Bulletin: April 2013
Launch of New GHSC / GHR Website – Update
We are delighted to announce that the launch of our new website at www.general-hypnotherapy-register.com has been a great success, receiving extremely positive feedback. It is gratifying indeed to find that our hard work has met with such approval.
We would advise both Registrants and Trainers that this is only the first phase however, as over the year we will be looking at ways to further develop the site and to ensure that a prominent position via all major search engines is fully maintained.
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Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – Rulings Alert
We publish below the details of a recent ASA adjudication in respect of claims made on a Hypnotherapist’s website. Although in this particular case the list of symptoms and conditions stated as being amenable to hypnotherapy is substantial, any one of those listed, brought to the attention of the ASA and subsequently judged by them to be to be unacceptable, could result in the same adjudication. In order to avoid falling foul of the ASA as a consequence of certain claims and statements on your website, all Registrants are strongly advised to consider registering with the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) at www.cap.org.uk/Account/Register.aspx and thereby ensure that they are kept fully briefed on all ASA requirements. It is of note that the ASA received only one complaint about this particular website yet that is all it takes for them to initiate an investigation.
(Ed – All details of the practitioner and their professional affiliations have been removed from the below item although these were made public by the ASA and appear on its website.)
The Ad
A hypnotherapy practitioner’s website stated “List of Problems and Symptoms resolved easily with Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy … Symptoms Effectively Treated Using Hypnotherapy and Hypnoanalysis. We have effectively treated people with the following list of symptoms by using our unique form of therapy/hypnotherapy.” The website listed the following conditions: “skin disorders, sexual problems, anorexia/bulimia, lack of confidence, stuttering/stammering, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, poor self image, smoking cessation, social fears, premature ejaculation, fear of intimacy, childhood trauma, sexual and physical assault, migraines, drinking, ME, IBS, OCD, fetishes, PTSD, blushing, anger, colitis, bruxism, panic, guilt, sweating, nightmares, slimming, compulsions, shyness, bedwetting, nail biting, amnesia, phobias, depression, inhibitions, vaginismus, addictions, grief, neuritis, fears, obsessions, insomnia, paranoia, asthma, tension, allergies, thumb sucking, anxieties, shy bladder and hypertension”.
The Issue
The complainant challenged whether the efficacy claims were misleading.
Advertiser’s Response
The practitioner said they had taken the advertised conditions from third party websites. They said they would contact their website developer to change the listed conditions.
Assessment – Upheld
The ASA contacted the advertiser after they noted the website had not been revised and asked them to submit amended text or evidence to support the claims made. The advertiser supplied minimal, partially revised text. However, it was not possible to assess whether it complied with the ASA’s CAP Code due to the lack of detail and absence of proposed, revised conditions. Evidence was not subsequently submitted.
The ASA was concerned about the lack of a substantive response from the advertiser to support the claims made on their website. They also noted that treatment for several conditions listed should have been supervised by a suitably qualified health professional and the advertiser did not supply qualifications that demonstrated they were suitably qualified. Because they did not see evidence to support the claims made, and because the ad could discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, the ASA concluded the ad was misleading.
The ad was deemed to have breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising, 3.7 (Substantiation), 12.1, 12.2 and 12.8 (Medicines, medical devices, health related products and beauty products).
ASA Action
The advertiser was told that the ad must not appear again in its current form. The advertiser was further told to hold robust evidence before making efficacy claims for hypnotherapy in future advertising and to ensure they did not refer to conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
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Commissioning.GP – Unsolicited emails
A number of Registrants have reported being emailed by www.commissioning.gp. This company is purporting to be compiling a directory of alternative therapists which it suggests will be used by GP’s in the future to select therapists under the new “GP commissioning legislation”.
The domain suffix ‘gp’ (which could suggest ‘general practitioner’) is actually the country code for the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe!
There is a registration fee of £299 + VAT for a 2 year subscription for inclusion within a ‘micro website’ on its main website.
As with all unsolicited offers, our advice is that you fully verify marketing claims (perhaps by requesting written confirmation etc) before entering into any financial commitment whatsoever.
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Recent Books by GHR Practitioners
The Menopause and ME (CFS) by Gina Bailey
Gina states: “For many women dealing with the challenging illness ME/CFS, the menopause is approached with a sense of dread. How will this time in their lives affect their illness? Will their symptom get better or worse? How will they cope? What is the easiest way for them to deal with them? Having personally faced this dilemma, I found little information available so I started researching the subject myself. I also contacted other women to find out their experiences. I looked at how they felt the menopause had impacted both upon their ME/CFS symptoms and their relationships. This book is the result.” It is available now through Amazon both as a paperback (£9.99) and as an e-book (£4.58).
Visit Amazon at: www.amazon.co.uk/Menopause-M-E-C-F-S-Gina-bailey/dp/1481031805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360442144&sr=8-2 for further details.
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The Cam Coach by Mark Shields (GHR practitioner and founder of The Life Practice Group) & Simon Martin (Editor of CAM Magazine)
According to the authors: “Most CAM graduates don’t make it into practice……when they do, most fail. They don’t see enough patients, they don’t charge enough money, they lack essential business skills. They know their therapies, but they don’t know how to run their practices. Avoid these common mistakes. You CAN earn a good living AND help people at the same time…..and The CAM Coach will tell you how.”
(Ed – Certainly it is the GHR’s experience that many practitioners fail in business most often because of a lack of business expertise rather than a lack of ability as therapists and so such a book can only be welcomed as a most useful addition to the essential field of marketing strategies)
ISBN: 978-1-78148-129-5
Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd
303 pages, £24.99, at www.thecamcoach.com
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GHR Administration
Views expressed within GHR published material and any conclusions reached are those of the authors and not necessarily shared by other individuals, organisations or agencies
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