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Introduction
This forum is for the benefit of all Hypnotherapists whether they are newly qualified, or have many years of experience behind them. It was set up to facilitate discussion, and offer help and support for everyone. We cover everything from very simple questions, to advanced, in depth debates. Contributions from everyone are welcome.
The group has proved itself to be an invaluable source of information and assistance, which is all generously contributed by the members themselves.
New Hypnotherapists are joining all the time, and of course they may repeat questions which have already been asked. Even so, we often find that some new aspect of a subject may be brought up when that subject is revisited, and in any case the answers are still of interest to other new therapists. However, you also have the facility of searching the files for previous coverage of your query, and you may wish to do so before asking your question.
RULES
We have three simple rules for contributors:-
NO unpleasantness NO personal attacks and NO bad language.
WARNING If a post includes a personal attack on another member or any offensive material, the offending member will be given an immediate one month BAN from posting to the group followed by a further one month of having their mails moderated before they can be posted onto the group.
The offending member will effectively be blocked from taking part in any further discussion on that subject, so please be sensible and watch your language – think before you act.
If you really must argue – do so OFF group.
Please also be aware that unsubstantiated derogatory statements against individuals or organisations could be considered to be libellous.
If anyone oversteps the mark to the point of becoming seriously unpleasant or offensive, we reserve the right to remove them permanently from the group without further notice.
GUIDELINES
We discuss an enormous range of subjects relating to Hypnotherapy, and in the past, on very rare occasions, the debate has become a little too inflamed. This has resulted in complaints from some of our members who, understandably, much prefer reasoned discussion to heated argument. Although we encourage lively debate, and do not want to impose too many rules, we have decided to ask everyone to observe the following guidelines when contributing.
We realise that most of our members are polite, sensitive and good humoured, and will not really need this advice, but please read it anyway, so that we all know where we are.
(1) Contributors should (of course) keep within the boundaries of general politeness and courtesy.
(2) Be careful how you say things. It is easy to fire off a quick email to the group, but please give some thought to what you are saying and how you are saying it. When speaking face to face we all use tone of voice, facial expression and body language to help express what we mean, but the written word does not have any of these advantages, so please bear in mind that other people might read what you have written differently to how you meant it. It is possible to sound more forceful or even more aggressive in print, and we know that misunderstandings can sometime spark off hostility, so please take a little care to express yourself as clearly and accurately as possible. Also be aware that you might be misconstruing what the other person is trying to convey, so try not to over react.
“I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant.”
Patrick Murray.
(3) Write as if you are sharing information friend to friend - which is what you are doing.
(4) Avoid ‘laying down the law.’ (Nobody knows it all). Express your view as an opinion, not as an absolute fact.
(5) Avoid personal attacks. If you disagree with something, disagree respectfully with the idea rather than the person (e.g. “Let’s look at this in another way” or “It seems to me …” rather than declaring “That is a stupid statement” or “You are wrong”) and then put forward a thoughtful, reasoned argument of your own.
(6) Put your brain into gear before you hit the keyboard. You may feel passionately about a subject, but if you catch yourself rushing to say something critical or a bit aggressive, please stop and think for a while. Do you really have to say it like that, or could you word it a little better, to prevent the possibility of causing bad feeling?
(7) Be respectful and sensitive to other people’s views and feelings, and don’t be too quick to criticise other schools of thought. One of our members once declared that he thought a certain branch of Hypnotherapy was ‘a load of rubbish.’ However, we mustn’t forget that some people (due to not really understanding the subject) think Hypnotherapy in general is ‘a load of rubbish’ too. Unless you have studied a subject in detail, you are not qualified to dismiss it out of hand.
IN GENERAL, just watch what you say - and say whatever you want to say in a reasonably polite and friendly way.
As a Hypnotherapist, diplomacy, good manners, and the ability to understand where the other person is coming from, are essential qualities. If things ever get a bit overheated in a discussion, try to be ‘the good guy (gal)’ and use your skills to get things back on an even keel. You will not ‘lose face’ by doing so; in fact other members who are witnessing the debate will certainly respect you for it.
I hope new members will not be put-off by the above. I assure you that the vast majority of our members are always extremely friendly. We hope you will enjoy your membership of the group, and find it helpful, entertaining and informative.
ADVERTISING
Past discussions on the group indicated a fairly equal split between members who wanted a complete ban on advertising and those who would like to receive details of seminars and special offers to group members. Therefore the following compromise has been made:
Advertising of seminars etc will be allowed on the group under the following guidelines:-
Please put `ADVERT' at the beginning of the subject line. Please keep the advertising content to a maximum of 100 words, with a web link to more information. Please also restrict the information to ONE posting per event. Information can also be included under `Calendar' – `Events' so that member’s can easily find the information if they want to.
A discount for group members is appreciated and most advertisers already give discounts.
Those members who do not wish to receive details of seminars etc. can of course just delete mail with ‘ADVERT’ in the subject line, or if you are using Outlook for your email you can avoid receiving the advertising altogether by Creating a Rule that will send all mail with ‘ADVERT’ in the subject line directly to your Junk Mail folder. For anyone who is not conversant with this Outlook function, you can find some instructions in the group files under ‘Create HR Inbox.’
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