Hypnosis definitely works. Our subconscious beliefs are often very different from our waking beliefs, wants and desires. This is why people want to change and can't or why someone may believe in something but they can make it happen. There is another force at work, and one more powerful. the subconscious represents roughly 90% of our mind. So when the 10% consciousness comes along and wants to believe and accomplish something diffreent than what its known, it is often met with resistance and sabotage from the subconscious side.
Hypnosis is a safe way to reach the subconscious mind to modify the beliefs within your subconscious so that it is more aligned to your conscious wants and desires.
Hypnosis can help anything!
2. Most open their own practice from what I know, but some do join some kind of facility.
3. To have your own practice would vary greatly in income depending on your personality to get clients, your connections and how easily you can make them, and so on. Some people I know make a great living, most don't make as much as they would like.
Joining in a facility can sometimes be more beneficial income wise, but then it seems hard to be able to get a job there unless there are few hypnotherapists in the area, (LA has too many).
However, many go into this business to be their own boss, so then it sucks to have to work at a facility.
4. To get started you need to find classes :)
Most people don't quit their regular job for a while. If its something you're really interested in, you should learn it and do it on the side till you can quit, or see how it goes for you.
Someties the training can lead to other things hypnosis opened the door for.
Good luck!
Nicole

1. Can it truly help people? If so, what sort of problems is it most effective in relieving?

Yes, it can truly help people. It can help with almost anything from pain to difficult memories. It is most frequently used for behavior modification.

For example, in studies of the efficacy of various methods of smoking cessation, the rate of success for each technique is:

willpower alone: 1-10%
patches and gum: 15-25%
hypnosis: 30-60%

The ranges of percentages above reflect the different results obtained through different methodologies and ways of collecting and sorting the data.

2. Does one typically open their own practice right off the bat, or is it more common to join an existing practice first?

Most of the people I know do their own thing. Some work in partnership with other types of therapists...like psychotherapists, holistic healers, etc.

3. What kind of income range can I realistically expect within the first 0-5 years? 5-10 years? (let's assume best case scenario in a metropolitan area, i.e. Denver)

Working for yourself will be more difficult, as you are ultimately responsible for making EVERYthing in the business happen. Working for others, you'll never advance beyond a certain level of income. The way to make the most money doing hypnosis is by learning it well enough to teach it. This will get you a job with travel, fun, flexibility, and more income per hour work than doing individual sessions.

4. What's the best way to get started?

Decide what type of hypnosis you wish to learn, whether or not you want it mixed with the NLP perspective, and then select a school that teaches that method of hypnosis. I see books as a good supplement to a course, but I see the course itself as indispensable. It definitely helps to practice on your fellow students.