Protecting the Public
Dear Anthony,
I wanted to thank you for writing such an interesting article in the November issue of Counseling Today regarding Life Coaches. I am a recent graduate in Community Counseling and just passed the LPC exam.
Here in Dallas, a lot of so-called “hypnotist/hypnotherapists” pass themselves off as therapists and life coaches. It’s amazing because they have NO clinical training to practice mental health. I’m wondering if there are any laws out there to protect the public.
For example, there is a guy in Dallas who is top listed on Google for Hypnotherapy.
The guy claims to be a “board certified hypnotherapist”…but in reality it requires no formal education nor licensure. If you look at his site, he claims to treat all kinds of clinical issues … including addictions. There are an awful lot of people out there claiming to by hypnotherapists, but are not licensed by the state to perform therapy. I’m wondering what I can do as a counselor to change this situation?
Sincerely,
Jeremy Porter
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Dear Jeremy,
Thank you so much for reading, and for your comments about, my column!
The issue of licensure you describe is complicated, evolving all the time, and differs by state.
In Massachusetts, where my practice was founded, the term “Mental Health Counseling” is regulated. However, other terms, such as “psychotherapy” and “counseling” have not always been regulated. Note: they might be now, but in my discussions with the board of licensure in the mid 2000s there were not regulated.
Hence, at that time persons could hang a shingle and provide services called “psychotherapy” or “counseling” and –depending on what they were actually doing—they might be working within the law. Truly, every time a term is regulated it seems someone comes up with a new title that’s note regulated. Consider “life coaching”, “mentorship”, “listening services”, “life consulting” or who knows what else.
It seems, you are having a similar experience, with someone providing services under the term “Hypnotherapy.”
However, regardless of the title one is using, they might still be in violation of laws for practicing medicine, or psychology / mental health services, without a license. It seems the person you’re citing is claiming to treat additions, depression, etc…. I’m not sure about your local laws, but it seems such claims might very well might cross the line in your state.
If you’re trying to practice in the same marketplace, I think that a good approach for you and other licensed mental health professionals (counselors, social workers, psychologists) is to emphasize your strengths to potential clients. This might include:
1 – Showing the difference in caliber of education and licensure you possess
2 – Being eligible to accept clients’ insurance (which unlicensed providers can’t do)
3 – Patient/Client Privilege — The legal protection of client privacy licensed counselors have, but others don’t.
Jeremy, I hope this helps!!
Sincerely,
Anthony
Dr. Anthony Centore
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Anthony Centore
Post graduate school licensure and supervision hours are a pain for those of us who have graduate degrees in counseling. I really believe ethically that when a person finishes graduate school they are equipped to administer counseling/mental health services without having to be under supervision for two years, I say this because this system seems to be set up to stress people out and allow certain systems to make more money while graduates with Counseling/Psychology degrees have to pay more money out to someone for 2 or more years before they can independantly practice like graduate school loans etc. isn’t enough for those who had to take them out while attending school. I have a double masters one in Counseling and one in Rehabilitation Counseling, I was a very thorough student during all of my education and in graduate school I kicked it up 10 notches and maintained a GPA of 3.8 and 3.9, I am passionate about helping people live happier healthier lives, in the state that I am licensed in a State as an LPC its only a provisional license that threw me for a loop because, I moved from a state in which an LPC equates to full credentials in which you are able to practice without the threat of being in violation and bill insurance companies. I am an anatomy and physiology expert as well as being an expert on the brain and behaviors, nonetheless, I had to begin my supervision hours after getting my LPC license, this was to darn stressful and I mean it with a RING, it really doesn’t make sense especially since a person has to renew their license and pay for it in addition to completing CEU’s, as mental and behavioral health professionals the Counseling Boards should have deemed by now that supervision of 2 years if not more for a person who has already been supervised is too much, practicums and internships are for the novice counselor there has too be a more sensible approach like lessening the amount of hours required for supervison give counselors a way to independantly practice with Masters Degrees. My supervision experience was interesting but honestly, I knew just as much if not more than my supervisors. The need for Counselors is so great and is growing and this archaic system is not meeting the needs of the citizens who are in need of our help its shameful. In the US the system needs to respect professionals from other countries if they have their license why not reciprocate them and create a system to monitor their practice. The UK has extraordinary mental and behavioral health programs I read their journals and have studied with some of the greatest Counselors from the Uk. I am an advocate for a person who has experience in mental health and then chooses to help people overcome their challenges, we are all adults her and there is no need to disrespect anyone the way some of you are disrespecting other professionals make me ask the questions do you have a Couselor or Life Coach that you see for your personal concerns. I think as professionals as long as a person practices ethically, stays abreast of the laws, evidence based practices and does the required CEU’s one should be able to practice within the scope of their abilities. Life Coaching is a growing profession and many of us who are therapists have chosen to become Life Coaches which is a plus because we the clinical background and experience that compliments Life Coaching and therefore is better equipped to serve our clients needs. Currently, I am an LPC, Life Coach, RMT and Consultant who enjoys Life Coaching which is a compliment to the field of Counseling the two fields perform similar duties but as an experienced LPC, I am able to detect a serious mental illinesses and since I have chosen to be a Life Coach who specializes in treating
