I originally posted this little tirade at TranceTraining, an email discussion list I run related to hypnosis in Taiwan. This is not the first time I’ve heard of a couple local hypnotists claiming they can cure cancer. It really pisses me off. There are reputable studies which strongly show that hypnosis helps a great deal in medical issues. However, not as a primary treatment and never to replace qualified competent medical care. The data does show miraculous results, on a case-by-case basis but the general trends clearly show extravagant claims are unfounded. These guys are a menace to the public and to the profession.

I was chatting with a friend and the subject came up . . . evidently a couple hypnotists in Taiwan are holding their services out to the public as a way to “cure” cancer. This is not being couched as a supplement to qualified medical care but as a sure-fire replacement.

This is NOT a good thing. This is a very BAD thing.

Now, as most folks here know, I am a member of the NGH and rather strongly support the NGH Code of Ethics. If you are not a NGH member, fine, you don’t have to be but you might take a look at the code as it does have some reasonable guidelines.

If you are a member, then please keep in mind that you may NOT offer hypnosis services for medical or clinical psychiatric issues without a referral from a licensed medical practitioner. If you are a licensed medical practitioner, then you’re golden. If you’re not, you must get a referral.

Getting a referral is not that hard to do if you need it. If your training didn’t cover it, then there are plenty of folks who offer sound approaches that work very well (always refer to the client as the other person’s patient, and make certain they understand they are primary care on the case and that anything and everything you do is intended to supplement their services, etc.).

There are plenty of issues hypnotists can deal with legally and ethically without giving a diagnosis or trying to replace qualified medical care.

It is IRRESPONSIBLE for a hypnotist to tell a woman with cancer to stop seeing her doctor and to stop taking her medication but instead to meditate twice a day with a crystal in each hand (actual example).

Hypnotists have enough of a repuation in the eyes of the public for being quacks and conmen without this sort of loose-thinking half-assed stuff.

Hypnosis can work wonders with cancer and other ailments . . . pain relief, recovery time, etc. . . . with many studies on very very positive results . . . however, it should never be presented as an alternative but rather it should supplement qualified and competent medical care. NGH members may NOT replace physician care for these cases.

If a person is dissatisfied with their medical treatments, then they can get another medical care giver and supplement their treatments with supervised (or, referred) hypnotherapy.

While the code says liscensed medical professional, it’s also important to note the differences in terms of context and right of practice. If your medical qualifications are in veternary sciences or dentistry, the public and courts may still frown if you put yourself in the position as primary healthcare practitioner in a stomach cancer case.

Now, there are changes in the wind. Many states and a few countries are more lenient about right of practice regulations and alternative approaches are protected as long as the public is informed of their choices and unreasonable claims are not made (such as one hundred percent “cure” when the data only shows one in five hundred success rates or the like). So, we may see some changes in the referral rules and reccommendations. Personally, I prefer to error on the side of referral.

If you are treating cancer as a replacement therapy rather than as a supplement to qualified competent medical treatment, then I would strongly suggest that you keep very careful records and that you be ready to defend yourself with hard data rather than wishful thinking when things start going south for you.

In my opinion.