In the UK, therapists are regulated by
the Advertising Standards Agency. So, what does this mean?
When I first qualified and we were
producing leaflets we were told the usual benefits of our therapies,
and we all happily produced leaflets and websites saying we could
help migraines, muscle aches, relieve tension, ease stress, improve
sleep, lower blood pressure etc. Then, we were told that we couldn't
say we could 'help' health conditions, but we could say it 'may' help. Everyone changed
their websites....
The years progressed and the
advertising standards agency said this was now not possible. The
words may, possibly etc, could give false hope to someone with a
health complaint. Therapists were expected to change their websites
and marketing literature to reflect this.
This was several years ago, and it's
shocking to say, but I still see websites that do not conform to the
Advertising Standards Agencies expectations. As a professional
therapist I don't feel this reflects well. As a professional this is
my business. I know I'm expected to keep in line with legal
obligations and that I need to ensure I have the most recent
compliance information. As professionals, I think it's important we
do keep up with what's expected of us. Many therapists (myself
included) complained at these changes at first - how could we show how our therapies could help people, how could we market ourselves? In hindsight, though, the changes were important and needed.
- Complementary therapies have not been scientifically tested. While there are case studies, some research and also empirical studies, often they do not conform to the rigourous testing needed to be considered a suitable treatment for a condition.
- People were making claims that could be rather outlandish. While people are individuals and will respond to different therapies, there are some approaches that may be more suitable than others depending on the problem.
- Only orthodox medicine can
diagnose and cure health complaints
- Complementary therapies actually
take a completely different approach. A therapy is aiming to look at
the person, rather than the symptoms.
So the next time you're looking for a
therapist and you're looking at their website, check they're
compliant in their business – if they're not up to date on their
marketing information, just think, are they up to date on their Continuing
Professional Development? If they don't provide correct information to the public, do they care enough to take time to research and keep
their knowledge as good as it could be? Advertising health claims may sound a minor thing,
but you need to have a therapist you can have complete trust in,
someone who is a professional and does know what they should be
doing in all aspects of their business.
