Deep Tissue Massage

The Times bring to our attention the sorry tale of Derek Gale, psychotherapist:

A psychotherapist accused of encouraging his patients to take illegal drugs and join nude workshops is continuing to practise despite being suspended by the official regulators.

Derek Gale is able to carry on charging up to £75 an hour for “couples therapy” to help with relationship and sexual problems because of a loophole in the regulations governing the profession. Critics say that the failure to prevent Mr Gale practising highlights the lax control of the country’s estimated 100,000 psychotherapists and therapists who operate without any legal regulation.

The Health Professions Council has taken the unusual step of suspending Mr Gale before a full hearing after it ruled that there was a “significant potential risk of harm to clients”. Mr Gale is the first arts therapist to be suspended from the council’s register. But the council regulates only “art therapists” who offer “music, art or drama therapy”, leaving Mr Gale free to work as long as he does not use these titles to describe his services.

A council spokeswoman said: “There is an annoying legal loophole. If you don’t advertise the art therapy disciplines, you can get off scot-free.”

The disciplinary panel was told that the allegations centred on “inappropriate relationships with clients” and that Mr Gale “encouraged patients to break the law” and “exploited his relationships with clients”.

Mr Gale offers “couple therapy”, executive coaching, and help for people suffering from eating disorders, sexual problems and panic attacks. He has clinics in Loughton, Essex, and Central London.

Here's the guy's website. At the bottom of the page are four photos..."some pictures of some activities at the Gale Centre and pictures of Derek in his professional and personal life. Psychotherapy is a very personal activity and these are intended to give you a insight into whether you will find working with Derek fruitful."

It certainly worked for me. That first one - "Derek with mount Everest in the back ground" (it seems to have shrunk): one look and I had an immediate insight into whether or not I'd find working with Derek "fruitful".

The Times article dug out the best quote, from the "Controversies In Psychotherapy" page:

I found...taking all my cloths [sic] off in front of a not unattractive woman and engaging in a quite painful form of deep tissue massage incredibly helpful on a deep therapeutic level.

I can imagine.

Comments

[DaninVan]

Isn't "...not unattractive..." a double negative? At the very least, pretty non-committal, eh? ;)

[Dom]

Is it a double negative? It seems that type of construction expresses a thought that can't be expressed otherwise. Apparently, the woman was easy on the eyes, but not so much that one would call her attractive.