Be careful what the doctor may have ordered
Be careful what the doctor may have ordered
September 19, 2005
All manner of therapists say they are qualified, but experts beg to differ, writes Lisa Pryor.
Outside a shop on the main street of Glebe the words "qualified and registered practitioners" scroll across an electronic signboard.
The presentation is gauche, but the words are reassuring. In the therapy world, Dr Tracie O'Keefe sounds more qualified than most.
Not only is she a doctor, she is also a professor. She heads the Australian Health and Education Centre, and the International Sex, Gender and Sexuality Clinic, establishments which are in that same shop in Glebe.
She offers advice on all manner of ills, from bereavement to gastro-intestinal disorders, from achieving orgasm to changing sex - which she did herself many years ago.
With such impressive qualifications, it is no surprise that she charges $165 an hour for psychotherapy, counselling, hypnotherapy, life coaching and sex therapy.
But there is a catch. She is no ordinary doctor. Her doctorate comes from a hypnotherapy institute in California.
As for her professorship, it is held at Calamus International University, an internet extension college. This "university" was founded in the British West Indies, where any business can call itself a university, says George Brown, a consultant to the Australian Universities Quality Agency.
"Calamus is not a recognised university within any jurisdiction of the world. These professorships have no meaning in the world of academia that we know."
Dr O'Keefe, who runs courses in various therapies, was offering credit towards degrees and doctorates at that same internet extension college until earlier this year, when the NSW Department of Education and Training asked her to stop.
Dr O'Keefe, who moved to Australia from Britain four years ago, said the Department of Education and Training targeted her because of "xenophobia" about qualifications obtained overseas.
As the law stands in NSW, anyone can work as a counsellor or psychotherapist, regardless of their qualifications. The same lack of regulation applies to related professions such as sex therapy, family therapy, couples counselling and life coaching.
Organisations such as Relationships Australia apply rigorous standards to the counsellors they employ, requiring a three-year degree, specialised training and a practical demonstration of counselling skills.
But when a therapist works in private practice it is left to vulnerable patients to weigh the various qualifications cited by the therapist.
That is no easy task, when you consider that the journal Psychotherapy in Australia lists more than 120 different training bodies running courses in psychotherapy and counselling.
Professor Trevor Waring, who heads the Psychologists Registration Board, urges the public to choose a therapist with qualifications from an accredited university and membership of the main professional body.
He warns that it is easy for therapists to set up businesses that sound official but may not be. "Look, you could set up the NSW Institute of Anxiety Treatment. You could do that and everyone thinks 'Oh, gee, that's a big centre'. People have got to check out the veracity of the claims."
Some therapy courses are being taught by correspondence or over a weekend. The Australian Training Centre for Thought Field Therapy, for example, offers courses in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, where therapists can become qualified in just two days for $495.
The organisation claims that problems such as trauma from sexual abuse, drug addiction and grief can be fixed in minutes by tapping parts of the body.
Professional bodies are trying to regulate the therapy industry themselves, creating their own lists of therapists who they deem appropriately qualified.
Therapists who are listed on the register maintained by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, for example, are subject to a strict code of ethics,. and aggrieved patients can complain to the federation if they feel they have been treated badly.
But membership of bodies such as the federation is voluntary. Therapists can continue to practise even if they break the rules, simply by surrendering their membership.
The federation register also includes therapists with unconventional qualifications, such as Dr O'Keefe.
Her qualifications were vetted by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of NSW, one of the 40 or so bodies that belong to the federation.
The president of the association, Christine Chinchen, confirmed that Dr O'Keefe was a member of the association. "What I can say is our process is one which is rigorous in checking the qualifications of members and their supervision and professional development is appropriate," Ms Chinchen said.
Dr O'Keefe said she was qualified in "at least seven professions", including hairdressing, her original specialty. She said this included qualifications from The Open University and the University of Derby, and hundreds of hours of face-to-face training at the National School of Hypnosis and Advanced Hypnotherapy in London.
Ms Chinchen was unaware that the NSW Department of Education and Training had warned Dr O'Keefe to stop offering credits towards degrees from an internet university until contacted by the Herald.Dr O'Keefe is still advertising courses in clinical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counselling on her website.
