talkmagic.co.uk

I live in a country where stage hypnosis is forbidden. The saving grace is that it's OK if you don't call it hypnosis. If you call it NLP, Psycho-cybernetics, Suggestion, deep relaxation, Mind-direction, Controlled Thought Projection, Mesmerism, Animal-Magnetism, State-of-mind Influence, Directed Imagination, or any other name that you would like to invent, then no-one can touch you.
If I say , for instance, that I will be using "Controlled-awareness Induction", (I just made that up now), then I am not only within the law but I am also doing something that no-one else is doing.
This is what happens when Governments make laws about things they don't understand.
I would really like to know if anyone has encountered anything similar to this and found a loophole
Ronny

In the UK we are not allowed to perform hypnosis in public places without a licence.
The whole 1952 Hypnosis act is based around the word 'trance' which is a difficult legal concept to define.

Persuasion techniques, NLP and suggestions such as 'hand sticking' should be OK [but I'm no expert so dont quote me !] since the subject is arguably not in a trance state. Also Hypnosis for research purposes seems to be allowed.

Many hypnotherapists are prevented from performing hypnosis stage shows due to clauses and conditions laid down by their professional body which believes that stage works trivialises the work of real [sic] hypnotists.

It is all a bit messy with ancient rules based on a lack of clear understanding by a nanny state.

Why call it anything?

Tomo wrote:Why call it anything?

I think we rely on their perception of the word "hypnotist" in order that they will conform to our suggestions.
If I call myself a controlled awareness inductionist they would give me strange looks.
If I say I am the hypnotist they will be expecting me to say things like "Sleep", "look into my eyes", etc. and they are more inclined to enter a 'hypnosis subject' frame of mind.

Having said that I personally prefer the non-trance hypnosis approach of James Tripp.

I should call it guided meditation particularly if you are doing it for therapy purposes and need something to say for legal reasons. In the late Paul Goldin's show he would never use the word hypnosis. Instead he implied that it was mind control or even extra sensory perception. The word hypnotism was never mentioned once either in his show or his advertising. And it wasn't for legal reasons either since there is no restriction on hypnosis in Ireland. And even if there were nobody would take any notice of it anyway.

Stage hypnosis was illegal in Ontario until I got the law changed by devious means that are described in my memoirs. I truly am a figure of historical significance. Mind you, I have always been perplexed that something that does not exist can be made illegal.