purely for self interest, or as a career, I would say it's an eye opening experience into an aspect of health care that can treat a multitude of concerns and is becoming more and more prevalent today. Thank you Barb, for being a wonderful instructor, and providing feedback to hone my skills.
~ J.L. | Ontario, Canada
The World Is a Better Place With Teachers Like Her!
Barb Davies is one of the most dedicated, honest and hard-working people I’ve ever met. I was very honored to have her as my teacher. I learned so much information in this course. Barb made it very enjoyable to learn. It is very interesting, the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn!! Barb spent extra time with any students that needed extra help. Barb is very caring and dedicated to her profession and her students. I look forward to taking any other course in the future that she will offer. Barb is a very good teacher!! The world is a better place with teachers like her!
~ N.O. | Ontario, Canada
This Training Definitely Helped Me to Become a Much Better Social Worker
"I can honestly say now work is my happy place."
"I see what you mean. I enjoy using hypnotherapy with clients so much more than counselling, and they get better results."
"This training definitely helped me to become a much better social worker."
~N.M. | Ontario, Canada
This is the Best Training Program I Have Ever Taken
"This is the best training program I have ever taken. What I learned changed my life!"
~B.B. | Ontario, Canada
"Barb doesn't just give us a recipe to follow. She teaches us how to cook!"
~ C.G. | Ontario, Canada
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Apply for the 2026–2027 Clinical Hypnosis Certification and discover whether this professional training is the right fit for you.
Applications are reviewed personally, and completing the form does not obligate you to enroll.
Start Your Application