Requirements for becoming a Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner

To become a licensed Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner, all attendees will be required to complete the following:-

- read Maggie Howell's "Effective birth preparation - your practical guide to a better birth"

- Attend the five day training course

- Attend the one day birth physiology workshop (for non birth professionals)

- Complete a written assessment (3 essays) after the course covering their knowledge on birth physiology, hypnotherapy and the application of hypnosis for birth.

- Run a section of a Natal Hypnotherapy workshop assessed by Maggie Howell or another senior NH practitioner

- Sign the Natal Practitioners Licensing agreement

Once you have completed the above, you will be invited to become a licensed practitioner. The licence is renewable annually for a charge of £125+VAT

What will you be able to do once you are a licensed practitioner?

The training will qualify and enable you to run the

• Natural pain relief workshop (either one day or 2 x 3 hr sessions)
• Effective birth preparation workshop (either one day or 2 x 3 hr sessions)
• Private one to one workshops
• The Natal club (weekly hour long pregnancy relaxation classes) in your area
• Short taster sessions for mums
• Short taster sessions for midwives 

The recommended cost of workshops is £95 per couple for one workshop or £190 for both workshops.

You will receive everything you need to start running the workshops straight away from the scripts to the hand outs to the packing list!


What will you receive on completion of the Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner Training?

Once you have completed the assessment, you will receive:-

·A license certificate to practice as a Natal Hypnotherapy™ practitioner

·A practitioner’s training manual taking you step by step through the workshop content

·A Natal Hypnotherapy™ operations manual guiding you through running your business

·A starter set of Natal Hypnotherapy™ workshop fliers to promote your workshops locally

·A postcode geographic area for running and marketing workshops including

demographic breakdown, ages groups, income categories, population density

·Range of hypnotherapy scripts for use on the workshop

·A sample copy of the Natal Hypnotherapy™ CDs

·Natal Hypnotherapy™  births DVD

·Sample hand outs for parents

·Guidelines on marketing yourself and the Natal Hypnotherapy™ workshops including

making the most of social media

·Guidelines on finding the right venue and a checklist for venue criteria

·Recommended reading list

·Guidelines on running your own business

·Pro forma press releases and sample adverts

·Access to the on line “team tool”

·Post course participant questionnaires

·Post natal questionnaire on birth outcomes and summary statistics and testimonials

you can use on your site.

You will also be able to buy all your Natal Hypnotherapy™ products at a discounted price (CDs, workshop manuals, birthing balls, books etc) for both running workshops as well as for selling on to participants.


What makes Natal Hypnotherapy different from other hypnotherapy for birth training programmes?

Natal Hypnotherapy™ was developed in the UK by clinical Hypnotherapist Maggie Howell since 2000. The techniques, principles and approach of Natal Hypnotherapy™ has developed organically through the teachings of the worlds leading natural birth experts including Michel Odent, Ina May Gaskin and Sheila Kitzinger. Maggie Howell has created the programme following her own experiences of giving birth five times using Natal Hypnotherapy™ and from her work and interaction with over two thousand midwives and antenatal teachers across the UK, and having reached over 100,000 women.

Natal Hypnotherapy™ teaches a woman to fully trust her body, to address, understand and overcome fears, to reframe her beliefs and how to work with her body in the way that is right for her. It does not teach women that birth is “pain free”, instead it teaches women to accept, welcome and work with the sensations in her body and to understand the causes and reasons behind the sensations she is feeling. The workshop does not imply that if a woman feels pain, then she is not following the techniques correctly or that she is doing something wrong. It does however teach her ways to work with the sensations and ways to “regroup” if she has a particularly strong sensation for example after waters breaking or a change of location or medical supporter.

Natal Hypnotherapy™ also focuses equally on preparing a woman's birth partner to overcome fears, to fully understand the birth process from a physiological as well as hormonal level and to learn effective ways to help a woman work with her body and to flow with the direction of birthing rather than fight it. However we also prepare women who may not have a partner willing to do the workshop.

Natal Hypnotherapy™ teaches a unique, tailored approach so that each couple is empowered to write their own affirmations, birth “mind maps” and to use their own personal imagery and post hypnotic suggestions. This way the couple “own” their birth preparation helping them to have the birth experience that is right for them. In addition the couple learn to use the techniques, not just for the birth but for other times including, perennial massage, back pain during pregnancy and after the baby is born with breastfeeding.

Couples may or may not have attended other antenatal classes before participating in Natal Hypnotherapy workshops. For those that have, they still find they learn new skills, techniques and gain a better understanding of birthing by participating in a Natal Hypnotherapy workshop. Each couple can choose which NH workshop they want to do, when and where, giving them greater flexibility.

The Natal Hypnotherapy™ workshops together offer a complete birth preparation course and teaches couples a wide range of comfort measures including massage, positions, visualisation, use of water and use of a birthing ball. The workshops teach parents all they need to know to feel prepared and ready for birth. They are no longer frightened about the experience and so find that they enjoy practicing the techniques, take time out to relax, and let go of all the old fears and concerns. At the end of each workshop, couples leave feeling confident, excited and truly prepared.

The training to become a Natal Hypnotherapy™ practitioner is more robust than other approaches with a longer term training programme including practical assessment and on going study days.

