Invasion of British stage hypnotists

HypnosisAustralia, November 2006

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

Australia has had its own stage hypnotists who have also made a living over the years through touring the world. There have been many subjects who have experienced devastating consequences to being involved in those shows. This year, however, has now seen the emergence of two very high-profile British stage hypnotists who have invaded our shores.

The first is Peter Powers who has operated in Europe for many years. His television show, on the Foxtel comedy channel, involves a profusion of stunts with people under hypnosis that has coordinated with his nation wide stage shows. Powers' charismatic performances are slick and well planned and thought-out to induce the onlookers to think they are magical and off the cuff. He takes the most hypnotically susceptible and suggestive of his subjects and rolls them together into what looks like an extravaganza. There are routines of people waking up terrified in helicopters to men finding themselves life-saving blow-up dolls. The filming and editing of his hypnotic antics are just as slick as his slickly thought-out routines.

The second British DJ-turned-stage-hypnotist to try and mesmerise the Australian market via the internet with his self-help products is the very litigious Paul McKenna who has also had a TV show in the UK, who seems to have been involved in a string of law suits. Sometimes he is sued and wins and loses and there are also a plethora of people he has attempted to sue, sometimes successfully sometimes not.

McKenna and Powers are old adversaries who in the past have disputed over who was the originator of each other's routines. It often seems like a competition between them about who is going to be the most famous or make the most money.

Stage hypnosis has never lain down well with healthcare providers and already clients are begging therapists not to do to them under hypnosis "what they do on the television". Since there is no pre-screen during stage hypnosis there can be no safe stage hypnosis so the sooner associations make it clear in their codes of ethics that stage hypnotists are not allowed, the faster the hypnotherapy profession in Australia will gain integrity.

©HypnosisAustralia, November 2006