Media Responsibility and Hypnotherapy
In my usual morning research for what to write about today, I came across an article in one of the tabloids which discusses hypnotherapy and thinking yourself thin. The problem is that the article was what I feel was a puff piece. What I mean by this is that the article gave no real information at all. Oh other than being a nice advert for the practitioner in question.
Look, I get it newspapers need to fill column inches. My problem is that articles about hypnosis and hypnotherapy are all too often inaccurate, or light on content or sensationalised. This is not a good thing for the profession as a whole. Additionally, it is not good for hypnotherapy being taken seriously as a therapeutic approach. Hypnotherapy has had enough problems shedding its “snake oil salesman” image over the past several decades. Yet, serious articles about the therapeutic use of hypnosis is still a concept which is pretty thin on the ground.
Practitioners should want and get publicity. However, use this as a means to really educate the public rather than to simply promote your practice. Real information about the practice of hypnotherapy will actually promote you far better than a puff piece which is little more than an advertorial.
