Hypnotherapists Mind Your Scope of Practice
Regular readers will know that over the past several weeks I have written about several subjects which have, to say the least, raised my hackles. The idea of what some practitioners feel that they are qualified to work with really boggles my mind. So I thought today, I would just do a generic mind your scope of practice article.
In the UK we have a system of Common Law. Simply put this means that if there is nothing in statute that says it is not allowed or illegal, then it is legal to do. Many practitioners of hypnotherapy have taken this to mean that just because the law does not say they cannot work with a particular condition it means that they can. Whilst legally, this may well be correct, ethically is another matter entirely.
Just because you are interested by an issue does not mean that you are competent to work with it. This is especially true with children, and significant psychological or physiological issues. I can understand entirely that most people got involve with this field because of a genuine desire to want to help people. However, help without training or clinical experience is a very bad idea which can cause more harm than good.
Please, when choosing to work with a particular client, ensure that you are qualified to do so. Just being interested is not enough.
