{"id":1876,"date":"2026-08-07T21:59:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp\/?page_id=1876"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:18:31","slug":"scope-of-practice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/scope-of-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypnotherapy Scope of Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hypnotherapy is not suitable for every person or every situation. Each enquiry is considered individually before sessions begin.<\/p>\n<p>Suitability depends on the purpose of the work, the person\u2019s current circumstances, psychological and emotional stability, ability to give informed consent, existing treatment, level of risk, and whether the proposed work falls within my training, experience and professional scope.<\/p>\n<p>An existing diagnosis, prescribed medication or previous mental-health treatment does not automatically prevent someone from receiving hypnotherapy. In some circumstances, further assessment or communication with a GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, psychotherapist or another relevant healthcare professional may be appropriate before proceeding.<\/p>\n<h3>Areas I may work with<\/h3>\n<p>Subject to individual assessment, I may work with adults seeking support with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>stress and worry;<\/li>\n<li>self-confidence and self-acceptance;<\/li>\n<li>guilt and self-forgiveness;<\/li>\n<li>motivation and procrastination;<\/li>\n<li>personal development and goal-related difficulties;<\/li>\n<li>performance, public speaking, study or workplace pressure;<\/li>\n<li>fears and phobias;<\/li>\n<li>smoking cessation;<\/li>\n<li>non-dependent habits and repetitive behavioural patterns;<\/li>\n<li>sleep-related difficulties where an untreated medical cause is not suspected;<\/li>\n<li>adjustment to change, loss or significant life transitions;<\/li>\n<li>individual reflection on relationships, boundaries and communication;<\/li>\n<li>stable, non-acute experiences of anxiety or low mood;<\/li>\n<li>medically assessed chronic pain and coping with the emotional effects of physical-health conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hypnotherapy may be used alongside cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness-informed methods where appropriate for the individual and the purpose of the work.<\/p>\n<h3>Cases requiring further assessment<\/h3>\n<p>Some enquiries may require a more detailed consultation before a decision is made. These may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>current psychiatric or specialist psychological treatment;<\/li>\n<li>recent changes in psychiatric medication;<\/li>\n<li>previous psychiatric hospitalisation or crisis-team involvement;<\/li>\n<li>a history of psychosis, mania or significant psychological instability;<\/li>\n<li>trauma-related difficulties;<\/li>\n<li>dissociative experiences;<\/li>\n<li>a history of self-harm;<\/li>\n<li>significant panic symptoms or emotional overwhelm;<\/li>\n<li>problematic alcohol or substance use;<\/li>\n<li>eating-related difficulties;<\/li>\n<li>chronic pain or physical symptoms requiring medical assessment;<\/li>\n<li>neurological or other significant health conditions;<\/li>\n<li>involvement in current legal proceedings;<\/li>\n<li>cognitive or communication needs requiring adaptation of the work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Where appropriate and with the client\u2019s consent, communication with another healthcare professional may be requested before or during hypnotherapy.<\/p>\n<p>Such communication does not automatically mean that hypnotherapy will be offered. In some circumstances, another form of support may be more suitable.<\/p>\n<h3>Cases I do not accept<\/h3>\n<p>I do not provide emergency, crisis, psychiatric, medical, forensic or safeguarding services.<\/p>\n<p>Hypnotherapy will not normally be undertaken where there is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>immediate risk of serious harm to oneself or another person;<\/li>\n<li>current suicidal intent or planning;<\/li>\n<li>an acute psychotic episode;<\/li>\n<li>an acute manic episode;<\/li>\n<li>severe confusion or disorientation;<\/li>\n<li>severe dissociation preventing safe participation;<\/li>\n<li>intoxication or acute withdrawal from alcohol or drugs;<\/li>\n<li>inability to understand the proposed work or provide informed consent;<\/li>\n<li>an immediate safeguarding situation;<\/li>\n<li>a presentation requiring specialist psychiatric, addiction, eating-disorder or inpatient care as the primary intervention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also do not provide:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>diagnosis of mental or physical health conditions;<\/li>\n<li>psychiatric assessment;<\/li>\n<li>medication advice;<\/li>\n<li>advice to stop or change prescribed treatment;<\/li>\n<li>emergency or crisis intervention;<\/li>\n<li>medical treatment for physical-health conditions;<\/li>\n<li>forensic assessments