If I wanted to be the "safest" stage hypnotist what would I need to consider?

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Permalink Reply by Don Rice on July 9, 2008 at 5:37pm

Hi Jonathan,

Two weeks ago I was at a large corporation, but a small crowd and had only eighr volunteers. I did my best and we had fun. Last weekend I was in Denver for a large convention and I had an audience of over two thousand people and that resulted in 35 volunteeres. The show was great, I had no difficulty keeping control of the volunteers and the audience went wild.

How would you think I was risking my reputation? Don

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Permalink Reply by Don Rice on June 29, 2008 at 8:05am

Hi Bob,

I tend to agree with you on the stage safety training. I have never had a problem with safety in the twenty years I have been doing one to two shows a week. However, if I did have a problem I would think my insurance would cover the liability. I feel this subject will calm down in a few months as there are insurance companies offering insurance without any safety training. If I thought stage safety was of value or in demand I would be one of the first to teach it and pick up some extra cash.

Do Good & Make Money,

Don

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Permalink Reply by Justin James on June 29, 2008 at 11:09am

Really Don... So you have been holding out on the rest of the industry with affordable insurance that from a company that does not care as to safety records??

Please enlighten the rest of us....!

The reality is offering a stage safety program will possible in the short term net you some dollars, however your students would quickly look at you and ask the obvious question of why are you not teaching this in class and if you are then it would be redundant.

Frankly Don this topic will only die down because there are several of us who are working to make changes that will effect us all.

Now Bob the following is an incomplete but basic summary of what needs to be looked at with stage safety.
Yes it is basic and would seem to be common sense however... That can occasionally be a very rare commodity with newer performers with little to no training... (I.E. one 3 day class)


Top 20 check list


*

Always Video Tape your show

I.E. Contract stipulation that all shows are videotaped.


*

Checklist your stage

walk your stage, check for sharp edges, protrusions, uneven or unstable platforms, electrical hazards, other obstructions


*

Remove any cords or obstructions if possible
*

Use duct or gaffing tape on exposed cords



When calling for volunteers word your suggestions to avoid anyone currently under medical supervision.

This includes Pregnant women or any other infirm individuals


*

Make volunteers aware of stage edging Speakers or other obstructions
*

Tell all volunteers that they are to use the stairs at all times
*

Use assistants or spotters if available
*

Use the seat-belt suggestion or other direct suggestion to prevent people falling out of their chairs.
*

Make your wording so that they respond only to your suggestions or those people specifically designated by you and no one else
*

Word your induction to prevent non responsiveness
*

Avoid using highly intoxicated individuals as volunteers
*

Avoid phobic based / Fear based suggestions

Suggestions such as there are spiders, rats, insects, mice, snakes, crawling on the floor or other highly phobic suggestions


*

Maintain content at appropriate age level

G, PG, PG 13, R


Arrange suggestions to prevent blue language in family shows
*

Always enforce a no hitting no throwing no inappropriate touching rule
*

Off mike abreactive volunteers

An abreactive volunteer is someone who is acting strangely sometimes upset or argumentative and always disruptive to the show



* Maintain control of your audience and volunteers at all times
* Strobe lights: always use an advance warning that a strobe light will be used in ANY show and give audience members time enough to either leave or to take actions that will allow them to avoid its effects should they be sensitive to them.


*

The Human Bridge / Full Body Catalepsy

Currently due to claims issues is a prohibited routine !

DO NOT ATTEMPT WITH OUT PROPER TRAINING &THIS ROUTINE IS NOT COVERED BY YOUR LIABILITY INSURER!


Justin James
www.thehypnosiscompany.com
www.safeonstage.com

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Permalink Reply by Bob Brown, CHt, CNLP on June 29, 2008 at 11:32am

Thank you Justin.. this is the first detailed response I have received. I appreciate you taking the time.

bob

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Permalink Reply by Justin James on June 29, 2008 at 11:35am

No problem Bob

Justin

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Permalink Reply by Lee Darrow on June 29, 2008 at 2:17pm

As a stage hypnotist with 40 + years of performing under my belt, two insurance licenses and the guy who published the first two books on this matter, let me add a bit to this thread, if I may be so bold.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the insurance industry out there, especially regarding stage hypnosis and it's sister, the lecture demonstration. I have talked to a number of hypnotists who say to me, "Lee, I don't need stage hypnosis liability insurance. My malpractice insurance will cover me as the only thing I do other than therapy is the occasional lecture, where I might demonstrate a few simple hypnotic effects."

This brings us to Possible Misconception Number One - that Malpractice Insurance will cover you if you do a demonstration away from your usual place of business.

Folks, in all of the policies that I have reviewed in the past several years fro friends and associates, I can state, with some finality, THIS IS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE! Most (not all but MOST) malpractice insurance held by hypnotherapists, covers only consultation work done in their office or "usual place of business." For those who do in-home" and/or "other's office" visits, this is what it refers to. It does not, generally, cover ANY promotional work, nor does it cover ANY demonstration work, whatsoever.

In fact, several carriers specifically exclude coverage for any types of demonstrations, no matter where they are done, escept as part of a group therapy session, in your "usual place of business," and only for billed sessions.

This means that, if you are doing a lecture and do ANY kind of demonstration at all, you are doing, in the eyes of many of the insurers out there, STAGE HYPNOSIS and you are NOT covered by your liability insurance.

Myth Number Two: Insurance will cover ANY problem that happens on stage.

Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true, either.

The liability insurance business is a complex and confusing thing, even to the professionals IN it and the laws regarding liability are many, varied and complex, to say the least. Merely deciding who IS the party of liability in a single situation where there are more tan one party involved in a show can take quite a bit of time in front of a judge to settle, should questions arise about it. Resolving WHO is holding the liability bag is merely the first step in assigning the liability. In many cases, liability can be divided up among a number of parties or denied, altogether, as can coverage for a specific incident.

Myth Number Three: any stage hypnotist who has performed for more than ten years without a safety problem can teach stage safety.

I am sorry to disagree with my learned colleagues on this one, but, after a five-year study of the safety issues that can develop on stage, including an intensive study of the types of chairs, portable stages, runway systems, lighting rigs and such, I believe that I can firmly assert that, unless someone has done that kind of homework, they cannot possibly cover the topic adequately as they do not have the hard information TO teach.

I know that, before I MADE those studies, I would have made the same claim. Now that I have completed them, I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I would have been dead wrong if I had made them. One cannot properly teach what one does not know, in detail.

Finally, insurance companies tend to move TOWARDS uniformity of regulation, not AWAY from them. When ONE firm starts requiring mandatory safety training for members of a specific profession, it is generally not long before ALL of the carriers start doing the same thing.

Respectfully,

Lee Darrow, C.H.
www.stagehypnosissafetyclass.com

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