What Is a Hypnotherapist Qualified to Do? Part 1

     At this time of year, many people make a list of their New Year's resolutions: I will give up smoking. I will stop procrastinating. I will start exercising more. I will lose weight. ... All of these goals are within the scope of what hypnotherapy can help you achieve.

     Hypnotherapy is a very powerful, alternative treatment tool that may be used to complement healing arts, such as medicine and psychology. According to Dr. John Kappas, a clinical psychologist and the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, and his colleague, psychiatrist Dr. Ron Hodges, the scope of a hypnotherapist's expertise lies in his or her ability to help clients to deal with vocational and avocational self-improvement issues. These areas include the topics listed above, as well as general relaxation, increasing self-confidence, and improving study habits and sports performance. In addition to helping clients achieve those goals, I also work with equestrians to achieve their competition goals and improve their relationship with their equine partners.

     In some instances, hypnotherapists may also work with a client who is addressing other issues that ordinarily fall outside of the scope of vocational/avocational self-improvement, such as pain management or depression. In order to work with these clients, the hypnotherapist must first obtain a referral from the client's medical doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist. This referral protects both the client and the hypnotherapist: Hypnotherapists do not have the expertise to determine whether there is a medical reason why a person is experiencing a physical symptom, such as a headache or discomfort elsewhere in the body. When a person wants to lose a lot of weight (e.g., 25 pounds or more), it is always a good idea for the doctor to make sure that there is not a medical reason why their patient has gained the weight and that he or she may safely participate in an exercise or physical-fitness program.

     George Kappas, the current director of HMI, also insists that hypnotherapists may only work with someone who has a substance addiction if the client is also enrolled in an appropriate 12-Step program to help manage that addiction.

     Following is the Business and Professions Code 2908, which is the guideline of practice for hypnotherapists in California: "California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as alternative or complimentary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures."

     I will discuss the way(s) in which hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery can help you achieve your New Year's resolutions in the next blog.

    

    

     Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.