At present, GPSCH has five kinds of membership: (Full) Member, Life Member, Student Affiliate, Associate Member and Special Member.

Membership shall be granted to qualified individuals by action of the Board of Governors upon recommendation of the Membership Committee and as specified in the Bylaws.

All classes of members have voting privilege except student affiliates.

All applicants must show evidence of professional training and experience in clinical or experimental hypnosis acceptable to the membership committee. A minimum of 20 documented hours of basic training consistent with ASCH's Standards of Training in Clinical Hypnosis (most recent edition) is required.

A Full Member (hereafter referred to as "Member") shall have:

• Any of the following professional credentials:
  • A Doctorate in dentistry, medicine, osteopathy, psychology, or a related health care profession from a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body, and a current license to practice their profession in the state in which they practice; or
  • Licensure as a psychologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; or
  • A Master's degree in Social Work and be certified in the National Registry (designated NASW), and state licensure as a social worker if required by the state; or
  • A Master's or Doctoral degree in a health-related profession from a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body, who possesses full membership in their accepted national professional association, and who restricts their use of hypnosis to their area(s) of professional training and competence; or
  • A Master's or Doctoral degree in a health-related profession from a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body, and who is certified at the independent practice level by the National Board for Certified Counselors (as an NCC or CCMHC) or the National Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors (NCAC or MAC), or holds Clinical Membership in the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists or the American Group Psychotherapy Association, or holds certification in psychoanalysis from a nationally recognized psychoanalytic accreditation body, or holds certification at the independent practice level from a nationally recognized health profession certification board acceptable to the majority of the Board of Governors; and
• A minimum of 20 hours of basic training consistent with then current ASCH's Standards of Training in Clinical Hypnosis.
• In the event of changes in certification standards or credentialing bodies, the Board of Governors shall designate which membership categories and certifications qualify applicants for Member status in the Society.

A Life Member shall be elected by the Board of Governors.

A Student Affiliate shall be:

• Pursuing a doctoral/masters degree at a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body.
• Granted affiliation status for a maximum of two (2) years with renewal at the discretion of the Membership Committee.

An Associate Member shall have:

• Any of the following professional credentials:
  • A Doctorate in dentistry, medicine, osteopathy, psychology, or a related health care profession from a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body, and a current license or eligibility for licensure to practice their profession in the state in which they practice; or
  • Licensure or eligibility for licensure as a psychologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; or
  • A Master's degree in Social Work and be certified or eligible for certification in the National Registry (designated NASW), and state licensure or eligibility for licensure if required by the state; or
  • A Master's or Doctoral degree in a health-related profession from a professional school, university, or college fully accredited by its appropriate regional accrediting body, shall meet the criteria or be eligible to meet the criteria as specified in Section 3.3.1.1.4 of these Bylaws, and intend to restrict their use of hypnosis to their area(s) of professional training and competence.
  • A Master's in social work, counseling, or marriage and family therapy or equivalent degree and licensure or certification in his/her state, or appropriate national certification where state laws do not exist or do not apply, as specified in Section 3.3.1.1.5 of these Bylaws.
• An Associate Member shall have two (2) years time allotted for acquiring the prerequisite clinical experience and training (e.g., Basic ASCH Workshop or the equivalent as specified in Section 3.3.1.2) for Full Membership status.
• Upon completion of appropriate training (e.g., Basic ASCH Workshop or the equivalent as specified in Section 3.3.1.2) and following approval of the Membership Committee, an Associate Member shall automatically be advanced to Full Membership.
• If an Associate Member fails to complete requirements for Full Membership within two (2) years, his/her Associate Membership status will be terminated, and he/she shall not be permitted to reapply for Associate Member status.
• Associate Members shall have all privileges of membership except those of voting, holding office, or acting as Chairperson of a committee.

A Special Member is a professional who does not meet all of the qualifications for any of the above categories, but whose exceptional contributions and interests justify membership. Special Members shall be elected by the Board of Governors, and shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of a (Full) Member.

Procedures for membership

• Application for membership is sent to the Membership Committee on a form provided for that purpose, and accompanied by payment of dues for the fiscal year.
• The Membership Committee investigates the qualifications of the candidate, finalize its decision, and present it to the Board of Governors.
• The Board of Governors votes on the recommendations of the Membership Committee and notify the applicant of its decision.

To apply for membership, click here to download a membership application in zip format (you will need the free Unzip utility to open this file). When the zip file is decompressed, you will find a folder/directory with two documents: an application in Adobe Reader (.pdf) format and a copy in MS Word (.doc) format. You will need the free Adobe Reader utility to read the .pdf file, and/or a Word-compatible word processor with the Times New Roman font to read the .doc file. If you have difficulty with this download, please contact a GPSCH Board member by clicking here to have the application emailed to you.