Podcast #110 – An Interview with Dr. Richard Nongard

Welcome to Brain Software Podcast, Episode # 110 where we interview Dr. Richard Nongard on hypnosis regulation, certification, legalities and the future

And be sure to check out the show notes below while you’re listening. Send in your questions and ideas for future episodes, because Chris and Mike enjoy including your questions in the podcast!

Here are the show notes:

  • Chris and Mike chat about how training a new puppy is similar in many ways to training people. Brains learn in similar ways. What teaching message is built into your actions?
  • We just finished a live training with James Tripp, which was amazing. If you want to pre-order the videos from the weekend, there is a HUGE bonus offer available only until October 25th so check it out.
  • We loved how James discusses something called the generative or creative faculty, which we can think of as being brought online (or dialed up in intensity) as the critical faculty is brought offline.
  • Seriously, get the digital version of James’ training.
  • Mike is finally teaching Wizard School in April of 2019. We don’t even have a registration page online yet, but it’s going to be a weekend training for anyone who isn’t a total beginner. Mike will be teaching regression, ideomotor work, ego state integrations, and a number of other change tools. Stay tuned for details (be sure you’re on our email list).
  • Think Tank random Word of the Day: Water
  • Mike briefly sounds like Kermit the Frog as we discuss the word of the day. Was he just yawning? Or is there more to this issue?

We now cut to the interview with Dr. Richard Nongard.

  • Richard’s main goal over the last few years has been to professionalize the hypnosis industry, and he’s done some amazing work putting together resources for hypnotists.
  • Make sure to go to SubliminalScience.com/mandel to get these materials, which include the guide to regulations and the guide to hypnosis research.
  • Richard wants people to really understand that hypnosis solves problems.  There are over 12,000 peer-reviewed journal articles referencing “hypnosis” showing that hypnosis is effective.  That doesn’t even include papers using terms like “relaxation” or “meditation” etc.
  • There is no such thing as the “them versus us” dichotomy between hypnosis and traditional medicine. They both work, and both have important places in helping people.
  • Chris brings up the idea of individual (contextualized) hypnosis versus doing exactly the same thing (such as an audio recording) when conducting research on the power of hypnosis.
  • Richard gives a really convincing reason as to why sometimes audio recordings work better than a personalized session with a hypnotist in a research lab.
  • Richard frames his goal in helping people beautifully.  It’s not about hypnotizing anyone.  It’s about helping people become hypnotic. Educate people!
  • Why does Richard call himself a professional hypnotist instead of a hypnotherapist? Two really good reasons …both of which result in him getting more phone calls.
  • There is no place on planet Earth where, to the best of our knowledge, hypnosis is not legal. There are parts of the world with restrictions, but that’s easily manageable.
  • To outlaw hypnosis you’d have to outlaw parenting, teaching, movies and lots more! You can regulate a term such as “hypnosis”, but you can’t really stop people from doing “unconscious coaching”, for example.
  • Does certification even matter in hypnosis? We discuss this, and Richard explains why he’s changing what his ICBCH organization stands for.
  • Certification really just communicates to a client that you’ve completed some minimum level of training, standardized by some group, to help them solve problems.  Most clients actually don’t know what these organizations are, nor do they have any information as to the quality of hypnotists coming out of these organizations.
  • Certification is basically not required in most parts of the world. Richard’s guide (linked above) has more details on this.
  • Organizations should focus on teaching competency. The actual paper, for the most part, is meaningless.
  • Getting certified is about getting started with professional training!  Almost nobody comes out of a certification course ready to open a business immediately.  But those committed to continuing their study can absolutely become amazing at what they do.
  • Chris brilliantly says, in relation to taking the easy route, “I could probably each Chinese food with a hammer and a screwdriver, but I think I’d prefer chopsticks or cutlery.”
  • The bottom line … focus on GREAT QUALITY TRAINING, not pieces of paper.
  • There is a great set of reasons why we are all going to Hypnothoughts Live again in 2019.
  • To find out more about Richard Nongard’s offerings visit SubliminalScience.com and HPTI.org

Empowering Questions: Ask yourself: What limitation am I living with, and how will I improve my life when I totally eliminate that limitation?

Empowering Metafive: The story of dentistry (in Mike’s family)

Ending: Please leave a rating in iTunes, and send us your questions for future episodes!  You can either email them as text or record them using your phone’s voice recorder and email us the audio file! Email address is info(at)mikemandelhypnosis.com

Important Links and Reminders:

Get our iPhone app NUVI at the App Store to learn Ericksonian language.

Our live class with James Tripp was an incredible success and you can pre-order the digital edition here.

SOLD OUT! Our November Architecture of Hypnosis training in Toronto is full. We are booking the course in May 2019 now!