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
I am with you Mary. I myself have relocated. I was licensed in the previous state and have practiced for 10 years. However, my new state SC does not seem to think that my education (from Loyola, btw) does not meet “their requirements” so I will need to pay a few thousand dollars for the classes they want on top of all the fees I paid just to apply if I want to continue to practice. It is all a money making scheme these days. My skills and ability are still there- they just didn’t benefit from me yet. All very frustrating.
Reading this blog has been an enlightening experience for me. I am an LPC and have been practicing for 45 years, well before licensure began, but was also in the first group of practitioners to sit for the licensing exam in my state.
The comment is right on target that the path to licensure is a way of learning, but it has also become a rationale for insurance providers to NOT cover services, whether the client is demonstrably helped or not, based on the practitioner’s license.
Also, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes manipulations among the various psychological practitioners associations concerning licensure and using the terms “psychologist” or :”psychotherapist.”
i found this blog while doing research on license reciprocity in different states. I am planning to relocate and want to continue my work. Do you realize, that my skills and talents DO NOT LEAVE ME when I cross the state line to practice in another looation? That’s what i’m getting at about the politics behind state licensure, it is much more a matter of collecting fees and tariffs rather than assessing efficacy in work — which can hardly be measured even in the most scrupulous studies anyway.
Just a few things to think about.
Mary
>>>>
Granted I will probably learn a lot through the process. But from someone who’s struggled with anxiety personally, there are few things anyone can teach me that I don’t already know (about anxiety). So, if someone comes to me and says he/she needs help, and is offerring to pay me some money to help them, where is the problem?
>>>>>
There are a crop of people who practice alternative therapy such as EFT and hypnosis that make these type of claims. You go to a couple of workshops and use your life experience to validate your way of healing on other people. You assume that what works for you will work for someone else, and charge a typical fee, which someone with the education background would charge for a psychotherapy session.
I made a mistake going to therapist, who use experience and some crappy set of workshops, in order to validate their use of therapy, and got horrible results. They blame me, if I did not get healed, when it is their therapy is an issue.
People wity mental disorders should work with people who have the training to help them, not some person who pops up with their method, which has no scientfic background or accredited training in order to help them.
We do need regulation, because these crop of invalid therapists should not be working on people who have emotionl problems.