ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN HYPNOTHERAPY

The following are the code of ethics that should be followed and adhered to by a professional
hypnotherapist. These principles serve as guidelines in dealing with their clients and list their
responsibilities before, during, and after each hypnotherapy session.
o Respect the essential humanity, worth and dignity of all people and promote this value
in their work.
o Recognize and respect diversity among his or her client/s and oppose discriminative
behavior.
As a working professional they are entitled to respect all eligible clients and to not
discriminate in their practice. They should not allow considerations of religion,
nationality, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, politics or social
standing to adversely influence client treatment.
o Be respectful of the identity and privacy of his or her client/s.
Under hypnosis, the client may reveal personal and sensitive information. So it is
important that the hypnotherapist treat any personal information about his or her clients,
whether obtained directly or by inference with confidentiality. This applies to all verbal,
written or recorded material of the clients hypnotherapy session/s.

o Respect the rights of the client/s, especially the clients right to informed consent.
Before using hypnotherapy as treatment to help the client, the therapist should ask
permission. Sometimes hypnotherapy requires delving into painful or traumatic areas for
the client, therefore the therapist needs to gain consent beforehand about what is to be

treated, although it may well not be practical to gain consent for what exactly they will
do, as this may be responding to the current context. In any case, the therapist must
always be asking 'Should I stop now? What are the risks to the client's wellbeing? Is it
right to go on?'
After asking for the clients consent, a hypnotherapist should inform their clients
of the pros and cons of hypnotherapy. The client should have a clear understanding of
what is going to happen to them beforehand and should be given an opportunity to back
out any time.
In a hypnotherapy session it is essential for the therapist to obtain written
permission from the client (or if appropriate, the client's parent/s or legal guardian/s)
before recording client sessions, discussing undisguised cases with any person
whatsoever, or publishing cases (whether disguised or not) via any medium.

o Develop their knowledge and competence regarding hypnotherapy throughout their

professional lives.
A professional hypnotherapist should always update his or her knowledge
regarding hypnotherapy in order to give quality service to the clients. However they
should also remain aware of their limitations and should only provide service to the
clients in the areas in which they are confident to do so.

o Abide by the laws of the country in which he or she practices.

 Ethical Responsibilities to the Client:

o Take all reasonable steps to avoid harm to the client as a result of the therapeutic
process.
o In the event of harm resulting from therapy, a hypnotherapist must take responsibility
for restitution and professional indemnity.
o Promote client autonomy and encourage them to make responsible decisions on their
own behalf.
o Consider the social context of the client and their connections to others.
o Responsible for setting and maintaining professional boundaries within the
therapeutic relationship.