Being regulated with therapies

Here's a riddle: FM Alexander was born in the Australian Territory of Tasmania. But what was his province? Read on, you will find out.

I was at the ITM training course in January, sitting at the back of the room, trying to find one of my favourite quotes in the red edition of Alexander's books. I know my way around the single edition versions, but I am not so familiar with this volume of all the four books. The favourite quote (I eventually found it) was '... the first and greatest stumbling block to conscious self-control, namely 'rigidity of mind'. (IRDEAT, p. 38).

But while looking, I chuckled as I saw a paragraph which opened with the words 'Returning now to my own province of therapeutics ...'. (IRDEAT, p. 57, my emphasis)

I chuckled, because there is a continuing debate about whether or not we should be seeking regulation with therapies such as the Bowen Technique, and Reiki, and others*. (By the way thanks Veronica for raving about Reiki - there's another therapy that I have heard someone speak well of.)

It's important to remember that anything can be 'therapeutic': a cold shower, a smile, a warm handshake, a hand on the shoulder, even a kick up the backside. But not everything is a therapy: a therapy involves a treatment of some kind that a practitioner does to a patient to address a specific set of symptoms. The AT, on the other hand, is an education which involves a practitioner teaching learners to use what they already possess (intelligence, capacity for reasoning, well-madeness) on a general basis, for their own (the learners') benefit. So why should we be regulated with therapies?

Well many of our colleagues teach in multi-therapy clinics, where the Alexander Technique often appears on an alphabetical list between Acupuncture and Aromatherapy. And however much we think of the AT as Education-Not-Therapy, we position ourselves, and are thought of as a therapy.

And don't forget, the main point about regulation is PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC. And as far as protection of the public is concerned, we are just another group of practitioners who (like Massage and Bowen practitioners) put hands on people, get our clients to confide details of their personal health to us, and see people alone, on an individual basis. The public needs to be protected, whatever the philosophy of the practitioner: though we may see ourselves as in entirely different fields (Education vs Therapy) there are similarities - touching, confidential information, being alone with the practitioner - which the CNHC is best placed to regulate.


*The complete list is Aromatherapy, Bowen technique, Cranial Therapy, Homeopathy, Massage, Naturopathy, Nutritional Therapy, Yoga Therapy, Reflexology, Reiki and Shiatsu.