CAM proponents generally struggle against government regulation of their industry, though they will also often cite state licensure, when it is required, as evidence that their approaches are legitimate. However, in the absence of such a government imprimatur of legitimacy, CAM providers organize themselves into private “accrediting” organizations to lend gravitas to their business cards. As this article indicates, however, the standards are sometimes less than rigid. Apparently, even being a human being is not always required.
“Chris Jackson, presenter of Inside Out in the North East and Cumbria, registered pet [cat] George with three industry bodies. George was registered with the British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming (BBNLP), the United Fellowship of Hypnotherapists (UFH) and the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association (PHPA).”
And lest we be tempted to assume the British system is somehow more lax than here in the U.S., Dr. Steve Eichel, a psychotherapist, managed not only to get his cat, Zoe, certified by the “National Guild of Hypnotists, the American Board of Hypnotherapy…the International Medical & Dental Hypnotherapy Association…[and] the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists,” he even secured Diplomate status as a board certified member or the American Psychotherapy Association.
Just something to think about the next time someone rattles off an impressive string of professional credentials in support of some questionable therapeutic approach.
