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Become a Certified Hypnotherapist

Attend Our 500-Hour State Licensed Training

Earn Certification in Evidence-Based Integral Hypnotherapy® 

Learn Our Hypnotherapy Methodology Which Was Scientificaly Validated by NIH Funded Research

Now Registering For Winter 2025

 

For nearly 40 years, we have been a Licensed Hypnotherapy Training Institution in America. We have developed and now teach hypnotherapy methods that have been scientifically validated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research.

Click here to download class schedule, tuition options and course content.

  • Welcome to the official website for the Hypnotherapy Academy of America®, known for providing world-class comprehensive and in-depth hypnotherapy education since 1988. Completing our 500-hour training qualifies you for the highest level of certification in the field. Call us at 877-983-1515, or international callers 505-767-8030, for information about the life-transforming techniques this class is packed with. 
  • We are one of the oldest hypnotherapy training institutions in the world, with graduates from every state in the US and all over the globe, helping people transform their lives using the power of the subconscious mind with our scientifically validated methodology. We are the only hypnotherapy training in the current era whose varying multi-session system has been scientifically validated through the independent peer review process to be found as “superior” to other therapies. Please see our Research page for the details.
  • No previous college credits are required to attend our State Higher Education Department licensed hypnotherapy school and clinical hypnosis training. 
  • Flexible schedule. Our LIVE accelerated certification course in evidence-based hypnotherapy is held three times a year and is taught in 2-week modules so you can take one module at a time, or do all the modules together for the complete “accelerated” hypnotherapy training.
  • Major Landmark Achievement for Hypnotherapy: The 4-year study funded by the NIH and conducted at the University of New Mexico Hospital utilizing our methodology, is now complete and it was a great success for hypnotherapy. Click on the ‘Research’ tab for details. Now you can learn this methodology by attending our training.
  • Over the last three decades, we have developed a unique, no-nonsense approach, incorporating practical, spiritual and holistic philosophies into one of the world’s most prestigious professional hypnotherapy training courses.
  • One of the primary benefits of learning hypnotherapy here at the Academy is that upon completing our program you are qualified for certification with both the International Board of Hypnotherapy and the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
  • Successfully completing this hypnotherapy course makes you one of the most highly trained and best prepared for private practice clinical hypnotherapists in the WORLD! (This hypnosis training is double or even triple the education most hypnotherapists have.)
  • Licensure and Approvals. Our hypnotherapy school is licensed by the State of New Mexico Higher Education Department. Approvals include: Department of Labor, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the International Board of Hypnotherapy, and the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
  • Also Receive Training in Medical Hypnosis. Robert Sapien is a physician and a tenured Distinguished Professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.  He serves as principal investigator on several research studies and is recognized nationally as an expert in emergency asthma care and school emergencies.  Dr. Sapien formerly served as the Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UNM Hospital.  After graduating from the Academy’s medical support hypnotherapy program, he returned as an Associate Instructor and Practical Skills Coach.  Dr. Sapien has incorporated hypnosis in the emergency care of children, as well as conducting grand rounds and other C.M.E. in-services on the use of medical support hypnosis.

Robert Sapien, MD, CMS-CHt

Throughout Dr. Sapien’s medical career he always had a sense that mind was the original foundation of healing.  After he trained at the Academy and began regularly using our methods in his medical practice, his premise was confirmed by how well his patients responded. He has stayed on as a practical skills coach to help new students in learning hypnotherapy and medical support hypnosis.

Tim Simmerman Sierra Medical Hypnosis

Academy Director, Tim Simmerman Sierra
performs hypnosis on Jude Karolick, Academy Graduate,
for dentistry free from anxiety & pain

Our Director and Lead Instructor, Tim Simmerman Sierra is a former nationally registered paramedic and teaches hypnotherapy students effective accelerated healing and pain erasure hypnotherapy techniques.  Some applications include hypnodontics, surgery preparation, childbirth with hypnosis and more.

What Graduates Are Saying About Our Instructor-Lead Remote Course, Which You Can Attend From Home

This is the fourth hypnosis program I have attended and while I learned something from every training, this is the course that empowers me to confidently and proudly tell people I’m a Clinical Hypnotherapist. The Hypnotherapy Academy of America course (HAA) is in a category of its own.

Now I really know how the mind works!

