I sense a prevailing attitude of exclusion among anybody with an M.A. (from an accredited university of course)or above towards anyone without the hallowed degree. The reason for this we are told is Professionalism. As what was once heard in a Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis meeting,"We don't want a bunch of housewives doing hypnosis".Is Professionalism really the main issue for exclusion or is it that age-old undying response; protect your turf.
I have been in private practice in hypnotherapy and counseling for 17 yrs. I have committed the ultimate sin and trained "laypeople" in counselling and hypnosis for 11 years. Within that group were a cross section of people including MD's, PH.D's, MA's, M.ED's,and a few housewives. Overall I think the housewives had much better communication skills than the rest and therefore made better therapists. The Association I belong to does not require a degree to practice but we have have much higher standards relating to training in hypnotherapy than the American or Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis does.
I greatly admire your work Dr. Zeig but in my opinion the degree has nothing to do with being a good therapist.