Ethics in Hypnosis Practice - Practice Limits

National Guild of Hypnotists members use the code of ethics to help guide them in practicing hypnosis. One important principle the code speaks to is that hypnotists need to work within the confines of their competence and the law.

Practice Limits: Members shall use hypnotism strictly within the limits of their training and competence and in conformity to the laws of their state.

Its hard to say no to someone wanting your services, but if a client asks you to work with them on age regression and you do not have any training on age regression, your best bet is to pass on the client, explain why and the offer a referral to a practitioner that you know has the appropriate training. 

When you do this, the client is honored because you are placing their needs first - they want a service, and you can't provide it.  And as a practicing hypnotist, we all want our clients to have the best chance of achieving their outcomes.  The profession is being honored because you are recognizing you are not competent in a certain practice area, and referring the client to someone else that can help them.  This action reflects well on the profession and reinforces the principle of Client Welfare from our code of ethics.  And finally, it reflects well on you the hypnotist.  Admitting that you cannot help a client because you lack the specific training is not at all a failing on the part of the practitioner, rather it's an exercise of professional responsibility.  In the event that you cannot help a client with a particular issue, it's important to refer them on to another that can.  

We'll cover being in conformity with state laws in another bog post..

This blog post is not legal advice, rather a commentary for licensed and unlicensed hypnotists to incorporate NGH Best Practices and advance the hypnosis profession and further maximize outcomes for our clients.

​