A New Hypnosis Game Show…..Just what the public and profession doesn’t need!
I have recently read that there is to be a new hypnosis “game show” called “You’re back in the room” (an obvious reference to the Mark Lucas character in Little Britain). I enjoyed the character as he was a parody of all that was distasteful about stage hypnotists. However, I do not like the idea of this programme, where a mentalist will be hypnotising members of the public with “hilarious consequences” concerns me very much. Hypnotherapeutic practitioners have worked very hard to reach a level of credibility a kin with other psychotherapeutic professionals.  I cannot imagine any psychoanalyst or CBT therapist using their skills on a game show for the purposes of entertainment.
There are many questions a programme like this asks, my main one is what about ensuring the psychological well being of those contestants and their hilarious consequences. The mind is not a play thing and hypnosis is a therapeutic tool not a conjurers toy. I think it is a great disappointment that in the interests of cheap and uninspired TV we now see a return to using hypnosis for “entertainment” rather than in its proper place as a clinical tool used by conscientious practitioners who want to help people live better and healthier lives.