Tim Simmerman Sierra is a gifted teacher who showed up every single day with enthusiasm, compassion, and well-timed humor. He teaches from life experience, not just a book. And Angela Simmerman Sierra’s creativity, compassion, knowledge and humor are magnetic.

Not only did we receive the best preparation in clinical and medical support hypnotherapy but we also formed a community that will support us beyond graduation. The quality of education at HAA is rare and worth both the financial and time investment.

Having supervision and coaching for every new skill we learned felt very supportive, and tremendously helpful.

I had no idea this course would change my life, that I would get such a huge return on my investment, and that I would have ongoing support after graduation… I cannot wait to help people learn to use their own subconscious minds! It’s the most empowering, transformative healing practice I’ve ever learned. I feel deeply grateful, excited, and supported for this new chapter of life.

It is such a gift to have been able to learn at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America.

If you are serious about hypnotherapy as a career, this is the school. If you approach life from a holistic perspective and are prepared to do your own healing work as you go through it, this is the school for you.

This is the best hypnotherapy school in the United States!

Thank you, Tim, Angela, Madeline, and the staff. I have the utmost respect and admiration for each of you!

Joan Hoedel
Summer Class 2024

There is no doubt in my mind, that the Hypnotherapy Academy of America, is the best and, really, the only choice if you want to receive the most thorough Hypnotherapy training, where developing your success as a hypnotherapist is at the forefront of instruction.

I had looked at several other hypnotherapy programs before making my decision to attend HAA. Within the first week of class, I knew I had selected the right program and through every Module, I felt more and more confident.

Not only are you taught their unique Integral Hypnotherapy techniques that are client-focused and uniquely backed by NIH-funded study, as well as how to stay in integrity within your scope of practice, but you are also fully supported with step-by-step instruction on creating a successful hypnotherapy practice. All classes are taught with compassion and a genuine desire to empower and transform lives. It is intense, but so worth it!

You will leave inspired and empowered.

I had read some reviews that had mentioned how the training profoundly affected the lives of others, but I didn’t think that would happen to me. I thought that I had done a lot of work already on myself and had a solid awareness of who I am. WOW! I was surprised at some of the discoveries I made in class. Deep programming that I wasn’t aware of and that was holding me back was exposed. Most importantly my connection to my inner wisdom was strengthened.

I am very grateful and excited to move forward feeling true empowerment and having the tools to succeed.

Elizabeth Zampolli
Summer Class 2024

Graduate Compares the Hypnotherapy Academy of America’s Training to Other Courses She Attended

 

“I give the course a SCORE OF 100 OUT OF 100! Tim is a genius and a gift to humanity.”

Eric Suh, CHt
Bettendorf, IA

“I have been in the classroom for 22 years, both as a student and as a teacher. The Hypnotherapy Academy is the very best possible learning environment ever! The knowledge and expertise of the instructors are equally matched with their enthusiasm, clarity and humor. I found no other program that provides such comprehensive and thorough hypnosis training. The personal growth I experienced in THIS NURTURING ENVIRONMENT WAS PROFOUND!”

Emily Lustig, M.ED., C.Ht.
Colorado Springs, CO

Caution: Consumer Alert

We know it is hard to sort out all the different claims made by some so-called “hypnosis schools and boards.” Stay away from “distance learning” or correspondence courses that claim to certify you as a clinical hypnotherapist. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy is a healing art based on scientific methods. Only basic hypnotherapy theory can be obtained from the right books or videos. Effectiveness is unlikely without live demonstrations, in-depth and advanced discussion, question and answer opportunities and supervised clinical practice.  Just as correspondence courses are inappropriate for counselors, medical doctors and massage therapists, they are wrong for people who want to be effective and successful clinical hypnotherapists.

There are no other schools affiliated with our school or authorized by us to teach our curriculum or use our name. They say imitation is a form of flattery, but do not assume that anyone using derivations of our brand name, HYPNOTHERAPY ACADEMY OF AMERICA™, are teaching our curriculum, which has been carefully designed over the last 25 years.

There is only one Hypnotherapy Academy of America curriculum designed by its lead instructor, Tim Simmerman-Sierra. He has EXCLUSIVELY held the position of lead instructor since 1995.  Hypnotherapy Academy of America is a federally registered trademark, awarded to Tim and Angela Simmerman-Sierra. In recent years we have seen that others have started to use “Hypnotherapy Academy” as part of their name. We believe this is to borrow from our name brand recognition, credibility and professional reputation. We have been using this name since 1999. Do not accept any imitation.

