IAIH Summer Newsletter   

A graduate of the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy was recently visited by the Florida Department of Health.  The first contact began through Facebook Messenger, where the Hypnotherapist was asked about Hypnotherapy sessions for anxiety by someone from the Department of Health acting covertly as a person from the general public.  The practitioner did the right thing and said that they should speak on the phone.  A free-consultation in the office was set up.  During that visit, two undercover inspectors arrived and began asking questions about Hypnotherapy.  Our graduate answered all questions correctly, and within the scope of her training.  She was asked if hypnosis could heal anxiety, to which she answered that hypnotherapy can resolve underlying emotions, but that we do not treat diagnosed conditions. She was asked about her “patients,” to which she replied that she worked with “clients,” not patients.

The two agents then revealed their identity with their badges, and said that she was practicing within the confines of the law.  They took pictures of her State-Licensed Diplomas and her IAIH Certifications.  She was told that if she violated the law that she could be fined $1,000 or more and could spend one year in prison or more. This is the second time that we are aware of that this has happened.  In the first instance, our graduate answered all questions correctly as well and was found to be in compliance with the law.  Such visits can be scary, yet if you are properly trained and advertise within the scope of your training, and practice as such, then you should never have to worry.  Please review the rest of this email to become exceptionally familiar with State Hypnosis Law and all recent IAIH legal efforts to protect our right to practice our occupation.  Failure to understand the law could result in serious troubles for you, and also for our profession as a whole.

It recently came to our attention that Miami-Dade County was requiring an Affidavit to be signed by anyone wanting to practice Hypnotherapy.  The document essentially made it impossible to practice Hypnotherapy in that County unless you were a medical doctor.  IAIH went to work for over two months to get them to change this document.  We succeeded!  Click the following link and scroll down to Miami-Dade for more information, and to learn more about your right to practice your occupation: https://www.interpersonalhypnotherapy.com/legal-efforts

Similar to Miami-Dade County, “hypnotists” are regulated within a category that includes astrologers, fortune tellers, and psychics.  This is fine with us because we are Hypnotherapists, yet in the City of Davie there was no place for being a Hypnotherapist, and the charge to get a business tax receipt (formerly known as an occupational license) was around $750.  This was unacceptable to us, so we went to work.  We succeeded, and Hypnotherapists in the City of Davie now are acknowledged under their true occupational title and pay a reasonable fee.  This shows the importance of having State-Licensed Diplomas and of supporting an organization that is protecting your right to practice.  Scroll down to the City of Davie to read more, and to see all of the work we’ve done in this regard since 2012 on the following page: https://www.interpersonalhypnotherapy.com/legal-efforts

Your understanding of the respective laws of your State and how you advertise is crucial.  Please see the new video on this page entitled Medical Hypnotherapy, Law and Credentialing to hear the most current understandings of our profession as discussed by IAIH President Matthew Brownstein: https://www.interpersonalhypnotherapy.com/legal-efforts

For more information on Hypnosis Laws around the United States, visit:  https://www.interpersonalhypnotherapy.com/us-state-hypnosis-laws 

We are in the process of scheduling our next IAIH Hypnotherapy Conference for May of 2019.  As we ramp up for this event, we are looking for exciting presenters to discuss Hypnotherapy and related topics.  If you are interested in presenting at the next IAIH Conference, please email matthew@interpersonalhypnotherapy.com with a topic title and description.  We’ll make more announcements about the Conference over the months that follow.