The government body charged with handling complaints about health care has no power to discipline unregistered therapists.
Between 2001 and 2004 the Health Care Complaints Commission received 27 complaints against counsellors and therapists. Unlike proven complaints against registered mental-health professionals, the nature of these complaints is kept secret - even if the complaint was proven.
This is despite calls dating back a decade for the commission to be granted the power to "name and shame".
"As far as I know, it hasn't happened," said the Health Care Complaints commissioner, Kieran Pehm.
Its harshest penalty for counsellors and psychotherapists is to write to the therapist and their employer, telling them they have done wrong.
Mr Pehm said there was no regulatory authority that had any power to stop these people practising, even if a complaint was proved.
By contrast, other professionals including doctors, nurses, psychologists, chiropractors and dentists, could be banned if they acted improperly.
Psychiatrists say that cases of bad therapy from underqualified therapists are common.
Dr Jeffrey Streimer, a psychiatrist specialising in psychotherapy, spends about 20 per cent of his time seeing people who have had unsuccessful or detrimental treatment by a lesser qualified therapist.
This includes cases where patients have harmed themselves after bad therapy. One man was rendered a paraplegic after jumping out of a window following an inappropriate therapy session.
This year Dr Streimer saw a similar case where a woman jumped in front of a vehicle after a session with an inexperienced therapist.
WHO'S WHO
PSYCHIATRIST: A qualified medical doctor who has specialised in dealing with mental illness and emotional problems. It takes eight years to qualify as a doctor and another five to qualify as a psychiatrist. They have the power to prescribe medicine.
PSYCHOLOGIST: Psychologists study behaviour and tend to focus on helping healthy people function better, rather than mental illness. A therapist must complete a four-year degree and two years of experience before they can call themselves a psychologist.
COUNSELLOR: A counsellor tends to focus on helping people deal with specific problems. They may specialise in a particular area. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor, though many organisations impose minimum standards on members.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Psychotherapy tends to be more intensive. Anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist, though some are doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers who have completed specialised training.
September 19, 2005
All manner of therapists say they are qualified, but experts beg to differ, writes Lisa Pryor.
Outside a shop on the main street of Glebe the words "qualified and registered practitioners" scroll across an electronic signboard.
The presentation is gauche, but the words are reassuring. In the therapy world, Dr Tracie O'Keefe sounds more qualified than most.
Not only is she a doctor, she is also a professor. She heads the Australian Health and Education Centre, and the International Sex, Gender and Sexuality Clinic, establishments which are in that same shop in Glebe.
She offers advice on all manner of ills, from bereavement to gastro-intestinal disorders, from achieving orgasm to changing sex - which she did herself many years ago.
With such impressive qualifications, it is no surprise that she charges $165 an hour for psychotherapy, counselling, hypnotherapy, life coaching and sex therapy.
But there is a catch. She is no ordinary doctor. Her doctorate comes from a hypnotherapy institute in California.
As for her professorship, it is held at Calamus International University, an internet extension college. This "university" was founded in the British West Indies, where any business can call itself a university, says George Brown, a consultant to the Australian Universities Quality Agency.
"Calamus is not a recognised university within any jurisdiction of the world. These professorships have no meaning in the world of academia that we know."
Dr O'Keefe, who runs courses in various therapies, was offering credit towards degrees and doctorates at that same internet extension college until earlier this year, when the NSW Department of Education and Training asked her to stop.
Dr O'Keefe, who moved to Australia from Britain four years ago, said the Department of Education and Training targeted her because of "xenophobia" about qualifications obtained overseas.
As the law stands in NSW, anyone can work as a counsellor or psychotherapist, regardless of their qualifications. The same lack of regulation applies to related professions such as sex therapy, family therapy, couples counselling and life coaching.
Organisations such as Relationships Australia apply rigorous standards to the counsellors they employ, requiring a three-year degree, specialised training and a practical demonstration of counselling skills.
But when a therapist works in private practice it is left to vulnerable patients to weigh the various qualifications cited by the therapist.