depression, trauma, PTSD ( all of which I am certified in ) and Spiritual concerns orI Consult on mental and behavior illnes. I refer people who have the more serious concerns psychosis, schizophrenia, Major Depression etc. to a Counselor/Psychotherapist that specializes in those areas whom I trust to help them overcome their challenges. In the final analysis many people around the world as well as in the US are in need of qualified mental and behavioral health professionals who are dedicated to the cause of helping them live happier healthier lives so bickering over licensure hours and and name calling is not gonna solve anything. If you can’t say anthing nice just don’t say anything all. I avoid arguments and chose to teach people how to behave properly and you know what I did not learn that in a University, I was taught that at home by my grandparents and parents who raised me I say this becaue your experience has a lot to do with how you practice in Counseling and Psychology and I do not need a school professor or text book or association to teach me that, I have witnessed it from many so called professionals who are biased in their counseling approach because of their upbringing. I will leave you with this stop the fighting and name calling and let your ethical logical reasoning mind lead you to be the greatest professional that you can be it all begins with respect. I hope you all find that AHA Moment again.
Alright, I’ve got lots to say and I don’t think most of you are going to like what I have to say. First, I’m going to put my cred out there. I have 25 years of documented experience in the field of social services that includes addictions and mental health. Some of that time I have been licensed, some I have been certified, and some I have been neither. I have about another 4-5 years of undocumented time working with the disabled population as an adolescent because I was born to do this kind of work. I was the first person in my family to go to and complete college. I have 5, yes, 5 college degrees. My highest is an MSW. I have worked my whole way through college and university and grad school. Mostly full time. I did not take the easy way around, even though I had the skills set from the beginning. It was very frustrating to me that I had to go through all of this to get to this point, so that I could have my own practice. I was ready way before this time. However, I knew that it was the correct way to do things. Even though I thought that way, I managed to learn new things that I wouldn’t have learned if I was on my own. Things that made me the professional that I am today and wasn’t then. I needed that experience to grow. I didn’t know that until after I completed my masters degree. A degree that I thought was a joke, because I knew it all, already. It was all about the money you know. Well it wasn’t. Since then I have gotten several other pieces of paper. I’m an LCSW. A certified addictions counselor with all sorts of bells and whistles. And ya, it’s expensive. But I didn’t cut corners to get where I am. That’s my warm up. Next thing I want to address is those of you what think you can treat addictions with hypnosis. I call bullshit. You clearly don’t have a full understanding of addiction or even a respect for it if you think that you can address it with one treatment modality. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Do yourself a favor and look at the ASAM definition of addiction. You will see that it is a multifaceted, issue. All your doing it putting gum on a hole in a pipe. You didn’t treat anything. Also, if you think that hypnosis can help someone that is a middle to late stage alcoholic or addict you are sadly mistaken. Just go watch them go through detox sometime in a hospital, then watch them leave to use 3 days later and tell me how you help. The people you work with most of the time with hypnosis don’t have severe issues in the first place. Which is why they can afford your services. If they do, they are lying to you and just doing the treatment to get someone else off thier back. I’ve been sober for almost 30 years, and an addictions counselor for 23 of those, I know a little bit about how these people think. Which brings me to Ms. Long. I sense some boundary issues with you. Both in your discussion of the addiction portion and the trauma part. You seem to have some transference or counter transference stuff going on there. Had you gotten proper education and supervision, you might not have those type of issues. Those are the kind of things you get from a formal education that you spend money for, it makes you better at your job. Especially when you have raw talent. It’s a shame you didn’t go further in school. You could have been an unstoppable force. By the way, I know what your doing there by taking all those certifications. Your trying to legitimize yourself. Ya, I know that because I went through that for a while myself. It didn’t work for me, and it probably won’t work for you. Mr. Sosa. I am so sorry you got screwed man. Clare. I don’t know what your issue is. It sounds kind of like you got a DUI and your salty about it because your license got yanked or something. That’s the best I can figure by what you have said. Here’s the deal. You shouldn’t have drove after ya drank. It’s just that simple. I’m pretty sure you can re-apply for your license after completing the requirements. If that is indeed the issue.
