The ICHE came into being principally as a result of discussions between hypnotherapists from various parts of the world who strongly believed in advancing the spread of hypnotherapy world-wide. These individuals included, from the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners, Gil Boyne and other activists, from the British Society of Hypnotherapists (1950), Dr. John Butler and others, from Hypnotherapy Training International of Turkey, Hasan Arslan as well as hypnotists from many other countries.

These individuals advocated a policy of “free and open” practice of hypnotherapy and believed that a world-wide body would be very important in unifying their efforts to spread hypnotherapy more effectively throughout the world and to make hypnotherapy more available in their own countries and globally.

A fundamental mission of ICHE is the protection of hypnotherapy from unwarranted external interference or attacks. This includes unwarranted political interference, attacks from elitist groups in other professions and various legislative proposals that work to restrict any individual’s right to learn to use their own innate creative potential by using hypnotherapy and to restrict the public’s right to avail of an effective method of self-help and self-healing that is both affordable and highly cost-effective compared to many other systems.