Interview with Richard Porter

HypnosisAustralia, November 2006

Richard Porter, managing director of the Academy of Hypnotic Science, talks with Dr Tracie O'Keefe DCH, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist & Counsellor
Editorial Director of HypnosisAustralia Online.

TOK: Tell me in around 100 words about the school.

RP: The Academy originally came into existence out of a concern to increase the number of people with the training required to provide high-quality clinical hypnotherapy to the community. The Academy of Hypnotic Science is a Registered Training Organisation providing formal education and training in clinical hypnotherapy at the level of Certificate IV and Diploma. The Academy course is the only training in hypnotherapy currently available in Victoria which is accredited by the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) and the Victorian Qualifications Authority (VQA)

TOK: What is your role and your background?

Prior to training as a hypnotherapist, most of my career was spent as the manager or Chief Executive Officer of a variety of Victorian-based health and welfare services ranging from Commonwealth government rehabilitation centres, through community health centres, to The Victorian Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (VicSPCAN). I have worked as a social planner, established and managed employment services for people with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability managed a palliative care service and for a time I ran my own management consultancy business. I completed my Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy in 1999 and became the managing director of the Academy of Hypnotic Science in 2001.

TOK: What modalities do you tend to favour at the Academy?

RP: We adopt a fairly eclectic approach but particularly emphasis is placed upon Rogerian principles of unconditional respect and Ericksonian principles of utilisation and the importance of designing therapy specifically for each individual client.

TOK: You run both the Cert IV and the Diploma course. What do both involve (including face-to-face hours) and extended assignments)?

RP: The Certificate IV involves 895 nominal hours of study including 120 hours of lectures, several practical assessments, the production of an relaxation audio tape or CD and a significant number of written assignments ranging from 250 to 1000 words and including case studies, essays, book reviews etc.

The Diploma involves 1295 nominal hours of study including a further 120 hours of lectures, a number of practical assessments, production of a video/DVD and a significant number of written assessments ranging from 800 to 2000 words, again including case studies, essays and book reviews.

TOK: You advertise the courses as being government accredited by the Victorian Qualification Authority and as being a nationally recognised training. How does that work? How long did it take you to acquire such recognition?

RP: Formal education in Australia is organised under the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) administered by the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST). For a qualification to be recognised by the education authorities at the State and Commonwealth levels of Government it must be accredited under the AQTF system. This means that the qualification will be recognised by all State and Territory governments and by all Tertiary education and training institutes that are registered as providers by the education authorities.

To be a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) it necessary to demonstrate that the organisation complies with the AQTF Standards for RTOs which are designed to guarantee high standards of business management and training provision.

To obtain accreditation for a particular course of study and level of qualification, a lengthy process is required during which the course proponent must explain the need for the qualification and demonstrate that the breadth and depth of the proposed course is equivalent to the level of qualification proposed. It is also a requirement that the people providing the training have qualifications in training and education and that they are qualified at least to the level of the specific area they are teaching in.

The proposal must first go before an Industry Training Board (ITB) - in our case the Health and Community Services Training Board which is made up of various health and welfare professionals including psychologists, social workers, doctors, nurses etc then before the VQA and finally before a formal assessment panel made up of representatives from both the ITB and VQA.

To maintain RTO status and course accreditation, providers are audited against the AQTF Standards at least once each year by the State government - in our case Victorian Qualifications Authority - and on occasions also by DEST. Courses must be re-accredited at least every five years which involves going through the whole process again - ours was reaccredited in 2005 and RTOs must apply for re-registration every five years also, which involves an in-depth audit by the VQA in addition to the normal audit.

TOK: What if any backgrounds do you require of a potential student?

RP: The AQTF entry requirements for Certificate IV are designed to be inclusive - that is we have to have very strong reasons to exclude anyone from enrolling and there are no formal prerequisites though we are required to give Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to anyone who can demonstrate that they have current competency from previous training or experience which is equivalent to that provided by the Academy's training.

The Certificate IV in Hypnotherapy is a prerequisite for the Diploma of Hypnotherapy.

TOK: Do you admit stage hypnotists?

RP: We cannot exclude them; however, we are strongly opposed to the practice of stage hypnotherapy and would strongly counsel any stage hypnotist against practising during or after completing the course. Ongoing membership of the Academy can be cancelled on the grounds of practising stage hypnosis.

TOK: How much supervision do you require of trainee hypnotherapists?

RP: Supervision is not a requirement of the course and as we have no regulatory status we do not see the provision of supervision post-graduation as being within our province. We do, however, stress the importance of regular and ongoing clinical supervision within the course and provide students with advice regarding membership of national associations which require and facilitate ongoing supervision.

TOK: There is much criticism that hypnotherapists are poorly trained compared with other healthcare professionals who generally have to train to at least degree standards with research components as part of their courses. What is your response to that?

RP: Ultimately I would like to see clinical hypnotherapy taught at degree level; however, I must say that the current training for clinical psychologists appears to suggest that a degree is not necessarily a very good guarantee of competency in the ability to apply the theory to practice. We have had a significant number of psychology graduates whose competency in even basic counselling skills was minimal at the time they began their training with us, though their understanding of the theory does seem to allow them to grasp the practical application very readily. It might be useful in research to know how to calculate standard deviation but is not a major competency requirement for good clinical practice; however, having well developed listening skills is essential.

It is hoped that the current trend towards competency based training in the VET sector might spill over into the university sector in the human service disciplines.

TOK: What is your opinion about trainings that only requires distance learning?

RP: In the context of clinical hypnotherapy I think it is nonsensical.

TOK: The industry of hypnotherapy in Australia is a shambles organisational wise. As a profession, what do you think could be the way forward?

RP: Firstly I would like to see the AHA and the ASCH amalgamate and become a truly national organisation (ie not so Sydney-centric) so they can provide a clear, valuable vibrant and viable alternative to the plethora of tin-pot "associations" that seem to be emerging, often as fronts for tin-pot training providers that can't get their courses accredited by any reputable authority. I would also like to see the RTOs who do have properly accredited courses (ie recognised by DEST) collaborating with such a national body to develop an agreed minimum set of core competencies and the corresponding assessment tools so that we have at least the beginnings of some agreed desirable minimum standards for training within the industry.

TOK: Who is or was your favourite hypnotist? Why do they inspire you and what did you get from them?

RP: My favourite hypnotist is the late Jim Goulding - he was my uncle and persisted for 20 years in trying to persuade me to study hypnotherapy. I am much impressed and inspired by Michael Yapko and particularly his views on hypnotherapy in the management of depression which have helped greatly to clarify my own thinking and practice.

TOK: What do think is the most important quality that a professional hypnotherapist needs?

RP: The ability to listen fully and clearly and closely.

TOK: What new directions does your school plan to go in the future?

RP: We are working towards having an Advanced Certificate of Hypnotherapy accredited then an Advanced Diploma and ultimately a Degree - that should keep us busy for most of the next 15 years at the current rate of progress.

For more information on courses held at the Academy of Hypnotic Science, phone (03) 9532 4433 or email: info@academyhypnoticscience.net. The Academy's website is at www.academyhypnoticscience.net

©HypnosisAustralia, November 2006