Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Quick links on this page:

• Eligible Health Professionals
• Core Therapies Taught
• Course Approvals
• Course Past Approvals
• Venues

Download the Course Application Form

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Clinical Hypnosis, Counselling, Relaxation, Stress Management, Guided Imagery, Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and the GPMHSC approved Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) Skills Training (FPS-ST) and FPS-CPD plus MH-CPD Course for Health Professionals.

N.B. This course includes the Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS-ST aka Level 2, approved by the GPMHSC) as required for general medical practitioners (GPs) to register with MEDICARE to use several extra mental health item numbers and for generalist psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists to also use MEDICARE FPS related mental health item numbers in clinical practice. This training has multiple professional accreditations to support continued registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The course previously also contained Mental Health Skills Training (MH-ST Level 1).

RACGP approved for GPs for 5 Accredited Activities for a total of 76 CPD hours for EA 39.5 hours  RP 30 hours and MO 6.5 hours.

The 2024 Clinical Course is being held in SYDNEY and it is hoped to be conducted again in the future in Brisbane and Melbourne.

• Increase your therapeutic power
• Boost compliance
• Encourage loyalty
• Expand your practice
• Empower your patients/clients/consumers

You will learn how to help your patients with and without medication. Many students comment that this is one of the best courses that they have ever attended. Learn the theory and how to put it into practice.

This is a practical and cost effective course.

You can expect to learn a lot at this course and then to enjoy using these new skills – for self hypnosis and for helping your patients. You will learn and understand how hypnosis is produced, including its occurrence in every day life. Hypnosis is used to empower people and to increase their self efficacy.

This course will teach you the fundamentals of CBT, guided imagery, counselling, stress management and relaxation. The emphasis is on using a positive approach with your patients. Each day the whole group relaxes together. CBT and the FPS form the platform for the knowledge and skills acquired in this course.

Each time we relax, confidence building suggestions are given to improve wellbeing, concentration and self esteem.

You will also be practising relaxation and hypnosis with your colleagues each day in small groups. Group debriefing follows practical sessions. All activities are voluntary. No activity is compulsory. You will learn a variety of techniques so that you can vary the relaxation, guided imagery, CBT approach or hypnotic procedure according to the personality of the patient.

Rapid techniques are included which are useful for the busy practitioner.

You will learn how to achieve relaxation and self hypnosis.

When you know how to develop a feeling of relaxation yourself, you are more effective in using relaxation with others. By the end of this course, you can expect to be proficient at inducing relaxation, guided imagery and hypnosis and using CBT techniques with appropriate patients.

You can use these skills in your practice immediately.
This is an initial course in hypnosis, FPS and CBT, but it is much more than an introductory course.

This is one of the best courses that you will ever attend.

The Clinical and Advanced Clinical Courses as well as the One Day Mental Health Modules and all Single Day Mental health Modules each contain Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) and CBT and Single Mental Health Modules are accredited with the GPMHSC for FPS-CPD and MH-CPD.

Clinical Courses are being conducted in Sydney only in 2024. Health professionals who need to complete FPS-CPD requirements such as those required for Medicare can attend the first day of the clinical course or a Single Mental Health Module to attain FPS-CPD and MH-CPD such as GPs, psychologists, clinical psychologists, OTs and social workers.

Eligible Health Professionals

The College of Medical Hypnosis has been conducting courses regularly for many years and has trained health professionals from every state in Australia as well as students from overseas. This course is restricted to health professionals only who have medical, para medical or psychological training. The majority of students are medical practitioners, psychologists, mental health social workers, mental health nurses and other nurses. Australian health professionals attending these courses need to have AHPRA national government registration to enable them to work in clinical practice, such as nurses and midwives, psychologists, medical practitioners, occupational therapists, dentists, physiotherapists, chiropractors & osteopaths, or to be a social worker with membership of the AASW. Participants need to provide evidence of actual registration documentation. Social workers need to provide copies of qualifications plus professional vocational insurance.

Core Therapies Taught

The core therapies taught are for management programmes for:

• anxiety reduction
• insomnia treatment
• smoking cessation
• weight loss
• memory enhancement
• improved concentration
• self-esteem strengthening
• facilitation of decision making
• pain reduction
• emotional healing
• empowerment and self efficacy
• appropriate self control

This course involves 48 hours of interactive learning, held over 6 days, from 8.30 am until 5.30 pm each day. An assessment is held at the conclusion of each day during the course, leading to the award of:
The Certificate of Clinical Hypnosis (CBT - FPS).

There are further courses including three different Advanced Clinical Courses available once you have consolidated the skills which you will learn in the Clinical Course, these are

Three different Certificates of Advanced Clinical Hypnosis (CBT - FPS).

