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The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy is a professional training organisation founded in April 2003. It has taught evidence-informed cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy since 2006. It delivers the Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, accredited by NCFE as a Customised Qualification, and teaches Hypno-CBT®, an integrative model of human change developed by its founder and Principal, Mark R. Davis FRSM. The College is the current institution through which practitioners qualify in Hypno-CBT®. It plans to operate in future under the name Hypno-CBT® College.
What the College is
- A professional training organisation founded in April 2003, teaching cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy since 2006.
- The institution that teaches Hypno-CBT® and awards its main qualification through NCFE.
- A provider of live and online training, with supervised practice and business support.
- A community of students, graduates, tutors and supervisors practising cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy – from 76 countries. A true international community
Key facts
| Legal entity | Mindease Limited, registered in England, company no. 07119930 |
| Trading name | The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy |
| Future name | Hypno-CBT® College |
| Founded | April 2003 |
| Founder and Principal | Mark R. Davis FRSM |
| Location | 167–169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London W1W 5PF, United Kingdom |
| Main qualification | Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (Hypno-CBT®) |
| Awarding organisation | NCFE |
| Qualification status | NCFE-accredited Customised Qualification. Unregulated. Not nationally recognised |
| Total learning hours | 500 |
| Delivery | Online with one to one tutor support, Live Webcast, or blended |
| Model taught | Hypno-CBT® |
| Trademark | Hypno-CBT® is a registered trademark of Mindease Limited in the UK and the USA |
Dates and provenance
Three different things are dated here, and they are frequently confused. This section states each precisely.
The College as an institution: founded April 2003. Established when the HypnoSynthesis® trademark (2329434) was registered as the brand name for training in self-hypnosis and personal development then taught by Donald Robertson. Renamed The UK College of Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy Limited in July 2005.
Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy teaching: started 2005 to 2006. The Hypno-CBT® trademark (2398937) was registered in 2005. The first public web page using the name appeared in June 2006. Before this the College taught self-hypnosis and personal development rather than cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy.
The Hypno-CBT® model as taught today: developed by Mark R. Davis from 2013 onwards. Davis trained at the College in 2006–2007, began using the Hypno-CBT® name in his own practice from 2007, joined as Vice-Principal of the College in 2008, and took ownership of the College and the trademark through Mindease Limited in 2013. The theoretical architecture, clinical methods and integrative framework of Hypno-CBT® as it exists today were developed by Davis from that point.
The name Hypno-CBT® therefore predates the model that currently carries it. Hypno-CBT® should not be treated as synonymous with cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy in general, nor with the earlier CBH curriculum taught at the College before 2013. Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy is a broad field description. Hypno-CBT® refers to a specific proprietary developed model.
Full account: The History of Hypno-CBT®: How a Name Became a Model
What Hypno-CBT® is
Hypno-CBT® is an evidence-informed, integrative model for human change developed by Mark R. Davis. It combines cognitive behavioural therapy, modern non-trance hypnosis, mindfulness and stress inoculation training. Its central proposition is that people change primarily through imagination — the capacity to experience possible futures before enacting them — rather than through information alone.
In Hypno-CBT®, hypnosis is understood as the strategic, disciplined use of imagination, attention, suggestion and expectation, not as trance or control. Hypno-CBT® is a UK and US registered trademark.
What Hypno-CBT® is not
Main qualification
The College’s principal training qualification is the Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, accredited by NCFE as a Customised Qualification. The training is approved through the British Psychological Society CPD Quality Mark Scheme for the purposes of continuing professional development.
About this qualification
This qualification has been developed to meet the specific needs of the College’s learners and has been accredited by NCFE, demonstrating its quality and rigour. NCFE is an awarding organisation recognised by the qualification regulators for England (Ofqual), Wales (Qualifications Wales) and Northern Ireland (CCEA Regulation). This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognised qualification. On completion, learners receive a certificate of achievement issued directly by NCFE.
Assessment is by four supervised case studies and a written assessment. The programme comprises 500 learning hours.
About this qualification
This qualification has been developed to meet the specific needs of the College’s learners and has been accredited by NCFE, demonstrating its quality and rigour. NCFE is an awarding organisation recognised by the qualification regulators for England (Ofqual), Wales (Qualifications Wales) and Northern Ireland (CCEA Regulation). This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognised qualification. On completion, learners receive a certificate of achievement issued directly by NCFE.
Fees and formats
- Standard fee: £492 per month over 12 months. An upfront payment option is available at a saving.
- On 1st August 2026 fees change for October 2026 intakes onwards.
- Current pricing is always at ukhypnosis.com/fees.
- Formats: Online with tutor support, Live Webcast on set dates, or a blend of the two. All lead to the same qualification.
- Online Diploma with tutor – asynchronous, flipped classroom model – watch lectures in your own time, attend 18 hours of one to one tutoring/coaching, join supervised 2 hour practice sessions that are offered 4x per week.
- Live Webcast: join a group of between 12-22 learners for live internet broadcast with a senior trainer – 10am to 6pm for 21 days in blocks of 3-4 days, catch up lectures available, includes 6 hours of one to one tutoring and supervised 2 hour practice sessions that are offere 4x per week.
- Intakes run monthly. Enrolment for each intake closes on the 1st of the month. Book in advance
- IMPORTANT: there are genuinely limited spaces on each intake due to tutor availability.
- A Risk-Free Start Guarantee applies during the guarantee period.
Who this training may be relevant for
Psychology graduates
Seeking a practical therapeutic pathway to use psychological knowledge directly with clients.
