by Tom Nicoli
I’m curious. How many people reading this are called “Dr?” I have had many conversations with people from around the world on this very subject. It seems to come up often and for good reason, because it’s misused too often and by people who either have no right or need to do so, and that’s when it hurts us all. It hurts those of us who are determined to be viewed as hypnotism professionals. Hey, I’ve had the privilege of being Dr. Tom Nicoli on many occasions… but no more. Maybe now the curiosity has transferred to you, yes? Let me explain…
First, is it or isn’t it necessary to use credentials, titles or slogans to be the ultimate professional? I wonder what Dave Elman or Tony Robbins would answer. Notice there are no letters after their names. Curious, isn’t it? Now I whole heartedly believe in something Dr. Shaun Brookhouse once wrote on a hypnosis forum after someone saw Shaun’s signature and all of his credentials, of which there are many. The person wrote, “Gee, his card must be big.” The post had an obvious tone of sarcasm to which Shaun replied, “I do not believe you can be too educated to do what we do.” I may not be exact in the quotes, but I’m close. The point is I and any professional agree that you must be well trained to do what you do in order to provide your services in a safe and appropriate manner, however, useless, false or exaggerated credentials do not and cannot take the place of training and experience. As it is said, the proof is in the pudding. By the way, in my opinion, you may find it quite a task to find a more researched, well read and educated individual when it comes to hypnotism than Shaun Brookhouse, GCGI, MA, DCH, CertEd, PGDHP, DipHyp(Clin), DipProfCouns, HPD, FNGH, FNCH.
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I am honest, open and stand on what I say. I find it a much easier way to live in many respects. So, let’s use my experience as an example to make my point. In my work along the way in the field of hypnotism, I too wanted to create the highest level of perception as a working professional as well as open as many doors as possible to do what I do. So, with education behind me in the dental field as a full mouth reconstruction dental technician and implant specialist, I began looking at possibilities. I soon learned that you could obtain a PhD in Clinical Hypnosis and all that was required was an Associates degree, a few thousand dollars and 3-5 years to do the work. Okay… I’m interested. Oh, there was no mention that the degree was non-accredited, which if you haven’t learned by now, can be a problem. At that time, and I’m not sure if this has changed, there was no accredited PhD degree program in hypnotism that I could find. Side note: I will not mention the names of any of the “academic institutions” I contacted during this time. I’m not writing this for any reason other than my main point, which is the misuse of credentials and the lack of need to do so.
As I continued in my search, I soon learned that like many major colleges and universities, earned life credits were also available if entering a program in some of the schools offering doctorate degrees in clinical hypnosis. And as we have witnessed in our advancement of technology, distance learning programs are available which made this decision easier by the day. Man, I’m going to be a PhD. But wait, there’s more.
At the time I was still working in a dental lab with one of the greatest minds in the field, an Austrian gentleman who lectures around the world on techniques and software he developed to use in dental technology. When I asked him if he knew of the school I contacted in Europe, he not only told me “Yes”, but that he had been there. You see, even very intelligent people are insecure enough to not want to not know something. So with Anton’s validation, I signed up for the program. I received a pre-test which I thought was peculiar. It included everything from mathematics to pages requiring translation in 3 different languages. I asked Anton why such a thing would be part of it all and he said, “To prepare you for all the research you’ll be doing.” Good enough I thought; makes sense to me. So I began what became a long, lonely, self motivating time of more learning than I had done in a long time, something I don’t regret because I learned a lot.
My research and work that I submitted was based on the mind-body connection, specifically for the relief and elimination of vaginismus, a defensive reaction that is considered a sexual disorder by many health professionals. Now keep in mind, I may not be so motivated to share this with you if I had simply paid money, received a degree and had to deal with embarrassment of doing what is incredibly wrong. I actually feel more cheated than naïve because there is no academic credit for the work done. But that’s okay because that is exactly my point. The degree means nothing, but the work, research, education and experience of doing sessions those sessions which I conducted with the women who were relieved of their vaginismus symptoms is what matters. And because I took on the research project I was able to successfully work with women who visited my office from around the world. If I purchased the degree, there would be no proof in the pudding, no results, complete fraud.
The turn of events as I fast forward a bit was after speaking at Harvard Medical School and appearing on Dateline NBC. I was asked to be on the Jane Pauley Show. The only issue they had was, as an associate producer explained, “Your degree is non-accredited. Actually, I can’t find an accredited degree anywhere for hypnosis.” The issue is about legality. The show wanted an accredited, licensed health professional that used hypnosis for treatment; therefore, I was bumped as a guest. When dealing with corporate and big business America, this is very also a very common issue and it all resulted in me making an important decision. Not a decision I made joyfully, but one I knew was necessary in order to be who I profess and believe to be, an honest and ethical professional.
The following week I contacted the company that manages all of my websites, handles my audio duplication and all the artwork and packaging that goes with it. I made them a bit crazy when I said, “Everything that is out there with my name on it with PhD is to be changed.” This was a very difficult task and not able to be fulfilled 100%. You will still find old articles on the web with PhD after my name.
I discarded everything I could find so that with PhD after my name so that I could start fresh. However, a new decision was needed because I had to decide what stance I was going to take as a hypnotism professional as I furthered my education in the field and built my credentials. The decision was easy, I decided to pursue becoming a NGH Board Certified Hypnotist and an NGH Certified Instructor, neither of which I was at that time.
And for anyone who likes sounding professional, being a board certified hypnotist does the trick. I have also removed the word hypnotist from all I do and take a stand as a professional hypnotist. As I work internationally, I really can’t play the game of being a hypnotist in one state or country and then a hypnotist in another. For me this will remain until there is an even playing field across the board, especially in the U.S.A., for us as professionals in the practice of hypnotism.
It’s important to me that you do not take this as preachy or in any other way other than me simply sharing my experience. You can call yourself what you want to, but if nothing else, I have proven that you can become a leader in this field without embellishment, deceit or exaggeration.
And finally I’d like mention that, as a catalyst to this point, please know that I did not have to be a PhD to be chosen as the host of an upcoming television series on a major cable network, continue to be written about in national magazines, fill my days with clients and earn an extremely good income… just an experienced professional hypnotist who can deliver results in his work.