In addition you become part of a close knit community of practitioners with on going practical support from Natal Hypnotherapy™ head office and fellow NH practitioners. All licensed practitioners work together as a group to promote the workshops in their own areas as well as across the UK as a whole.

The level of training, reputation in the UK and ongoing support stands us apart from other courses.


Course content

a) Birth physiology workshop 1 day (for non birth professionals)
• To have a clear understanding of the physiology of birth
• Understanding the physical structure of the female body
• The impact of hormones before, during and after birth
• The importance of environmental factors on birth
• Understanding of how birth begins and the “normal progression” of birth
• How a woman’s body will birth her baby if it is unhindered by drugs
• The difference when she has had artificial hormones / drugs
• The emotional factors which influence birth
• Dispelling myths
• The impact of beliefs on birth
• Research supporting the above

b) Hypnosis – Theory and practice – 2 days
• What is hypnosis? (and what it is not)
• How hypnosis can be used
• Understanding the power of the subconscious
• Taking a person into hypnosis
• Importance of language – both helpful and unhelpful
• Practising induction techniques
• Deepeners
• Using visualisation
• Assessing depth of hypnosis
• Dealing with abreactions
• Understanding the differences in how people perceive the world
• Using appropriate language patterns
• Using metaphor to help create change
• Noticing your clients labels and metaphors
• Use of post hypnotic triggers
• Using anchors and associations
• Applying hypnosis to therapeutic situations
• Running a hypnosis session
• Programme writing
• Letting go exercises
• Applying hypnosis to yourself
• The use of time distortion
• How to safely bring someone out of hypnosis
• Contraindications
• Introduction to other techniques to support a woman e.g. EFT, NLP

c) Running Natal Hypnotherapy™ Workshops – 2 days

• The impact of fear on hormones
• Understanding other cultures approach to birth
• Hypnosis through out pregnancy
• The importance of preparation of the mind and body
• Using post hypnotic suggestions to turn fear into confidence
• How hypnosis reduces / eliminates fear and is replaced with confidence
• The impact of fear on the birth process
• Script writing for usual and un unusual situations e.g. breech, twins
• Creating conversational change
• Importance of antenatal care and not antenatal “scare”
• Natural pain relief strategies
• Body centric hypnosis
• Using hypnosis whilst moving around / eyes open
• Overcoming challenges
• Facilitation skills
• Pre workshop questionnaire
• Ice breaker introductions
• Hopes and fears exercises for couples
• Working with birth partners (especially cynical ones!)
• Managing a temperature chart (gauging couples beliefs and skills)
• Teaching self hypnosis to couples
• Naming, facing and reframing fears
• Letting go exercises
• Teaching the physiology of birth
• The emotional map of labour and how to work with each one
• Massage techniques
• Positions for birth
• Using water for the birth
• Working with the medical team
• Importance of environmental factors
• The impact of relaxation and hypnotherapy on the baby
• Using hypnosis to help bonding and communication with the baby
• Ways to use hypnosis after the baby is born
• Importance of avoiding induction
• Breathing techniques and exercises
• Understanding and using the comfort dial
• The role of the birth partner
• Building time distortion into the programme
• Using hypnosis during labour – birth partner and professional
• Teaching couples to write their own affirmations and mind map of birth
• Recommended reading

d) Business / marketing element
• Understanding the licensing agreement
• Your obligations to NH
• NH obligations to you
• Insurance requirements
• Financial and accounting processes
• Taking and managing bookings
• Understanding tax, national insurance, VAT requirements
• Legal requirements
• Health and safety
• IT requirements
• Finding the right venue
• Marketing yourself and the workshops in your area
• Social network marketing
• Networking with other birth professionals
• Making the most of your network
• Local PR

What is the investment required in setting up a Natal Hypnotherapy practice?

The total cost is of becoming a licensed practitioner is £995 (inc VAT) plus £100 for the birth physiology workshop for non birth professionals.

Once you begin running workshops you will be required to buy the Natal Hypnotherapy CDs and books at trade prices (all participants are to receive a CD for booking one workshop and a book if they book both workshops). NH takes no other percentage or fee per booking.

You will then be subject to an annual license fee of £125 + VAT, payable each 1st of October and you will be issued with a License certificate to display. You are required to have and maintain appropriate insurance and undertake continuous professional development CPD.
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How to book your place?

To apply for a place on the course please follow the link below. Following your registration you will be sent an application form and contacted for a short interview on the phone to assess your suitability to become a Natal Hypnotherapy Practitioner with Maggie Howell.

Places will be awarded based on suitability of the candidate to run workshops (e.g. personal philosophy, experience using Natal Hypnotherapy™, ability and attitude towards making a success of running workshops) – not necessarily on work experience i.e. being a midwife or a Hypnotherapist.

The workshop is not for people who just want to learn a bit more or who just want to collect another “badge”, or who wish to use NH material in their own workshops. It is suitable for people who are passionate about helping empower women to have a better pregnancy and birth and who want to have a successful Natal Hypnotherapy business and are prepared to put in the time and effort to make it happen.

Payment is required in advance and can be made by cheque, credit / debit card or bank to bank transfer. Payment plans are available when you apply.  Click here to apply now