OCCUPATION: HYPNOTHERAPIST

Name: James Harder

Company: James Harder, Ph.D., Newport Beach

Thumbs up: “Unlike traditional psychotherapy, clinical hypnosis can bring about a long-lasting and very rapid change in behavior. It is very safe and positive and more affordable, which is especially needed in our tight economy. In addition, the American Medical Assn. has endorsed clinical hypnosis since 1958, and it is a standard subject taught in medical schools. Hypnotherapy is especially valuable in (dealing with) stress, smoking and weight control, as well as with fears and panic attacks and regaining general emotional control.”

Thumbs down: “Some people will think it is mind control or something out of a stage show or old Hollywood movie, like a trance, and that’s absolutely false. I took my post-doctoral training from medical school faculties at UCLA and UCI, and you can’t get more conservative than that. I often need to explain that hypnotherapy is a medically accepted tool.”

Next step: “I plan on continuing to take smoking cessation, stress, weight control and eating programs into major Southland corporations to improve morale and productivity. I also am working more with patients from Hoag Cancer Center to treat their anxiety and pain as well as to enhance their medical therapy and to reduce their adverse side effects of chemotherapy.”

Advice: “Be human and caring. Work with people rather than on them, and don’t keep anyone in therapy one session longer than necessary.”

Salary range: In Orange County, hypnotherapists earn between $40 and $100 an hour.

Educational and training requirements: Although many hypnotherapists have degrees in psychiatry or other related fields, hypnotherapists are not required by law to have any licenses or board certifications.

Size of work force: Small. In Orange County, between 150 and 200 people work as hypnotherapists.

Expected demand: Unlimited. Most hypnotherapists primarily work helping people to stop smoking, lose weight and learn to relax.

Job description: A hypnotherapist uses hypnosis to guide people in making changes in their lives. Hypnotherapists without medical licenses are restricted to working with individuals on self-improvement. Licensed psychologists and psychiatrists, however, may also use hypnotherapy for such therapy.

Major employing industries: Most hypnotherapists either work in small private practices or as consultants. Some teachers and coaches use hypnosis to motivate students or help them overcome test anxiety or writer’s block. Hypnotherapists have been hired to motivate the sales forces of large companies.

For more information: Call the American Board of Hypnotherapy at (714) 261-6400.