Here’s the deal. I worked my ass off for what I have and I get super pissed when paraprofessionals think that they can do the same thing that I can without putting in the same amount of time an effort. That is bullshit. There are rules, licensing bodies and regulations that protect the clients I work with from people that don’t follow these guidelines. There are reasons the guidelines are put into place. Admittedly, not everyone is gifted on both sides of the license. This is true. However, it doesn’t make it okay to ignore it because of that. That’s like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The logic is flawed. It makes no sense. I have no problem working in tandem with a paraprofessional, but they need to stay in thier lane until they have the credential to move into my lane, not before then. I say this not as an elitist though I’m sure I sound like one, but as someone concerned about the effects on clients’ welfare. Paraprofessional can be very dangerous to clients. They can give them misinformation or give them an herb that contraindicates a medication they are on and it can cause lasting effects to a patient. I have worked with enough paraprofessional over the years, most have been generally competent but have made errors on things that I knew and they didn’t. Unfortunately, it would generally cause a riff between the client, myself and the paraprofessional, because feelings would be uncomfortable and confused.
As a former addict, I’d rather get help from a former addict, even if unlicensed, than from someone licensed, but with theoretical knowledge only. I’d imagine few licensed professionals have had a DWI or went to jail, as I assume this would be grant for license revocation. So how can they relate to a patient with DWI’s, jail trips, loss of professional licence, etc? And why do AA sponsors can practice their sponsorship without a licence? If they had one anyway, they probably would not be trusted.
Anyway, I visited two licensed professionals, and they urged me to go to rehab because my alcohol consumption was deemed incredibly high (3 bottles of wine a day, every day, for multiple decades). I was almost never drunk, never experienced withdrawals, never had blackouts in the last 10 year of drinking, nor hangovers, nor legal, familial or professional problems, and never missed a day of work. Yet the doctors told me if I did not go to rehab I would be dead within 4 months. Either because of trying to stop alone and dying from delirium tremens, or because unable to stop and dying from severe alcoholism.
Fast forward and years later, I am still alive and very well. I have stopped drinking about 2 years after I was told I was about to die, and I eventually stopped by myself with no problem. I felt better hours after stopping – no withdrawal, no unpleasant symptoms, nothing but a big improvement in my life and my finances. And I did not stop because I reached bottom, it was actually the opposite. The last few months of drinking, after my third bottle of the day, I would go sleeping and enjoyed a nice euphoria, probably a consequence of having tried cannabis a bit earlier, and the alcohol just exploited the new paths created by the cannabis, in my brain. I don’t do cannabis either anymore.
Anyway, long story short, I am so grateful to not have followed the advice of licensed counselors who were predicting my imminent death unless I get treated at a cost of $60,000. What happened with these counselors, is that they considered that 3 bottles a day for decades, was way too high, and because of liability issues (if I ever had died of withdrawal – a very unlikely event) they would have faced a big lawsuit. So the protection that is supposed to come with a licensed professional comes with a price: they have no choice but to send a case like mine to rehab even though it is a total waste of resources, just because of potential liability issues.
I plan one day to become an unlicensed counselor myself, and I will tell my clients to be very careful about licensed professionals as they’ll force you to do costly, time-wasting things because the law force them to do so. But the vast majority of alcoholics of my caliber (and they are far numerous than one would think) end up being sober just like me: one random day, with no effort, no AA, no rehab, no treatment, no depression, no cravings, no pills, nothing except happiness. You don’t hear their stories because they don’t seek professional help, so there is no statistics about them.
Before accepting a patient, I will ask her one question: have you ever experienced severe withdrawal symptoms? If you say yes, I won’t work with you. If you say you don’t know (and how would you know if you drink every single day and never tried to stop before) I will reply that it’s OK with me as long as you have a close friend at home at all time ready to call 911 if needed. And if they start experiencing severe withdrawal, I’ll say I can no longer work with you because I am not qualified to deal with that situation.
Eventually, I stopped unexpectedly. It was a normal day and I was expecting to drink as usual, but was a little sick. Enough that I did not have the courage to go the liquor store. Same think the next day. Then the following two days, we were hit with a massive snowstorm and driving to the store was too much of a pain, even dangerous, and I stayed at home watching the snow falling. It was very relaxing, even with no wine. After 4 days with no wine and no issue, I decided that I could continue that way for a while. And I never drunk again even a single time. And like I said, I am grateful to have quit alcohol not after reaching a low, but a high — a bit like divorcing from a spouse you lived with for 30 years, and just had the most fantastic sex (and the last one) the day before the divorce was pronounced.
One day I will write a book about this.