Sometimes a practitioner who may be a fully trained psychiatrist, doctor, psychotherapist, etc. just only took level one so may have more hypnotherapy skills than a level 2 etc. who has no therapy background outside of learning the technique. In that case, a level 1 can be much better than a level 3 where the emphasis is primarily on imitating Dolores’s voice and style, rather than hypnotherapy skills. When Dolores first began teaching her technique the students had to be already professionally trained hypnotherapists, then she changed it to anyone being able to learn her technique. This means that in certain cases where a client might not be able to relax deeply the practitioner may not have enough experience or skills in the ‘toolbox’ to ensure depth of trance. That said, many practitioners may already have a strong soul history in this kind of work and naturally are very good, or they have a strong spiritual practice/discipline that enables them to have very strong healing capabilities themselves.

Fellow QHHT practitioner Alex Knight has explained the different Levels in an easy to understand way on her website as many clients are confused about the practical meaning of these levels:

The Dolores Cannon company has recently developed a system whereby people can be referred to as level 1, level 2, or level 3 practitioners. Each level involves taking a class — which may or may not be possible for individual practitioners as geographical or financial constraints may determine — at notable expense and/or travel. Levels 2 and 3 must be taken in person and are not offered online, making it difficult for many of us to take those levels.

Dolores taught us in level 1, in 2012, that we need not ever take any other level (there were only two then; the third was recently added) than level 1. If a practitioner has only taken level one but knows what they’re doing, gets good results, and resonates well with clients, that practitioner can be just as wonderful and effective as any level 2 or 3 practitioner. Level 2 is added education; Dolores taught us about her “bag of tricks” that she used for difficult circumstances that sometimes occur during a session. However, experience is also a fine teacher, and level 2 is not required in order to be a good qhht practitioner. Level 3 requires a fair amount of money and videos of our work which are then studied and critiqued by a couple of our peers. A level 3 practitioner is probably doing the pure Dolores method (as opposed to a mixed-method which may include other forms of hypnosis techniques or even other healing techniques in a session).

A dedicated practitioner, also mentioned on the Dolores Cannon website, is simply one who is a member of our support forum, where sessions and issues regarding qhht are discussed and much learning can take place. The forum is a nice place for learning and for helping other practitioners. However, many leave the forum after they feel there is no more they can get from it. Being a member of the forum is not required for being a good practitioner. Membership in the forum is required in order to be listed on the Dolores Cannon website. If we are not listed on the website, all that means is we have left the forum.

If you are considering a practitioner, it would be good to simply ask them how long they’ve been doing qhht. If you want pure Dolores qhht, ask the practitioner if that is what they do. Many practitioners mix it up with other methods. (I do not. I do pure qhht.) Most important, however, is how you feel when talking with the practitioner. Are you comfortable? Uncomfortable? Does the vibe feel right? Does the practitioner seem perfectly fine but something doesn’t feel right? Go by your own instincts, your own intuition, to choose the practitioner you will hire. You can even ask for an in-person interview before deciding. In my opinion, that should not be a problem.