Celebrity Hypnotherapy
For people who know me personally, they would tell you that I have a particular bug bear about the word celebrity at the best of times. What passes for celebrity in this day and age concerns me greatly as I believe that it gives people an unrealistic idea of their own self importance. But this is another story, today I would like to write about a practice in my profession which I find to be completely unprofessional. This practice, is the name dropping or name implication of celebrities who undertake hypnotherapy for their issues.
Now I know that some in my profession will decry this as me being overly sensitive or perhaps out of touch, but bare with me. Yes it is true that many celebrities used and continue to use hypnosis as a form of therapy. If they wish to mention this in their interviews and press articles, then more power to them. Indeed, these interviews and articles can be a genuine benefit to the profession and the public’s view of hypnotherapy.
I was reading a colleague’s website where the therapist makes a claim that they worked with one particular celebrity and then goes on to name the person, whilst in the next line says that celebrities seek out this therapist because of the therapist’s discretion. Now, of course, it may be that the celebrity in question said it was fine to let the world know that she consulted this therapist. However, as I have written and spoken on many occasions, the use of testimonials, any testimonials is a breach of confidence which we as therapist are obliged to maintain. Additionally, I am sure that this celebrity paid for therapy, so why should she keep paying by lending her name to a public endorsement?
There are still others in our field who claim that they treat politicians, actors, and other notables and wouldn’t it be good for you to join them. This again may be true, but surely, it is suspect because unless the therapist in question divulges who these people are, there is no way to tell if they are telling the truth or not.
Therapy is a person and private relationship that can benefit all kinds of people from all walks of life. You do not need to be an “A-Lister” to attend therapy and your anonymity will be protected the same as any client I work with. Be mindful of the hype, look for a therapist who is appropriately qualified to help you, whom you can develop a good therapeutic relationship with.