That is no easy task, when you consider that the journal Psychotherapy in Australia lists more than 120 different training bodies running courses in psychotherapy and counselling.
Professor Trevor Waring, who heads the Psychologists Registration Board, urges the public to choose a therapist with qualifications from an accredited university and membership of the main professional body.
He warns that it is easy for therapists to set up businesses that sound official but may not be. "Look, you could set up the NSW Institute of Anxiety Treatment. You could do that and everyone thinks 'Oh, gee, that's a big centre'. People have got to check out the veracity of the claims."
Some therapy courses are being taught by correspondence or over a weekend. The Australian Training Centre for Thought Field Therapy, for example, offers courses in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, where therapists can become qualified in just two days for $495.
The organisation claims that problems such as trauma from sexual abuse, drug addiction and grief can be fixed in minutes by tapping parts of the body.
Professional bodies are trying to regulate the therapy industry themselves, creating their own lists of therapists who they deem appropriately qualified.
Therapists who are listed on the register maintained by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, for example, are subject to a strict code of ethics,. and aggrieved patients can complain to the federation if they feel they have been treated badly.
But membership of bodies such as the federation is voluntary. Therapists can continue to practise even if they break the rules, simply by surrendering their membership.
The federation register also includes therapists with unconventional qualifications, such as Dr O'Keefe.
Her qualifications were vetted by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of NSW, one of the 40 or so bodies that belong to the federation.
The president of the association, Christine Chinchen, confirmed that Dr O'Keefe was a member of the association. "What I can say is our process is one which is rigorous in checking the qualifications of members and their supervision and professional development is appropriate," Ms Chinchen said.
Dr O'Keefe said she was qualified in "at least seven professions", including hairdressing, her original specialty. She said this included qualifications from The Open University and the University of Derby, and hundreds of hours of face-to-face training at the National School of Hypnosis and Advanced Hypnotherapy in London.
Ms Chinchen was unaware that the NSW Department of Education and Training had warned Dr O'Keefe to stop offering credits towards degrees from an internet university until contacted by the Herald.Dr O'Keefe is still advertising courses in clinical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counselling on her website.
The government body charged with handling complaints about health care has no power to discipline unregistered therapists.
Between 2001 and 2004 the Health Care Complaints Commission received 27 complaints against counsellors and therapists. Unlike proven complaints against registered mental-health professionals, the nature of these complaints is kept secret - even if the complaint was proven.
This is despite calls dating back a decade for the commission to be granted the power to "name and shame".
"As far as I know, it hasn't happened," said the Health Care Complaints commissioner, Kieran Pehm.
Its harshest penalty for counsellors and psychotherapists is to write to the therapist and their employer, telling them they have done wrong.
Mr Pehm said there was no regulatory authority that had any power to stop these people practising, even if a complaint was proved.
By contrast, other professionals including doctors, nurses, psychologists, chiropractors and dentists, could be banned if they acted improperly.
Psychiatrists say that cases of bad therapy from underqualified therapists are common.
Dr Jeffrey Streimer, a psychiatrist specialising in psychotherapy, spends about 20 per cent of his time seeing people who have had unsuccessful or detrimental treatment by a lesser qualified therapist.
This includes cases where patients have harmed themselves after bad therapy. One man was rendered a paraplegic after jumping out of a window following an inappropriate therapy session.
This year Dr Streimer saw a similar case where a woman jumped in front of a vehicle after a session with an inexperienced therapist.
WHO'S WHO
PSYCHIATRIST: A qualified medical doctor who has specialised in dealing with mental illness and emotional problems. It takes eight years to qualify as a doctor and another five to qualify as a psychiatrist. They have the power to prescribe medicine.
PSYCHOLOGIST: Psychologists study behaviour and tend to focus on helping healthy people function better, rather than mental illness. A therapist must complete a four-year degree and two years of experience before they can call themselves a psychologist.
COUNSELLOR: A counsellor tends to focus on helping people deal with specific problems. They may specialise in a particular area. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor, though many organisations impose minimum standards on members.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Psychotherapy tends to be more intensive. Anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist, though some are doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers who have completed specialised training.
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