History of the NAHAH

The Analytical Hypnotherapy process was devised by the late great John Howard who founded the National Association of Holistic Analytical Hypnotherapists (NAHAH). The mantle was then passed on to the amazing Alan Kirshaw who developed the process further before John Richardson took over running the association in 2018. I’m now the 4th person to teach the course and take over the association.

1994

The course was originally written by Mr. John Howard and released in 1994. A psychotherapist by trade, John recognised that using Hypnosis was the key to permanent healing. Subsequently John was responsible for setting up the National Association of Holistic Hypnotherapists. John had over 40 years experience, ran his own college (The John Howard Collage Of Holistic Hypnotherapy) in Northampton. His work included lecturing to Doctors and healthcare professionals in hospitals and local GP practices. He wrote 4 books on the subject and featured on both radio and national TV. John devised a method of hypnotherapy which was a culmination of his life’s work and experience to create permanent transformations and is far from the standard 'suggestion based hypnotherapy' that is commonly practiced.

John used an Holistic Approach as he felt there was a need for the whole Body and Mind to be treated: Not forgetting the Sole and Spirit of a person. He used Analysis or HypnoAnalysis as the foundation to his work as John would always state that every symptom emotional or physical had an underlying cause driving it or causing it to exist. Holistic Hypnotherapy treats the root cause of the presenting symptom(s) and is core to the process.

2002

When John retired to France in 2002 the course was put into the capable and safe hands of Mr. Alan David Kershaw. Alan had an amazing career in hypnotherapy; trained by John, he ran a successful practice in Wakefield City Centre, West Yorkshire, for more than 30 years. Alan continued to teach John's work through the Alan Kershaw School Of Holistic Hypnotherapy. Alan studied psychotherapy, including the study of hypnosis, analytical techniques and body healing, proving to be invaluable in the treatment of Phobias, Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Addictions and evolved the teachings further.

2018

The Association and the Training was passed onto John Richardson in 2018 after Alan’s retirement. John has added 'Analytical' to 'Holistic Hypnotherapy' & ' Holistic Hypnotherapists' as he believes that Analysis, or HypnoAnalysis, is the source of all Hypnotherapy Success: Treating the root cause of clients presenting symptoms. It was the core belief of both John and Alan that Analysis is Hypnotherapy in its most purest form and the foundations of a successful Hypnotherapy Practice. John evolved the process further and added his own experience to the training course and now has taken an advisory role to allow the association to move forward into the digital age.

2026

And now the mantle has been passed to myself, Chris Marsh. My passion started with my own journey recovering from mental health and unresolved physical health issues. Coming from a corporate IT background I’ve always been interested in psychology and human behaviour. While working as a senior manager in the software industry I spent 10 years learning about how the mind works, psychology, NLP and coaching alongside trying to resolve my own mental health issues. This led me to cross paths with John Richard. Immediately I knew John was the one to help me and signed up to train with him and go through the therapy on the spot.

Taking on the responsibility of the association is a huge responsibility and with it my goal is modernise the course and the association to create a thriving community of not only successful therapists, but successful therapy business owners.

Now you know where we started

If you’d like to meet the association as it is today, our About page tells you who we are and what we do.