The Status of Research and Training in Hypnosis at APA Accredited Clinical/Counseling Psychology Internship Sites: A National Survey

Although numerous psychologists reported gaining hypnosis skills during their internship experience, few investigations have assessed the characteristics of this training. The present survey of 123 APA accredited clinical/counseling internship sites was conducted in an attempt to describe the training currently available. Other variables investigated were hypnosis research at the sites and training directors' attitudes toward hypnosis. Results indicate that hypnosis training is growing and becoming more formalized; hypnosis research has experienced growth; and attitudes toward hypnosis continue to remain positive. Summary This study has attempted to describe the characteristics of hypnosis training available and research undertaken at APA accredited clinical/ counseling internship sites. There are two major limitations to this research project. First, 39% of the population under study did not respond to either the initial or follow-up mailings. Thus, the comparison between the present results and the results of Parrishs (1975) study (with a 99% response rate) needs to be considered with caution. Second, as with all self-report measures, the respondents to the questionnaire made subjective and criterion-free responses. Thus, there was no method to judge the accuracy of their responses. With the above caveats in mind, the major finding of the present study is that there has been an increase in the percentage of internship sites that offer hypnosis training since Parrish (1975) investigated the training available in 1973 and found only 28 (27%) sites offered formal hypnosis training. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of programs reporting staff who have been trained in hypnosis. Parrish (1975) reported 48% of the sites had trained staff and the present survey found 82% of the sites reported at least one stafF member trained in the use of hypnosis. Another interesting comparison between Parrish's results and the results of the current study is that Parrish found 57% of the sites offered hypnosis training either formally or informally while the present study found that 55% of the programs offer training on a formal basis. Also, Parrish reported 57% of the sites had offered hypnosis training for 5 years or less, while 55% of the present respondents indicated that hypnosis training had been available for 5 or more years. More internships reported conducting hypnosis research than did sites in the Parrish study, and more research projects we