The American Institute of Hypnotherapy (AIH) was an educational establishment that was based in California (School no. 3004761) under the jurisdiction of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Vocational Education (BPPVE).
Under California law the AIH was licensed to teach and issue degrees and doctorates in the special field of Clinical Hypnotherapy. The American practice of recognising specialist institutions for particular disciplines allowed the AIH to offer these facilities for practical training and off-campus study in Clinical Hypnotherapy. In order to obtain the doctorate, students must have attained a Bachelor Degree level of education from an approved educational institution.
The AIH offered a wide range of hypnotherapeutic educational modules including cognitive behavioural change, hypno-analysis, hypnosis within medicine, sexuality, past life. A diverse curriculum was offered at the AIH across the fields of healthcare, psychotherapy, self-development and business applications of hypnosis.
The BPPVE was a state agency vested with the authority to approve and regulate private postsecondary institutions in California. The BPPVE was charged by the California legislature with the mandate to encourage the development of strong, vigorous and widely respected sector of private postsecondary education. The BPPVE ceased to exist in 2007.
The AIH was approved from 1982 until a change in the law in the 2007 meant that the AIH was no longer able to offer degrees or doctorates. Major restructuring of education in California during that time meant the way post-secondary education was delivered became different under the Schwarzenegger government. State ‘approval to operate’ meant that the BPPVE had determined that at the time the institution was reviewed, it appeared to meet minimum standards established by the bureau for integrity, financial stability and educational quality.
More info on the BPPVE is at http://www.bppve.ca.gov/about_us/history.shtml
