SEX ABUSE CLAIMS REJECTED

Judge rejects sex abuse claims made under hypnosis

The qualifications of a former builder to work as a hypnotherapist have been described as "woefully inadequate" and as a result his evidence in a child sex abuse case was thrown out of court.

Lawrence McCann, who is based in Omagh, charges £80 for a 50-minute session for people trying to give up smoking or lose weight.

On his website he promises: "You can be sure, however, that whether you are a modest smoker merely needing a little help to stop, or a suicidal melancholic feeling you have little to live for, you will in either case receive the best attention at all times."

He claimed to have hypnotised a 34-year-old Fermanagh man who then alleged that he had been sexually abused when he was about four or five.

The allegations resulted in a 71-year-old man from Fermanagh appearing in the dock at Omagh Crown Court accused of buggering and indecently assaulting the man when he was a young boy in the 1980s.

The judge, Her Honour Gemma Loughran, ruled that Mr. McCann's evidence was "inadmissible" and instructed a jury to find the pensioner not guilty on all charges.

Now she has issued a written judgement explaining why she threw out Mr. McCann's evidence.

She said that in a statement the victim of the alleged sex abuse complained of having a lot of difficulties in his life over the last few years and being unable to understand what was wrong. He suffered from depression but now realised "thanks to my counsellor" that what happened was not his fault.

His "counsellor", Mr. McCann, made three statements to police in which he referred to the alleged victim making some "disclosures".

Mr. McCann stated: "He told me that during his childhood he had been the victim of sexual abuse. This started when he was about four or five years old."

He said he used "regressional therapy" to unlock repressed memories of negative experiences in his client's past. He said the client "thought something had happened" with the older man "that didn't make sense to him".

He said his role in the disclosures was "listening to him and guiding him and facilitating the unlocking process".

However, expert defence witness Dr. Peter Naish, who lectures in psychology at the Open University, told the court that the evidence any memory can be repressed is very weak and to use hypnosis to unlock forgotten memories carries the "enormous risk" that false memories will be created.

Mr. McCann said: "In the following sessions things clarified more and he (the client) began to be more clarified and the pieces of the jigsaw came together."

Dr. Naish said research had shown that hypnosis does not have any special property for enhancing memory and simply using the word "hypnotic" will cause people to produce so many more memories as to make it virtually certain that the recalled memories are false.

The judge said the allegations of sex abuse emerged during the hypnotherapy sessions conducted by Mr. McCann and that there was no evidence before the court that prior to those sessions the alleged victim had made any complaint whatsoever against the 71-year-old pensioner.

Mr. McCann stated that "at no time do I put suggestions into client's minds".

The court heard that Mr. McCann had left school with no formal qualifications and worked in the building trade as a plasterer. He underwent therapy for five years and developed an interest in becoming an hypnotherapist. He undertook a six-month course that was about the equivalent of a month's full-time study. The only supervision of his practical work was at a weekend seminar in Dublin when he hypnotised another student.

The judge pointed out that Dr. Naish was a member of a working group set up by the British Psychological Society to develop guidelines on the safe and ethical use of hypnosis. Dr. Naish contrasted Mr. McCann's studies with those of an Open University student who would have to complete a six-year course followed by further specialised study before qualifying to practise hypnosis. This led him to describe Mr. McCann's qualifications as "woefully inadequate".

The judge described Mr. McCann's certificate from the International Association of Pure Hypnoanalysis, deeming him as a "fit and proper person to practise hypnotherapy", as "quite misleading".

She stated: "This court concludes, without hesitation, that any evidence obtained under hypnosis by Mr. McCann would, because of the paucity of his qualifications to practice hypnosis or hypnotherapy, be inadmissible in criminal proceedings."

The Crown offered no other evidence and the case against the 71-year-old pensioner accused of being a child molester was dismissed.

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Permalink Reply by Duncan Murray on March 29, 2010 at 4:48am

Point well made Gil - regression to cause searching out for an ISE...and the IAPH doing a DVD course with an open book exam... unfortunately there are many of these 'Hypnotherapists' around who have a technique based on abreactive therapy!!!.....a woeful lack of Quality Assurance and standards....and a wonderful advertising (sorry recruitment) approach of 'earn £30k p.a. part-time'!!!

Oh dear...oh dear....oh dear....not good for the profession....but not quite as bad as the British Academy of Hypnosis who have the Diploma described as a B.A.Hyp....pure misdirection (allegedly!!!)....but how did it ever get to court?!

At least GHR standards are set out and require a minimum number of hours of practical training/tuition and external examination....

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Permalink Reply by Melissa J. Roth on March 29, 2010 at 5:20am

Indeed, how did this ever get to court? I suggest that, aside from the obvious lack of qualifications of the hypnotist, that the qualifications of the police and the attorneys who participated in this debacle need to be examined. This points out a failure of the entire system; a total lack of critical reasoning.

