Consumer alert 

NOTE: Because we do set the standards in hypnosis we receive a lot of phone calls asking about other organizations and individuals.Therefore whether we like it or not, we have been appointed as a "Watchdog Agency" for fairness and standards.

Do not be fooled there are hundreds, if not thousands of places offering education in this field. The reason for this is it is an unregulated field. This allows unscrupulous individuals to operate and to prey upon the unsuspected. The following are four actual examples: 

#1 Warning, The National Board branch in Malaysia, HM Life Coaching and Training AKA Teoh Hooi-Meng has been revoked for fraud.

#2 Sherry Forshee purchased courses and paid for same with several bad checks. Because of the dollar amount what she has done is in fact a felony, three to be fully honest as there is three bad checks. She has not returned any material back to us which of course is theft. When we tried to collect she sent us a bill? She has some serious problems as she is a bad check writer and she tries to hide her crimes by filing false complaints with other organizations against us? I know it makes no sense but we only can report the facts and must leave it to the mental health professions to try and figure out what's wrong with her. She is a real estate broker in Illinois and as such she is responsible for other people's money which is a serious problem when she cannot control her own finances.We would strongly recommend not giving money or material (credit) to this lady. The officials are currently working on this case.

#3 Hypnosis Motivation Institute was asked four years ago to stop saying,  "HMI is America's first and only nationally accredited hypnotism school," which is an outright lie. They have refused to remove this fraudulent information from their web site despite repeated requests. Click here to view a recent class action lawsuit and settlement against Hypnosis Motivation Institute by its students for its actions since 1995.
http://www.hmilawsuit.com/   OR  

groups?q=%22hypnosis+motivation+institute%22+fraud&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-

8&selm=8cc01941.0208022230.3602dc34%40posting.google

#4 There is a lady named Cathy Maxfield from NY, at www.hypnotyme.com, who called us and purchased two courses, she signed a payment agreement and after 11 days she called again and demanded $100.00 from us. We of course could not understand her request but she insisted we pay her $100.00, this despite the fact she still owed us $500.00. Our CEO spent two days trying to make sense of this and to make her happy, all to no avail.

We conversed with 20+ emails and we even gave in and gave her $100.00 credit but NO it was not good enough. She then threaten to file unwarranted, slanderous complaints against us with anyone she could. She told us she would send us a check for $150.00 to pay for the one course she had received, but she never did, nor did she return it.

She did not provide us the proper ID information we requested of her (and all members) on the enrollment or payment forms so we could perform a background check on her which should lead any reasonable person to assume she could have a criminal record, or be mentally unstable or that she is hiding something.

Her membership in 6 hypnosis/ hypnotherapy organizations has been revoked for misconduct.

In conclusion: This woman has lied to us and authorities, filed false and slanderous complaints (11) in an attempt to extort money from us, she has in fact defrauded us at this point and one should be VERY careful before doing ANY business with this questionable person who claims she is practicing "Counseling Hypnosis" with minimal training and as far as we can determine no licence or experience to do so.

Update: We have won on all of the complaints that she has filled against us to date, including the four she filed with the state. The truth is a powerful thing.

Update 4/08 She has now done numerous charge backs against us, the first one of which we have won. Second is still pending but we are sure we will also win this one as well. Update:5/15/2008 We have in fact won both charge backs brought by Cathy against us.

Update 8/08 We have received a letter from a lawyer, or a person posing as a lawyer, from South Florida who reports they have been hired by Cathy Maxfild, they have threatened us into removing the above information that we have posted or they may sue. We have responded to this attorney, (hard to know for sure as the stationary looks like a child made it) and we told them "the information will remain as its all 100% true and so it will remain for at least 10 years, as she was originally told. If She wants to sue, go for it!" This proposed law suit maybe the only way to get money from her that she still owes us. We deplore litigation but we will certainly, vigorously defend ourselves at any and all cost.

Update 2/09 No surprise that no lawsuit has ever been filed aganst us in this matter or in any other matter in our 15 year history.

Note: You may have noticed we have removed information on several other organizations as they have agreed  to work for the benefit of hypnosis and their members and we want to give everyone a chance to work for the unity of hypnosis. 

Here is a case of a poorly trained lady who has herself in big trouble. 

Bradenton Herald, The (FL) April 26, 2002 Section:

LOCAL & STATE Edition: BRADENTON Page: 1C

AUTHORITIES: HYPNOTIST WAS NOT STATE LICENSED
Nevy Wilson, Herald
Staff Writer   

A woman who helped golfers improve their game using hypnosis was arrested Thursday for practicing without a license, according to Manatee County Sheriff's officials. Detectives got a tip earlier this month that Elastine (name withheld) , 38, of Bradenton, was possibly practicing without a license, according to reports.  Andersen told an undercover detective that she was board certified, licensed and held doctorate degrees in psychology and hypnotherapy, according to sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow.

After her arrest, Andersen told detectives she earned her doctorate degree from classes she took on the Internet. Sheriff's investigators confirmed that she does not hold a license to practice psychology or hypnotherapy in Florida. Andersen advertised in several local publications and authorities are uncertain how many clients she was treating, Bristow said.  Since at least January, Andersen had been working with several students from Tony Jacklin Golf Academy. Eduardo Rondero, director of the golf academy, said he was shocked to learn about Andersen's arrest.  "Now we feel like we want to find out what's going on, just like everybody else," Rondero said Thursday.  Andersen was never on the academy's payroll, Rondero said. The academy would put up a sign-up sheet for students who were interested in working with her, he said. Students signed up and paid her individually. It was unclear how much they may have paid her per session.

"We trusted her," he said. "We feel we've been cheated, too. Next time we have to do a better background check."  About three or four students were working with Andersen, and at one point as many as seven students were going to her for help.  "She has helped a lot of our students cope with their fears about losing and all that," Rondero said.

Andersen has said that she also worked with professional and college athletes seeking to enhance their concentration in the athletic arena. She contended past clients include players from the Lightning, Devil Rays and Orlando Magic.  Andersen was arrested on a charge of practicing a healthcare profession without a license and jailed on $1,000 bail. She posted bond and was released Thursday night.

Please do not let this happen to you.

The normal acceptable amount of education in this field is 75-125 hours for a basic course.(350 hours in Indiana.) Note: a weekend course is NOT acceptable to any legitimate board.

We challenge the above organizations or individuals to find any fault with the above information and if they do we will take it off within  24 hours and post a public apology. This information is NOT provided to slam other organizations or individuals but to educate the public and hopefully inspire positive changes in this field, and we believe it has already done so.

We at the National Board have never been sued or had any City, County, State or Country stop any of our members from practicing. We also are the only ones who can claim, no complaints on file.

Be careful, if they do not have a board of directors, a toll free phone line, offer continuing education, free support, proper memberships/affiliations, an acceptable return policy, a good guarantee and a physical address; it is a sure bet you will be taken for your money. Beware of anyone wanting to teach you a one session cure all, or a videotaped course. The bad part is there is nothing you can do about it once you have purchased. Check out their return policy, accreditation's and guarantee first!!