The only campus of the Hypnotherapy Academy of America is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. No other trainings in the world qualify for affiliation at this time. We have no “Denver Campus,” we have no “Midwest Campus,” we have no “Florida Campus,” we have no “California Campus.” When other schools do become affiliated it will be announced on our website.

See “School History” page for more details.

In no way are the Hypnotherapy Academy’s services to be interpreted as providing medical or psychiatric services. Hypnotherapy services are not offered as a replacement for counseling, psychotherapy, psychiatric or medical treatment. Hypnotherapy is an educational process that facilitates access to internal resources that assist people in increasing motivation, or altering behavior patterns to create positive change. The education of hypnotherapy is classified under Human Services in the Health and Human Services Division of the Classification of Instructional Programs by the United States Department of Education.

Find out why people from more than 35 countries and all 50 states have attended this Clinical Hypnotherapy Training Course.  
Click here to download class schedule, tuition options and content.

What Graduates Are Saying About Our Instructor-Lead Remote Course, Which You Can Attend From Home

The Hypnotherapy Academy of America program is more than just training. It is years of wisdom, infinite knowledge, science-based tools, and techniques, that are packed into 500 hours. The program changed my life. I used to suffer from migraines, up to 4 a week. After doing the in-class hypnotherapy sessions, they vanished!

I loved the live remote learning… We still learned all the hypnotherapy techniques [for in-person and online practice].  We practiced together in class and outside of class. We developed an incredible sense of warmth, compassion, caring, and like a real family, we all felt connected to each other.

Diane Soulliere
Winter Class 2023

Graduate Speaks about Her Immediate Success After 400 hours of Integral Hypnotherapy Training. Summer 2024

 

Former State Assistant Attorney General Reports His Results from Our Hypnotherapy Training

“I learned more powerful and effective techniques to facilitate growth and positive change at the Hypnotherapy Academy than during my entire psychology master’s program! Tim has masterfully integrated the best of the best of what truly works, into his hypnotherapy certification course. In three years at Georgetown University and another three years at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, I NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH HIGH QUALITY TEACHING and such a useful curriculum as I have at the Academy. I am a happy beneficiary: I reached very specific financial goals, and became a happier, more centered and enthusiastic person as a result of the course.”

E. Maine Shafer, Jr., MA, JD, CHt
Albuquerque, NM

Personal and Professional Goals Achieved

“My hypnotherapy business is humming along. Within less than a year of graduating, I am doing between 8 and 15 sessions per week now! I love my work and give thanks to God every day for the opportunity to help others. I wouldn’t be where I am today, having these successful outcomes, if it were not for the thorough training I received at the Hypnotherapy Academy. My confidence is strong and unwavering. It still amazes me how easily this all came together and continues to do so! And my thanks to Susan for the sessions I received while at the Academy, they worked wonders for me in so many ways.”

Now it’s January 2011, Fiona is back at the Academy, completing her post graduate study in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and happily informed us that she is working with 25 plus clients weekly in her full-time hypnotherapy practice!

Fiona Vital
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hypnotherapy Training Spring 2013 Class

Our Spring 2013 Integral Hypnotherapy Training Class

“I arrived at the Hypnotherapy Academy of America believing that I had paid for and would receive the most comprehensive hypnotherapy training in the world. What I didn’t expect, however, was to find myself in an environment where I would have so many profound life transforming experiences. By the end of the second week I was completely in awe and felt that our class had already gotten more than our money’s worth. Upon completion of the course, I feel sure of two things. First, that I’m fully prepared to begin a successful hypnotherapy practice. Second, that my life will never be the same again.”

Brenda Countz
Santa Monica, California

Our Fall 2017 Integral Hypnotherapy Training Class

“Before attending the Hypnotherapy Academy of America, I had already had over 500 hours of hypnotherapy training; however, I felt that I was missing some important concepts and skills, so I went to the Academy hoping to get what I was unable to get from other training. My goals were completely fulfilled. I received a solid foundation in hypnosis and hypnotherapy and learned how to take hypnotherapy to new heights and greater depths. As a result of the Academy training, I now do hypnotic work more efficiently and more effectively than with my prior training. Because the quality of my work as a hypnotherapist has significantly improved through the Academy training, I can offer greater value to my patients, and I can more easily market my practice.

