Hypnotherapist banned for inappropriately touching patient

A NSW hypnotherapist has been banned from practising for a year after a HCCC investigation found he had touched a patient’s breast and repeatedly inserted his finger into her mouth during treatment.

The patient complained to the commission about inappropriate physical contact made by Gary Haseldine, whose website describes him as “a specialist in the field of human potential”, during consultations between January and March 2011.

The commission investigated and found Mr Hasseldine had placed his hand on the patient’s breast, bare stomach and thigh, put his finger in the patient’s mouth, rubbed his finger around the patient’s lips and kissed the patient on her lips.

The commission also found Mr Haseldine had misrepresented his professional affiliations by claiming to be a member of the Council of Clinical Hypnotherapists and a Member of the Academy of Hypnotic Science on his website.

In its statement of decision the commission noted Mr Haseldine denied the patient’s allegations and suggested she was under the influence of marijuana when she attended the consultations.

“Mr Haseldine’s evidence was not convincing and concentrated on discrediting [the patient],” the statement said.

“The extent to which he did this became more embellished and elaborate as his evidence continued.

“The commission’s assessment of [the patient] was not consistent with Mr Haseldine’s evidence about her.”

The commission found Mr Haseldine posed a risk to public health and safety and prohibited him from providing hypnotherapy, psychotherapy/NLP, Emotional Freedom Technique, or any form of counselling for a period of 12 months.