or expert-witness reports;<\/li>\n<li>capacity assessments;<\/li>\n<li>fitness-for-work assessments;<\/li>\n<li>couples therapy;<\/li>\n<li>family therapy;<\/li>\n<li>family mediation;<\/li>\n<li>child-custody assessments;<\/li>\n<li>hypnosis intended to recover or verify memories;<\/li>\n<li>hypnosis intended to determine whether someone is telling the truth;<\/li>\n<li>hypnosis intended to obtain a confession or control another person;<\/li>\n<li>work requested by another person where the prospective client does not freely consent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Trauma and memory<\/h3>\n<p>Trauma-related work may be considered where the person is sufficiently stable and where the proposed work falls within my professional competence.<\/p>\n<p>Hypnosis is not used to establish whether a remembered event occurred, reconstruct disputed events or verify memories as historical facts.<\/p>\n<p>Images, impressions, emotions or memories that arise during hypnosis may be explored therapeutically, but they cannot be regarded as independent evidence that an event happened in a particular way.<\/p>\n<p>Hypnosis will not be used to identify an alleged perpetrator, investigate possible abuse, prepare witness testimony or establish the factual truth of a disputed event.<\/p>\n<h3>Physical health and pain<\/h3>\n<p>Hypnotherapy may support relaxation, coping, behavioural change, treatment-related anxiety and the subjective experience of pain.<\/p>\n<p>It does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Where pain, sleep disturbance, gastrointestinal symptoms, neurological symptoms or other physical complaints may have an underlying medical cause, appropriate medical assessment should take place.<\/p>\n<p>Prescribed treatment should not be stopped or changed on the basis of hypnotherapy.<\/p>\n<h3>Existing medical or psychological treatment<\/h3>\n<p>Hypnotherapy can sometimes complement medical, psychological or psychiatric care.<\/p>\n<p>Clients should continue to follow the advice of their GP, psychiatrist or other regulated healthcare professional.<\/p>\n<p>Where coordination of care would be beneficial, communication with another professional may take place with the client\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n<h3>Medication<\/h3>\n<p>Taking prescribed medication does not automatically prevent hypnotherapy.<\/p>\n<p>However, medication, recent medication changes and their possible effects may form part of the suitability assessment.<\/p>\n<p>I do not prescribe medication and do not advise clients to discontinue, reduce or alter medication prescribed by a healthcare professional.<\/p>\n<h3>Adults only<\/h3>\n<p>Sessions are offered to adults aged 18 or over.<\/p>\n<p>Enquiries concerning anyone under the age of 18 are not accepted through the standard booking process.<\/p>\n<h3>Declining, postponing or ending work<\/h3>\n<p>An enquiry may be declined, postponed or referred elsewhere where:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the proposed work falls outside my professional competence or insured scope;<\/li>\n<li>another form of care appears more appropriate;<\/li>\n<li>the level of risk cannot be managed safely within this service;<\/li>\n<li>informed consent cannot be established;<\/li>\n<li>relevant information necessary for safe practice is unavailable;<\/li>\n<li>the person\u2019s circumstances change in a way that makes continued hypnotherapy inappropriate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Where reasonably possible, the reason will be explained sensitively and appropriate alternative professional support may be suggested.<\/p>\n<h3>Important notice<\/h3>\n<p>Hypnotherapy is a complementary approach and is not a substitute for medical, psychiatric or emergency care.<\/p>\n<p>No particular therapeutic outcome can be guaranteed. Suitability and progress vary between individuals.<\/p>\n<p>This practice does not provide an emergency or crisis service. If immediate medical or psychological assistance is required, the appropriate local emergency or healthcare service should be contacted.<\/p>\n<p>Jakub Tencl, Ph.D. practises as a hypnotherapist. The Ph.D. designation represents an academic doctorate and does not indicate qualification or registration as a medical doctor, psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hypnotherapy is not suitable for every person or every situation. Each enquiry is considered individually before sessions begin. Suitability depends on the purpose of the work, the person\u2019s current circumstances, psychological and emotional stability, ability to give informed consent, existing treatment, level of risk, and whether the proposed work falls within my training, experience and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1876","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4218,"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1876\/revisions\/4218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ihypnosis.org.uk\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}