IHF

What IHF does

The International Hypnosis Federation (IHF), founded in 1994 and headquartered in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, is a privately held membership organization led by founder Dr. Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas. IHF operates a multi-revenue model centered on certification and continuing education for hypnosis practitioners and adjacent wellness professionals. Core products include a three-level in-person Hypnosis Certification ($1,997), Forensic Hypnosis Certification ($1,997), Instructor Certification ($2,497), Virtual Spiritual Counselor Certification ($1,497), and an expanding catalog of asynchronous online courses (Past Life Regression 2025, Self-Hypnosis 4-Part) priced between $497 and $1,497. Supporting the curriculum is a large proprietary book, CD, and DVD catalog authored primarily by Stockwell-Nicholas and Ormond McGill, alongside 15+ specialty credentials (Art Therapist, NLP Practitioner, Medical/Dental Hypnotist, Forensic Hypnotist, etc.) issued at $150 each.

Name

IHF

Legal name

International Hypnosis Federation

Website

https://hypnosisfederation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The International Hypnosis Federation (IHF) is a privately held, founder-led membership organization founded in 1994 that certifies hypnosis practitioners, sells training courses and specialty credentials, hosts events, and distributes professional liability insurance to its members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rancho Palos Verdes

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for practitioners seeking certification, networking, insurance eligibility, and access to resources. US residents pay $150 new/$95 renewal; non-US residents pay $165 new/$110 renewal.
2. Specialty Certifications: One-time specialty certification fees ($150) for professional recognition in areas such as Art Therapist, Life Coach, Forensic Hypnotist, Medical/Dental Hypnotist, NLP Practitioner, and others. Also includes IHF Fellow designation requiring 5 years experience.
3. Training Courses and Classes: In-person and virtual certification courses including Hypnosis Certification ($1997), Forensic Hypnosis Certification ($1997), Coaching Certification, and Spiritual Counselor Training ($1497). Discount packages available.
4. Product Sales: E-commerce store selling books, CDs, DVDs, and digital courses. Products include self-help titles ($15-$50), reference books ($200), video courses ($497), and gift certificates ($200 session with Dr. Shelley).
5. Event Fees: Registration fees for events including retreats (Bali retreat $5500), conferences, and specialty workshops. Annual It's All About YOU Conference held in Southern California.
6. Insurance Referrals: Current members are eligible to apply for professional liability insurance through Lloyds of London ($1,000,000 & $3,000,000 coverage). IHF earns referral fees from Lockton Affinity Health.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IHF is a leadership membership organization that provides hypnosis practitioners and wellness professionals with certification training, specialty credentials, continuing education, professional liability insurance referrals, and live events. Its product mix combines paid in-person and online certification courses (e.g., Hypnosis Certification, Forensic Hypnosis Certification, Coach Certification, Instructor Certification), a publishing catalog of authored books, audio CDs, DVDs, and video courses, alongside an annual conference and international retreat program.

Product overview

The International Hypnosis Federation (IHF) is a leadership membership organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of hypnosis and mind-body-spirit training products and services. The core offering consists of in-person certification programs (Hypnosis Certification, Forensic Hypnosis Certification, Instructor Certification Training) and online video courses (Past Life Regression, Self-Hypnosis). Supporting the training programs is an extensive catalog of books authored primarily by founder Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, PhD and Ormond McGill, PhD covering topics including stage hypnosis, medical hypnosis, NLP, pain management, relationships, spiritual counseling, and stage performance. Audio products (CDs) provide guided hypnosis sessions for various purposes including weight loss, smoking cessation, meditation, and wellness. DVDs offer instructional content on induction techniques and stage hypnosis demonstrations. Membership provides professional liability insurance, networking, and continuing education opportunities. The organization also hosts the annual 'It's All About YOU Conference' and Bali Retreat events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hypnosis Federation: Parent brand for the International Hypnosis Federation

