03/07/2024
The topic of Consent and adequate training in terms of Subtle Energy Medicine and Complementary Therapies.
Consent is often thought to be a straightforward matter in terms of complementary therapies. It is covered in Course Syllabuses, in Codes of Conduct, by Professional Organisations and by Insurance Providers.
I am going to look at informed consent and areas of non - consent linked to poor training, standards, professional boundaries and Integrity.
I use Informed consent when I explain to a client about a SEM treatment, how it will be carried out i.e., duration of session and what to expect and aftercare. Based on that information the client will choose if they want to book a treatment. If they do so they give informed consent to what I have outlined.
An initial consultation usually takes place at the beginning of a treatment and there are times even though a client can give consent to a SEM treatment I may have to decline providing treatment as due to presenting physical or psychological factors which require treatment first:
ā¢ A client may have health conditions that require GP/Dr consultation, as a SEMS I do not work on the physical body or treat physical conditions.
ā¢ A client may have a mental health illness that is not being treated and priority needs to be given to this treatment. Again, as a SEMS I do not work on mental health illnesses.
ā¢ A client may be having other therapeutic treatments with other therapists, and it would not be appropriate to begin until they have finished their treatment course with another therapy.
ā¢ A client may be in the cycle of addiction and unless a client is receiving medical and psychological treatment for this it would not be appropriate at this point.
In each of the above scenarios the client could be considered a vulnerable adult due to other factors present and therefore it may not be appropriate to provide this client with a treatment now.
However, that can change when the other priority factors and health needs are addressed. As a SEMS it is my obligation to know when it is not appropriate for a client to receive a treatment this is called duty or care. Making this assessment draws upon my skills, knowledge, training, code of conduct and integrity.
The following areas are where consent for treatment has been given but due to the therapistās lack of boundaries, knowledge, skill, training, disregard for code of conduct, or askew motivation (financial gain, ego, etc.) they venture into areas of non-consent.
ā¢ Working with children without proper training, insurance etc.
ā¢ Promoting symptoms that can be due to multiple factors as only being solved by a particular therapy i.e. scaremongering.
ā¢ Promoting healing tools such as crystals to be used in non-appropriate methods i.e. generic chakra sets for children, nursey sets and false information such as clearing karmic patterns.
The reality is therapists should only work with children if adequately trained, approved by professional membership and insurance.
Parental consent always needs to be obtained for a minor and any treatment given. Parents should be present during treatments and the wellbeing of the child should be key.
With children less is always more and children need a lot of play rather than a lot of therapies
ā¢ Crossing of therapeutic boundaries by giving a client advice about another therapy the therapist is not specialised in.
ā¢ Giving medical or psychological advice if not qualified in this area.
ā¢ A client consents to a therapy but the therapist uses other therapies within the session because they felt they needed it.
As a SEMS I am qualified to give advice in my area of specialism, outside of this would be working against my code of conduct, insurance cover and professional membership.
If a client needs input from another professional, I refer them onwards. For example, instead of giving client advice on their mental health illness when I should not I can make suggestions they visit their GP for a mental health practitioner or I can signpost to private professionals then I do so.
ā¢ Often loved oneās or friends can ask groups to send healing to an individual without their consent.
This is not appropriate, and even with consent individuals can have a negative experience (as they are focused on "becoming well" or "overcoming a difficult event/period") as do not fully understand the energetic implications of too much energy being directed at them, too many differing therapy energies and varying intentions.
This can be too much energetically for a person to cope with, it can have the opposite effect and cause harm. There is also the law of cause and effect. i.e. Karma which will be accrued for all our actions.
ā¢ As a professional or friend sending prayer, love, and light and other forms of unconsented healing is not appropriate if an individual has not consented or asked for it.
This is against code of conduct, insurance cover and professional membership. Energetically as mentioned above it can be too much for an individual.
It goes against their āfree willā which can have bigger implications for the individual and the person sending unconsented healing. It touches upon the lack of professional and personal boundaries.
ā¢ Giving a client a reading during a treatment e.g. reading their energy and/or relaying information regarding their life, deceased loved ones or talking about entities attached to their energy field etc.
This is not an add on to a therapy treatment it is a crossing of professional boundaries, code of conduct, insurance and training.
It can be upsetting for clients who are feeling vulnerable and are unable to say they do not wish to receive this.
It can leave clients feeling worried, scared and lose trust in a therapist who was meant to follow their therapeutic boundaries as well as creating a healing space where they can relax and benefit from a treatment.
These are areas of consent and non-consent, however with new age glamour, crossing over of professions and promotion of attaining therapy qualifications quickly to become āyour own Bossā there are corners that are cut.
We all know that cutting corners can lead to shoring up problems later down the line, there are many sayings about this culturally for example āBuy cheap pay twiceā.
So, how can short inadequate training cause problems down the line.
Does a course have the time allotted for āintegration of learningā before moving to the next stage of learning?
Many courses unique selling points are in how quickly a person can gain a qualification. Whilst this may sound great as a student, but are students being provided with the time to integrate the learning on the physical as well as energetically?
Whilst I was attending training the course weekends were usually spaced a few months apart. This gave adequate time to revise the learning after the practical weekend, practice it on self or others who volunteered for sessions and then write up the notes of what was carried out in a specific technique physically and energetically.
During this time, it allowed for queries. questions, corrections, and a deeper understanding of the practice I was carrying out, reading around the topics and really integrating the learning.
Does a course provide opportunity of practice sessions at home with feedback as well as in a clinic format for the therapy with a supervisory Tutor?
The School I studied with offered the opportunity to put into practice my learning via case studies and it was vital to have a feedback mechanism to support and confirm my learning on topics and techniques as there were times that I needed to revise a technique.
This was further supported by having a community clinic which was run and overseen by an associate tutor. Those hours spent volunteering at the clinic as a student where were a lot of learning took place as those individuals where strangers and helped me as a student to practice working with a client from beginning meeting point to aftercare and goodbye.
Does a course adequately covered topics and give them enough consideration?
With short courses topics such as consent, and its energetic implications may not be covered as it should be.
A student may understand a topic theoretically but not understand how their actions and decisions can have energetic implications and impact a client and themselves should they work unethically, without integrity, outside the scope of the trained therapy.
Teach students the importance of maintaining professional boundaries?
Courses are required to give students the knowledge, skills, understanding theoretically and energetically to work within professional boundaries.
The ramifications of how this can impact negatively upon the client and therapist when therapists do not work within their professional boundaries e.g. misconduct ā against code of conduct, loss of professional membership, loss of insurance, claims against the therapist and energetically about laws of cause and effect.
So, when a therapist looks at the topic of consent it can led to greater understanding of the therapy they specialise in, and in turn can lead to great self-development as a therapist and individual.
This can help us strengthen our boundaries and assist therapists to review their motivation which can only be a good thing as a it can lead to ultimately work on ourselves and align ourselves with professional boundaries, integrity, conduct ourselves in line with standards and codes of conduct set out by our professional bodies, training schools and insurance bodies.
Which benefits not only ourselves but our clients.