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Permalink Reply by Fable Goodman on March 29, 2010 at 6:31am

All therapists, clients, and other interested parties, would do well to remember the words of Salvador Dali.

"The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant."

Love and hugs,

Lawrie Shaw the Sunderland Hypnotherapist

Fable

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Permalink Reply by Richard Nongard - NLPBoard.com on March 29, 2010 at 6:55am

Hopefully we won't have to relive the 1980's....

It's always interesting that people only seem to "forget" or "repress" the trauma of sexual abuse. Of course the theory is it was SO traumatic, the mind does it to self protect.
Overwhelming evidence and research though, shows this is NOT how the mind works (Loftus, et. al.). It's funny, nobody ever comes to therapy saying WW2 was so traumatic, I repressed my memory of concentration camps, now that I am in therapy, I suddenly realize I was in Poland. Or, 9-11 was so traumatic I repressed being in NYC at the trade center until I went to therapy, suddenly I now remember the trauma.....

If anyone reading this still is a believer in the Myth of Repressed Memory, get the book with that as the title by Elizabeth Loftus. And the victims of Memory by Mark Pendergrass.

I NEVER use RTC because change is not predicated on understanding, reliving or re-experienceing the cause. Change is dependent only on resources available today."What the mind can't recall, the imagination will create"

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on March 29, 2010 at 1:05pm

Before using regression to uncover cause, I ask my clients whether they have heard or read anything regarding false memories. 90% say YES, and only about 10% say NO.

Regardless of the response, my next statement is: "Two children can witness a fight in the school yard and give different versions to a teacher just minutes later. Likewise, we do not always remember things accurately when emotions are involved; rather, we remember events as we PERCEIVE them...and those perceptions can be altered by emotions. When I guide you back in time, my job is to help discover your subconscious PERCEPTIONS of the cause of your problem. However, my job is not to sort out fact from fantasy; because you may be responding to those perceptions regardless of whether they are fact, fantasy, or a combination of both."

In the 15+ years that I've used this pre-talk before a regression, nobody has ever (to the best of my knowledge) had a problem with any perceptions "remembered" by the subconscious. Since the goal is RELEASE of the emotions surrounding those perceptions, the results are very great.

While you do not have to learn regression therapy, don't criticize those of us who obtain good results with it.

Note: Randal Churchill's REGRESSION THERAPY should be in the library of every hypnosis professional. His book explains much, and I consider Churchill to be one of the world authorities on regression therapy.

Roy Hunter
www.royhunter.com

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Permalink Reply by Lee Warren on April 14, 2010 at 4:14am

This is very interesting to someone coming into Hypnosis afresh. Thanks for the insight.

Lee

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Atkinson on April 14, 2010 at 4:37am

My reply to this is the justice system totally failed. This case should have never been brought to trial based solely on a repressed memory, factual or not. Supporting evidence would be necessary to obtain a finding of truth.

My opinion: The hypnotist should have referred this person to a qualified and licensed therapist who specialized in sexual abuse. The therapist could then re-visit these memories with the client, and if evidence then supported the allegations, the matter would be presented to the police for further investigation.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Elliott on April 14, 2010 at 4:59am

I can relate to the negative issues related to repressed memory, and we certainly do not want to go back to the dark days of the 1980's, but as for: "Dr. Naish contrasted Mr. McCann's studies with those of an Open University student who would have to complete a six-year course followed by further specialised study before qualifying to practise hypnosis". ..... what an absolute load of twaddle!

I can say with a fair degree of certainty that the majority of the persons upon this site, who practice as Hypnotherapists, did not study for that length of time prior to working with clients. Indeed, would it even be necessary??

Also, I don't know of anyone on the internet who advertises courses in Hypnotherapy whose course runs for 6+ years!

Here's a for instance from Gil Boyne's website referring to Dave Elman (whose work is admired by many): "Dave Elman had no formal training in medicine or psychology, yet he taught Hypnotherapy to more physicians, dentists, anesthesiologists, and psychiatrists than any other instructor in modern times".

It seems the Crown was just a little more than biased in their summing up.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on April 14, 2010 at 5:01am

International Association of Pure Hypnoanalysis ? Perhaps the real problem is that we are running out of adjectives and nouns that congruently fit after the International Association of ______________. I wonder if international association of beekeepers, blacksmiths, and hypnotherapist's is still available,
I agree with Melissa,,, musta been a slow day at the court house and everyone was looking to look busy trying a case.

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet,

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Permalink Reply by Duncan Murray on April 14, 2010 at 5:39am

Maybe the legal eagles could be regressed to cause as to why the case was taken forward at all...or am I just ignoring fee creation - with cases like this it would seem that the criminal justice system of Ancient Rome could be useful - throw prosecutors/defence lawyers who bring a case that is a waste of time and resources to court into the Tiber or worse....

Perhaps, Hugh, the 'International Association of Plasterers' Hypnoticdelusions' would do??!!