Products and services

• IHF Membership Annual membership for hypnosis and wellness practitioners granting professional liability insurance eligibility ($1,000,000 / $3,000,000 coverage through Lloyds of London via Lockton Affinity Health), networking access, free publicity, speaking and writing opportunities, IHF-recognized continuing education, and admission to the Free Hypnosis-IHF community. U.S. residents pay $150 new / $95 renewal; non-U.S. residents pay $165 new / $110 renewal.
• Hypnosis Certification Course Three-level in-person hypnosis training program teaching students to learn, practice, and teach hypnosis techniques, priced at $1,997 and bundling first-year IHF membership.
• Forensic Hypnosis Certification Certification program teaching skills to help victims and witnesses of crimes recall details to assist law-enforcement investigations, covering interview protocols, courtroom preparation, and evidentiary standards. Priced at $1,997.
• IHF Instructor Certification Training Course Training program preparing graduates to become certified IHF instructors to deliver the federation's hypnosis curricula to new practitioners, priced at $2,497.
• Virtual Spiritual Counselor Certification Course Fifty-hour virtual certification course delivered via flash drive, including the 'Spiritual Counselor's Secrets' book and IHF Spiritual Counselor certification, priced at $1,497.
• Advanced Past-Life Specialty Certification Online Course Online certification course for past-life regression techniques, priced at $497 and including IHF specialty certification.
• Self-Hypnosis Instructor Specialty Online Course Online course preparing graduates to teach self-hypnosis techniques, including the proprietary Stockwell Zap method, priced at $497 with IHF specialty certification.
• Channeling Class In-person class on channeling techniques held alongside IHF and NATH Conference programs, priced at $350.
• Specialty Certifications One-time professional specialty credentials ($150 each) in areas including Art Therapist, Life Coach, Corporate Coach, Relationship Coach, Sports Hypnosis Coach, Energy Worker, Forensic Hypnotist, Hypno-Reiki Practitioner, Medical/Dental Hypnotist, Mindfulness Expert, NLP Practitioner, Past Life Therapist, Self-Hypnosis Instructor, Transpersonal Hypnotherapist, and Stress Less Consultant. IHF Fellow designation requires 5 years of experience.
• Past Life Regression Video Course Self-paced video course covering past-life regression techniques including IHF Past Life Therapist certification and first-year IHF membership, priced at $497.
• Self Hypnosis Video Course Four-part self-hypnosis video course, purchased individually or as part of the IHF Self-Hypnosis Instructor Specialty Certification package.
• Coaching Certification Course In-person coaching certification program scheduled at the Rancho Palos Verdes headquarters, priced at $1,997 and bundling first-year IHF membership.
• IHF Books Catalog Catalog of hypnosis reference and self-help books authored primarily by Dr. Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas and Ormond McGill, including titles such as Stockwell's Hypnosis Dictionary Script Book, McGill's Hypnotherapy Encyclopedia, THRIVE: Medical Hypnosis For Yourself & Others, NLP Made Easy, Great Relationships, Vagal Joy, Self-Hypnosis: Learn It! Do It! Teach It!, Win: Hypno-Coaching, Stockwell's Great Shape Hypnosis, Stockwell's Stage Hypnosis Made Easy, The Search for Cosmic Consciousness, Spiritual Counselor's Secrets, and approximately two dozen additional titles. Books range from $15 to $200 and several qualify buyers to apply for IHF Specialty Certifications.
• IHF Audio CD Catalog Library of guided-hypnosis audio CDs covering topics such as Yoga Nidra / HypnoYoga, weight loss, sleep, smoking cessation, sugar and alcohol reduction, exercise motivation, golf performance, meditation, Kundalini, automatic writing, and serenity sound resonance, available for individual purchase through the IHF store.
• IHF DVD Catalog Instructional and demonstration DVDs including Rapid Inductions, Transformations, Masters Secrets of Stage Hypnosis, Stockwell's Weight Loss Seminar, The Secret Lives of Ormond McGill, Stockwell's Secrets of the Mind, and Ormond McGill's Meet Your Angel Stage Hypnosis Show.
• IHF It's All About YOU Annual Conference Annual mind, body, spirit and fun retreat held in Southern California each March for IHF members and visitors, combining certification classes, networking, and continuing-education opportunities.
• Bali Retreat Seventeen-day international retreat in Ubud, Bali with classes, adventures, massages, ceremony, cooking class, rafting, trance dances, and laughing yoga, priced at $5,500 including everything except airfare and alcohol.
• Gift Certificate – Session with Dr. Shelley Redeemable gift certificate for a private hypnosis session with Dr. Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, priced at $200.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lockton Affinity HealthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIHF partners with Lockton Affinity Health to provide professional liability insurance to members. Members access $1,000,000 & $3,000,000 coverage through Lloyds of London using their membership number.
• NATH (National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHF participates in NATH Conference (November 13-16, 2025) with Channeling Class and NATH Conference sessions, providing continuing education and networking opportunities for members.
• International Association of Counselors and TherapistsminorOthersDr. Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas recognized as keynote speaker by IACT, who stated 'You're the best keynote speaker ever!'

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA): Membership and certification body for medical and dental hypnosis practitioners. Directly comparable to IHF's Medical/Dental Hypnotist specialty certification and serves the same licensed-clinician subsegment.
• National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH): Largest hypnosis certifying body in the U.S. with practitioner membership, certification training, and continuing education. Directly competes with IHF for new hypnotists seeking credentials, insurance eligibility, and ongoing CE.
• American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH): Clinical, healthcare-professional-focused hypnosis membership and certification organization. Comparable to IHF in offering membership, certification, and training, but weighted toward licensed clinicians rather than the broader humanistic/hypno-coaching audience IHF targets.
• National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists (NATH): Direct strategic partner and competitor: IHF participates in NATH's annual conference and the two organizations overlap heavily in transpersonal, mind-body-spirit hypnosis certification and member services.
• International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT): Cross-disciplinary counselor and hypnotherapist membership body that has formally recognized IHF's founder as a keynote speaker. Competes for the same holistic-practitioner member base and offers overlapping CE and certification programs.
• Hypnotherapy Academy of America: Hypnosis certification training provider offering multi-week in-person and online programs. Direct competitor to IHF's $1,997 Hypnosis Certification track with a similar practitioner-pipeline business model.
• Omni Hypnosis Training Center: Long-standing hypnosis certification training center offering in-person practitioner training. Comparable to IHF in methodology, pricing, and target audience of aspiring professional hypnotists.

Broad incumbents

• Mindvalley: Large online personal-development and wellness learning platform offering hypnosis, meditation, and mind-body-spirit courses. Not a direct credentialing body, but overlaps with IHF's self-improvement customer segment and digital course catalog.

Regional players

• HMI (Hypnotherapy Motivation Institute): Long-established hypnosis training school based in Tarzana, CA. Geographic and curriculum overlap with IHF in Southern California and comparable pricing for practitioner certification programs.

Emerging players

• Marisa Peer / Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT): Founder-led hypnosis/therapy training brand with strong content, online certification, and a global practitioner network. Partial overlap with IHF's hypno-coaching and self-hypnosis specialty certifications, and a more digitally scaled go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/International-Hypnosis-Federation-397374928135

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IHF