Editorial

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Jan 2008  by Lankton, Stephen

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Bob Dylan sang, "Come gather 'round people wherever you roam, and admit that waters around you have grown." The ASCH Listserv has recently had a large number of postings regarding the continual rise of lay hypnotists providing services that appear to be psychotherapy. There are no less that 23,000 responses to "hypnosis certification" on Google. While many of these, perhaps a majority of them, are presented exclusively to professionals, it is not likely that that is the case. In a Google search that specifically included "and/or for non-professionals," a total of 141 links were available.

In my Google search, I found at least one of these is a training center that explicitly states it is teaching hypnosis to non-professionals. This center is also inviting an internationally well-known "relationship expert," to teach a workshop. This psychologist is, in my opinion, endorsing the activities of that training center by his participation in their activities and promotion. Highly visible personalities ought to be especially cognizant of their associations, and the impact they might be making on those who read such promotions. But perhaps many professionals don't even recognize the issues involved in training non-professionals to use hypnosis, and that is where ASCH has a role to play.

It is vital that the public realize that mental health professionals do not just offer, but provide, skill sets that non-professionals do not. In addition to an array of clinical skills, professionals bring a broad understanding of clinical implications of behaviors and symptoms, a grasp of psychosocial ramifications of both current and historical dynamics, and a standard of ethical behavior and peer review that set them apart from non-professionals who may have attended a few weekends of training in hypnosis techniques, NLP, or whatever current fad might be in the foreground.

Whatever problems the field of scientific and clinical hypnosis has had with non-professional certification programs, this might be increasing as there is yet a new threat to public understanding of the use of hypnosis. TheSci-Fi Channel has, this season shown a new television entertainment series regarding "mind control." The star of the show uses simple psychological principles and misdirection to manipulate people on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the programs reveals his obvious use of embedded command to exchange plain paper (instead of money) for goods ranging from fish to a $4500 diamond ring. After viewing this, a graduate student reported to me that he recreated it with success! Other programs illustrate the social use of the 'yes set' to obtain passersbys' wallets and watches and the use of simple sentence ambiguity ("What is your next stop thinking about it now...what is your next stop thinking about it now") to 'make' subway riders forget where they are going.

Many of the hundreds of thousands of viewers who witness this 'mind control' will undoubtedly form inappropriate expectations and understandings about hypnosis. We can expect a further rise in public misunderstanding regarding the aspects of hypnotic communication that have biased the public for decades: control, manipulation, and exploitation. Too, I expect that that attractive aspect of such "mind-control" and the ability to "control" others will result in a greater increase in non-professionals seeking training in hypnosis.

It would be timely for ASCH to orchestrate educational campaigns. ASCH members should provide simple clarification of the differences in professional organization and lay organizations at various professional conferences. While the workshops might have small turn out, the syllabi of conferences can reach thousands of professionals and the titles will reach tens of thousands via the advertising brochures of these conferences.

Each of our communities have organization chapters for psychologist, psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists, and many have groups for specialized therapies such as psychodrama, gestalt therapy, transactional analysis, and many more approaches. Free hour-long talks are usually welcomed in such organizations. ASCH members providing such talks may be of great benefit to help reverse current and historical trends of misunderstanding. Education needs to inform professionals that the only certifications that are exclusive to professionals come from ASCH and the American Board of Examiners in Hypnosis. It needs to inform potential clients and patients that they must seek licensed mental health and medical practitioners for an educated, broadly informed, well-trained, and ethical treatment using hypnosis.

We should not continue to rely upon faith that professionals will seek appropriate certification, and that the public will understand the difference between a person who claims to be a "certified hypnotherapist" and a licensed health care provider who is trained to use hypnosis. Clarification should be easily found on the ASCH web site. It would be reasonable to invest in advertisement in the publications of the AMA, APA (both), AAMFT, NASW, and NBCC and more.