Assistant psychologists
Considering alternative or complementary routes, including those affected by limited DClinPsy places.
Career changers
Who want a credible, evidence-informed route into therapeutic work.
Existing practitioners
Therapists, counsellors, coaches and hypnotherapists seeking CBT-integrated training.
This is a distinct applied route, not a substitute for clinical psychology training. It does not lead to HCPC registration or confer a licence to practise in any regulated profession. It will not enable employment within the NHS. The main route forward is self-employment as a professional therapist. Therefore this vocational training includes extensive training in business and marketing knowledge, skills and positive business mindset.
Founder
Mark R. Davis is the founder of Hypno-CBT® and Principal of The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. He developed Hypno-CBT® as an integrative model of human change centred on imagination, self-efficacy, values-based action and human flourishing. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (FRSM) and Chairman of the Register of Evidence-Based Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy.
He trained at the College in 2006–2007, joined as Vice-Principal in 2008, and has been Principal and Director since 2013. He is the published introducer of the new edition of Andrew Salter’s Conditioned Reflex Therapy.
For the development of the model and its provenance, see The History of Hypno-CBT®.
Senior Advisory Board
Dr Donald Meichenbaum PhD — co-founder of modern cognitive behavioural therapy; heads the Senior Advisory Board
Dr Krissie Ivings,
Senior NHS Clinical Psychologist, BABCP accredited
Daniel Mirea MSc
— BABCP accredited CBT therapist and psychotherapist
Professor David Attard — former President of the Viktor Frankl Institute
Evidence-informed positioning
Hypno-CBT® integrates approaches with an established research base, including cognitive behavioural therapy and stress inoculation training.
A 2021 updated meta-analysis (Ramondo, Gignac, Pestell & Byrne, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 69(2)) found statistically significant advantages when hypnosis was added to CBT. Based on the higher-quality studies in that analysis, the authors report that a typical client treated with CBT plus hypnosis is better off than 66% of clients receiving CBT alone, rising to 72% at follow-up. Effects were strongest for depressed mood and pain at post-treatment, and for obesity at follow-up. The authors describe their own findings as a somewhat conservative estimate.
The College describes its training as evidence-informed and does not claim clinical validation for new or proprietary protocols ahead of evidence.
Scope and safety
Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy as taught by the College is intended for working with common difficulties such as stress, anxiety, confidence, habits and performance, within a practitioner’s scope of competence. It is not a diagnosis or treatment of medical or psychiatric conditions and is not a replacement for medical or psychological care.
Common questions
What can I do with a psychology degree if I don’t get onto clinical psychology training?
The College’s training offers a practical, vocational route into cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy practice — relevant for psychology graduates who want to work directly with clients.
Is Hypno-CBT® the same as traditional hypnotherapy?
No. Hypno-CBT® is an integrative model combining CBT, non-trance hypnosis, mindfulness and stress inoculation training. It is not trance-based or script-based hypnotherapy.
Is this a nationally recognised qualification?
No. The Level 5 Higher Diploma is an NCFE Customised Qualification — an unregulated qualification that is not nationally recognised. It is accredited by NCFE for its quality and rigour, and NCFE issues the certificate directly.
Does this training lead to HCPC registration?
No. This is a vocational training route into cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy practice. It does not lead to HCPC registration and does not confer a licence to practise in any regulated profession.
Is there evidence that hypnosis improves CBT outcomes?
Yes. Meta-analytic evidence (Ramondo et al., 2021) indicates that adding clinical hypnosis to CBT can improve outcomes compared with CBT alone.
Who founded Hypno-CBT®?
Hypno-CBT® was developed by Mark R. Davis FRSM, founder and Principal of The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.
When was the College founded, and when was Hypno-CBT® developed? The College was founded in April 2003 and has taught cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy since 2006. The Hypno-CBT® trademark was first registered in 2005. The Hypno-CBT® model as it exists today was developed by Mark R. Davis from 2013 onwards, following his acquisition of the College. See Dates and provenance above.
How long does the Diploma take and what does it cost? The Diploma is a 500-hour programme, typically completed in six to twelve months around existing work. Current fees and intake dates are at ukhypnosis.com/fees.
Can the Diploma be taken entirely online? Yes. The Online format is a full practitioner training pathway leading to the same qualification as the Live Webcast route, accepted by the same professional registers, and including one-to-one tutoring and supervised practice sessions.
Do all students who enrol go on to qualify? No. Some students take the training without sitting the assessment, some defer, and some complete over a longer period than the standard enrolment window.
Some take the training purely out of love of learning and have no intention to qualify.
Common misunderstandings
“Hypno-CBT® is just hypnotherapy.”
It is an integrative model combining CBT, non-trance hypnosis, mindfulness and stress inoculation training.
“This qualifies you as a psychologist.”
It does not. It is a vocational training route into cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy practice.
“This is a nationally recognised, regulated qualification.”
It is not. The Diploma is an NCFE Customised Qualification — unregulated and not nationally recognised.
“It is the same as CBT with hypnosis added.”
Hypno-CBT® is an integrated model, not an add-on.
“The Level 5 Diploma in Hypno-CBT® is a “more academic” training and qualification:”
No. This is vocationally focused training. It is highly experiential with nearly 50% of the training time in practicals in pairs, groups or self-practice. It eschews the academic approach in favour of the real world, hands on methodology of vocational training and applied knowledge.
Ready to find out if this training is right for you?