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Scope of Practice. What the Doctor Says Goes. We are Trainers, Not Doctors or Therapists. We DON’T Wear a Big Red S Printed On Our Chests!
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Scope of Practice...
As far as the medical community at large is concerned you are a LAYMAN. With regard to how the established medical community views hypnotherapy and Hypnotherapist, we are NOT qualified to render a medical opinion9 nor diagnose any form of illness.
One should steadfastly avoid situations where you are forced or asked to do so.
Regardless of that fact, people will approach you with what they have been 'diagnosed" as a medical or psychological pathology.
When that happens it is VITAL that you seek a referral from their medical doctor or therapist stating that it is okay for you to work with that particular individual for that particular issue.
What the Doctor Says Goes...
Never under any circumstances instruct a client/subject to stop taking prescribed medication or cease to follow the instructions of licensed medical professional. Doing so will open you up to tremendous liability.
For example, ...
Your client has been coming to you for a problem with chronic pain and has been taking pain medications. The client is having less and less pain and wants to lower his or her dosage of pain meds and asks you if it's okay to do that.
You should immediately have that patient contact his or her prescribing physician. Do not take it upon yourself to say yes or no.
A similar scenario might be...
A client comes to you for stress. During the sessions it's revealed that the man or woman is unhappy in their marriage. They ask you if they should leave their spouse.
Giving them ANY opinion whatsoever makes you liable for the results of that advice.
As a hypnotist we are duty bound to give the client all the help they need to access their own inner resources in order to make the decision that is most appropriate for them. It is not your job to make that decision for them.
We are Trainers, Not Doctors or Therapists
Avoid using the term therapist or therapy unless you have some form of licensed therapeutic credential i. e. MD, LMT; LAC, RN. Rev. Etc.
While it is not an explicit law that we, as a profession can't use the term hypnotherapy. There are many states and many professional organizations (with lots of money and lawyers) that take a very proprietary stance with regard to the term " therapy" and feel it should be reserved only to those disciplines or modalities that are regulated and licensed by the state or federal government.
A great way to use the full spectrum of hypnotherapeutic technology without tripping over the issue of whether or not you are doing therapy is to simply call everything you do
In essence that is really what we do as a hypnotist anyway.
We simply guide the client through a process that teaches them things about how their own mind works any way, and then we teach them how they can take more control of an aspect of their lives that up until that time was really controlling them or outside of their control.
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Work with referring professionals for diagnosed medical or psychological problems (See appendix for Referral form)
We DON’T Wear a Big Red S Printed On Our Chests!
While it is arguably to me that there are very rare occasions when hypnosis is NOTeffective to treat or deal with an issue to one degree or another.
We are not GOD.
Nor are we doctors.
Never promise your clients something you are not 100% certain you can deliver.
Never make any guarantees concerning the outcome of your work - Medical professionals don't do it and neither should you.
If a client comes to you with some form of physical or emotional issue that you do not feel you are equipped to deal with...
REFER THEM OUT!
This applies to any condition.
If you are not sure how to proceed, your first responsibility is to the health and wellbeing of the client. Refer them to a hypnotist who specializes in that particular issue or to the appropriate medical or psychological professional.
As a professional you are expected to continue your education beyond the basics and to progressively expand your knowledge base thus allowing you to confidently and competently handle more and more types of cases.
But there are many hypnotists who come out of a weekend training believing they are the equivalent of hypnotic brain surgeons. As an entry - level hypnotist you should be working on entry-level issues before progressing to more serious cases. This is just common sense. 11
11 Bear in mind that the vast majority of techniques you will be using for many entry- level issues (weight loss, smoke cessation, nail biting, test anxiety etc. ) are almost the exact same processes that you will be using on more challenging, higher level issues like cancer, AIDS, Molestation Issues Addictions, Painless Childbirth, etc. let really comes down to the issue of confidence, competence and experience with using the tools you are presented with during your training
Common Sense Is Not So Common...
We are hypnotists. Our domain is the vast and untapped power of the unconscious mind. Our power is our ability to help the client to tap into their own limitless resources for achieving health, success and happiness. But we can't do the work for them. We can only guide them.
Therefore...
Success with your clients will be as much dependent on what your clients do as much or more than what you do. You and your client are a team working for the clients' highest and best good.
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