Because of the quality of training and because of the deeply enriching personal experiences students receive, I highly recommend the Hypnotherapy Academy of America for any layperson, health professional or mental health professional who wants to become an excellent hypnotherapist.”

Greg Freedman, MD, CHt
Director, Colorado Institute of Behavioral Medicine
Boulder, Colorado

Our Spring 2017 Integral Hypnotherapy Training Class

“Attending the Hypnotherapy Academy was one of the best things I have ever done for myself! The training under Tim Simmerman’s exceptional leadership is a comprehensive and thorough educational process. Upon completion of this excellent curriculum, I know that the Academy’s graduates will be in the highest percentage of successful hypnotherapists throughout the world. Not only did the exceptional hypnosis training prepare me for a rewarding and successful career as a hypnotherapist, it also provided me with a network of valued associates, my fellow classmates.”

Sandy Agee, CHt
Deputy State Treasurer (Retired)
South Carolina

“After I received an in-class hypnotherapy demonstration session from one of the instructors, thirty years of post-surgical back pain is now GONE!
I have been pain-free and comfortable for a month now, I don’t have a new back, but I have complete comfort now. I also learned the tools to control my perception of pain and my behavior around the expectation of discomfort. I know now that I am in control of how I choose to experience my body, my mind, and the world. PURELY LIFE CHANGING!”
“Thank you Hypnotherapy Academy for the PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION, I’M ENJOYING THE RESULTS OF YOUR PROGRAM. I am a different person than the one who showed up in Santa Fe a few months ago. I have a new company, I have a beautiful new office, I have my first clients and a series of four seminars already booked… Can’t wait to see what happens when I actually have business cards, a brochure and a web site (all coming soon).”

Mark Avnet, CHt,
PhD (Cand.) Media Psychology
New England Hypnotherapy Center, Connecticut

“I never expected how much transformation is possible with this work. This hypnotherapy training went far beyond my expectations. The incredible amount of wonderfully presented material and deep wisdom touched my heart on a very deep level. The combination of hypnosis and very profound and effective methods of processing is incredible. To see the profound changes in my classmates and myself is such a gift, I feel deep gratitude for that. To imagine how much positive change will occur in other people due to this work moves my heart.”

Deiter Schindler, CHt
Psychologist (Switzerland)
Tibetan Buddhist Translator

Hypnosis Training Fall 2007 Class

Our Fall 2007 Integral Hypnotherapy Training Class

“Six years ago my wife passed away from cancer. THIS COURSE HELPED ME FINALLY HEAL. The Academy goes way beyond what is considered an excellent education. Students gain a thorough understanding of hypnotherapy, a wonderful opportunity for personal growth, and a blueprint for financial success! The Academy is well deserving of its favorable international reputation.”

Trevor Monaghan, BA, CHt
Bridgewater, England

“At the Hypnotherapy Academy, I REGAINED MY SELF-RESPECT and self-confidence, and now experience self-acceptance, self-understanding, and self-forgiveness. I made friends and learned how to accept others as they are, I DISCOVERED MY PURPOSE. Thanks to your love and teachings Tim, I experienced the state of grace.”

Ellen Callaghan, CHt
Bridgeville, CA

“This is the third hypnotherapy school I have attended. I LEARNED MORE IN THE FIRST WEEK at the Hypnotherapy Academy than those other schools combined! Because of Tim and his staff, I won’t be needing a fourth.”

Ray Williams, CHt
Fort Collins, CO

The Hypnotherapy Academy of America’s (HAA) function is to provide comprehensive training in the field of hypnotherapy.  Completing Module 3 (300 hours) and Module 4 (400 hours) results in eligibility for certification with professional organizations like the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners and the International Board of Hypnotherapy. These organizations, and others like them, provide self-regulating functions including but not limited to setting standards for minimum levels of education required for certification, scope of practice limitations, professional ethics, continuing education requirements, and at times, consulting with state legislators and their committees.

All individuals aspiring or graduating from our program are entirely responsible for ensuring that they are complying with the regulations and requirements specific to their state or jurisdiction for practicing hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

HAA does not make any guarantees that completing its course will qualify an individual to practice hypnotherapy in any particular state.

The choice to practice hypnosis or hypnotherapy is that of the individual who received training. HAA assumes no liability for any legal consequences that may arise from such practice.