Insurance For Anyone Practising Almost Anything

HypnosisAustralia, November 2008

By Dr Tracie O'Keefe DCH, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist & Counsellor
Editorial Director of HypnosisAustralia Online.

In the midst of a world financial meltdown when banks are going to the wall insurance brokers are upping their takings by chasing the unregulated practitioners market. One such company is sending soliciting letters to practitioners offering policies for hypnosis, both Medical Malpractice and Public liability combined insurance, to practitioners who are not members of any association. This is even backed by Lloyds of London, but was it not Lloyds of London that ran into terrible financial problems in the late 80s and early 90s?

This presents very high risk to the public since a person can be bricklayer one day and then a hypnotherapist the next without a single qualification or without proving any kind of training. When the journal telephoned this company we were told that an applicant for such insurance simply ticks the box for a plethora of any modules and includes a piece of paper saying that they have qualifications. They do not have to provide any proof whatsoever of qualifications. The practitioner can then advertise to the public that they are qualified and have professional insurance when in fact no such proof has been asked for by anyone.

The whole shebang makes a mockery of the Australian government's polices to oversee the health professions, non-government registered and government-registered. Although no government can monitor the standards for health professions the health professions themselves do need to be compelled to monitor their own standards of practice, peer review and further education. In times when financial institutions are going to the wall it seems the government is happy to look the other way and just pretend to protect the public from potentially untrained and fraudulent health practitioners.

©HypnosisAustralia, November 2008