With further course involvement and assessment, this course leads on to:
The Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis (CBT - FPS).

Completion of all three Advanced Courses leads to:
The Diploma of Advanced Clinical Hypnosis (CBT - FPS).

Course Approvals

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has approved the Clinical Course for the 2023 to 2025 triennium for vocationally registered general practitioners (VRGPs) for:

• 5 CPD Approved Activities (AAs) (formerly Accredited Activities and previously again Active Learning Modules category 1 each worth 40 CPD points) which total of 76 CPD hours including EA, RP and MO. VR GPs need a minimum of 50 CPD hours per annum. Modules 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 have been assessed and approved by the RACGP for 5 AAs with 76 CPD hours, enough for an entire year.
• This course meets most of the educational requirements for VR and non-VR GPs for the year and towards the triennium, except for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) also known as Basic Life Support.

The General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) has assessed 4 modules (1, 2, 4, 5) of this course and approved this training on behalf of Medicare Australia for the 2023-2025 triennium for GPs for: Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS-ST) formerly termed level 2 for GPs to register with Medicare to use the FPS related mental health item numbers.

The GPMHSC includes the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Mental Health Council of Australia plus the RACGP and ACRRM. Psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and GPs can use the FPS accreditation for GPs to substantaite their own professional development requirements for Medicare re-registration and for their AHPRA re-registration.

The GPMHSC has also approved 5 modules of the Clinical Course for GPs for FPS Continuing Professional Development (FPS-CPD) to retain their registration with Medicare to use the  FPS related Medicare item numbers. Also approved by the GPMHSC for the Single Day Mental Health Module for FPS-CPD and MH-CPD.

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) CPD Programme, under Knowledge and Skills Activity Short Format Learning as 2 Credits per hour totalling 96 credit points.

The Autralian Dental Association (ADA) and the Dental Board of Australia (DBA) CPD criteria are met for this training course.

Psychiatrists are able to allocate 48 PD credit hours for this course.

Physicians can allocate CPD credit hours under 'Structured Learning Projects'.

The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) for 65 Credit hour points.

Psychologists can calculate their own CPD hours, see http://www.psychology.org.au/Events/EventView.aspx?ID=17343

Course Past Approvals

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has listed the course on the APS website Events calender. The APS has previously approved the courses for it's members since the first approvals in 1995 by the then director of training and standards Dr Alison Garton. The APS stopped approving any courses for PD other than it's own training courses ie, run by or on behalf of the APS, since October 2012. These courses were previously approved until October 2012 for 45 Generalist credit hours as well as by the Clinical, Community, Health and Counselling Colleges in various recent years. These prior accreditations by the APS can be used as a guide for psychologists in self assessing CPD allocation in 2024.

The Psychologists Registration Board of NSW approved this course in 1995 for intern or conditionally registered psychologists in NSW for 20 credit hours. From 1996 the Psychology Board delegated credit hours allocation to a training psychologist's individual supervisor rather than the Psychology Board itself. Individual supervisors could then use the previous Board allocation of approved credit hours as a guide. The 20 hours were the maximum allocation allowed for a training course at that time.

OT Australia previously approved the training for 30 points in category 6, but they no longer accredit any training courses for any training organisations in recent years.

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) in the past triennium approved for 48 CPD credit hours. Social workers caould calculate their own CPD hours. The AASW has ceased the function of course accreditations.

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) in the pre-previous triennium for PRPD points for the entire clinical course or per module when doctors attended the first module alone or re-attended a single module or re-attended any of the modules of the course.

The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) approved in recent years for 48 CPE points.

The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) in recent years for 45 CPD hours.

The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APHCNA) aka The Australian Practice Nurses Association (APNA) was approved for 48 CPD hours until July 2017.

The Irish College of GPs approved the Clinical Course in 2003.

Venues

The clinical course will be held at 175 Conference Centre in Westmead in SYDNEY in 2024.

Courses were prviously held at the following venues for many years:

Sydney
Cumberland Psychiatric Hospital,
Hainsworth St. Westmead or Fleet St. North Parramatta 2145.

Melbourne
The St Michael's Church on the corner of Russell and Collins Street Melbourne AND The Collins St Baptist Church 174 Collins St, Melbourne 3000.

Brisbane
Mercy Place, 371 Simpsons Rd. Bardon 4065.

Darwin
The Darwin venue for the One Day Mental Health Module will be the Casuarina Campus of Charles Darwin University. TBA.

Further venue details will be given upon enquiry.

Course fees for skills training which you will use in your profession are tax deductible.

* The RACGP only guarantees credit points when both course convenors and participants comply with RACGP requirements such as completion of course assessment forms.