Joane Goulding LMCCH

On 1st January 1998, hundreds of Victorian professional hypnotherapists proudly started to advertise their clinical services to the public as qualified Clinical Hypnotherapists. You may ask the question: “What’s so unusual about that statement?”

I will explain my reasons for that question shortly, after explaining some background history.

Whilst I was Joint Director of the Australian Academy of Hypnotic Science  (AAHS) I presented a paper in December 1997 discussing the long awaited deregulation of the restrictions on the practising of Clinical Hypnotherapy in Victoria. The paper discussed in detail Legislative changes to the 1987 Psychologists Registration Act, which still contained  restriction clauses, (subject to the following Minister's statement) preventing Hypnotherapists from practising. The then Victorian Health Minister, Mr. Rob Knowles, indicated that there would be no impediment to the ' Sunset Clauses' removing controls over the practice of Hypnotherapy being effected on December 31st 1997 thus allowing Hypnosis to be practised.

The fight to deregulate the practice of Clinical Hypnotherapy in Victoria started way back in 1974 when my late husband Jim Goulding and I joined the fight to lift the restrictive Legislation, regarding the practice and teaching of Clinical Hypnotherapy. At that stage only Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Medical Practitioners, Dentists and Ministers of Religion were deemed by Law to be permitted to practise Hypnotherapy in Victoria.

Now I raised the question at the start of this article, because many Hypnotherapists, who have qualified since Jan 1st 1998, may not be aware of the background history of how the restrictions on the practice of Hypnotherapy came into Legislation in the new 1967 Psychological Practices Act.  The detailed story would be too complex to relate in this paper, but can be reviewed in simple terms as follows:

In 1965, there were only a dozen or so Hypnotherapists practising in Melbourne, at a time when Hypnotherapy was starting to emerge as an important modality throughout the World.  At the same time Scientology was being heavily promoted, with unpopular outcomes and had come under investigation by Victorian Health Authorities.  The Government established a Royal Commission and Board of Inquiry and a Judge heard evidence, particularly from Psychologists and related professions and after six months of sittings, the Inquiry determined that Scientologists should be banned from practising in Victoria.

Ironically, during the late stages of the hearings, the practice of Hypnotherapy was suddenly raised as a matter of jealous anger by the Scientologists, which surprised the Judiciary because there was no evidence of complaints or harmful practice by Hypnotherapists on record. From that point on, the Psychology and related professions seized the opportunity to produce witnesses and un-proven, un-researched, anecdotal evidence about the “harmful” effects of Hypnosis, unless practised by their professional colleagues.

Their presentations panicked the Inquiry Judiciary resulting in recommendations that legislation clauses be included in the new 1967 Psychological Practices Act. The clauses restricted the use of Hypnosis to Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Doctors, Dentists and Ministers of Religion.

No formal training was required and the Inquiry was never informed that these Professionals possibly had no Hypnotherapy training at all. That there were no Universities in Australia with Hypnosis as part of any related Curriculum, and in fact no training existed for them.

The same restrictive legislation was then introduced progressively in most States of Australia and it seemed there would never be any change. However, the first indicator that the Professions were unhappy about the lack of proven research about Hypnosis occurred in 1982. The Commonwealth funded National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) adopted a medical panel report that Hypnosis be restricted to medical and psychology professions only. However in 1991, the report was rescinded with no further policy in place.

In Victoria, our first breakthrough occurred in 1984 when the Social Development Committee of Victoria’s Parliament, gave the elite professions opportunities within the 1984 and 1985 Parliamentary Inquiries into the 1967 Psychological Practices Act, to table any researched scientific papers, to support their stated concern and belief that there were dangers in Hypnosis practice.  No such evidence was made available to that Committee, because no such research had been conducted here or anywhere outside Australia. The same Committee recognised that Hypnosis is a component of many Health Practitioners’ treatments and was therefore impossible to restrict its use in related heath care.

As a consequence, the Final Report of the Committee recommended ex parte that the restrictions on the practice of Hypnosis be removed from the 1987 Psychologists Registration Act, subject to a two year Grandfather clause, making legal, the freedom of practice two years after proclamation of the Act.  That Legislation became an Act in 1987 but the ‘chosen few’ selfishly stalled Proclamation of the Act for eight more years and frustrated any freedom to practice until 1997. A total of 30 years, monopolising a science while failing to enforce any education requirement, seldom using the modality while charging high fees if they did and collectively failing to give the public the treatment they deserved and badly needed.

Fortunately in 1995, the Commonwealth and State Trade Practice Acts were amended by agreement with the creation of the National Competition Authority. Amongst its powers, the authority can oversee the removal of a monopoly restriction within a Profession’s Regulating Act, such as Hypnosis restrictions, when other trained professions can give the public an economic advantage and services of an equivalent standard.  There was no such economic and quality of service advantage in Hypnosis monopolies held by the related professions.  Consequently, from 1995 onwards, the remaining States with Hypnosis restriction clauses within Psychology Acts had to be reviewed and repealed. Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia have all complied with this agreement.  South Australia has conformed and only has to finalise Legislation procedures. NSW, NT and ACT were States that never endured such restrictions.

So, after all these struggles and frustrations, we are happy to celebrate this 10th year of freedom. In order to maintain our freedom to practise, we should be prepared to formulate principles for trained and qualified Hypnotherapist to discuss and incorporate into a charter for the self regulation of hypnotherapy practice.  To this end the CCH has been a party to the formulation of the Hypnotherapist Council of Australia (HCA) and we are proud to be the ‘Southern Region’ representative of that organisation. The important contribution that CCH members can offer, is continued membership and participation in general meetings as this will continue to assist with ongoing support for the acceptance and recognition as professional practitioners of Clinical Hypnotherapy. As Clinical Hypnotherapists, now able to practise our profession without fear of prosecution, we must never forget the past restrictions and those who had the courage and foresight to fight, on our behalf and to be aware of good practice standards and ongoing education.

My thanks to Don March LMCCH for his expert knowledge and assistance with this article.