Hypnotherapy and the Cult of Personality
Throughout the history of the hypnotherapy profession there have been egos. Some of these were warranted to some extent and others not at all. There has been a resurgence of late of the cult of personality in our profession.
Now I am sure that there are some who engage in this behaviour who genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing for the profession. However, there are others who clearly are out to make a fast buck or to have other needs met by creating a movement around themselves.
In most professions there are ego, but it is a problem in ours because we often have people claiming untested techniques and passing them off as the best thing since sliced bread. Claims as to efficacy should be made through careful research and appropriate controls. One person’s opinion should not be enough to make anything the most “powerful technique” in hypnotherapy.
Indeed, even language like “most powerful” or “greatest” smack of PT Barnum rather than BF Skinner. We as a profession should be tempering our opinions to what can be proven and verifiable. If the profession is to be taken seriously, we need to treat each other with respect and to tone down some of the claims being made by our colleagues.
