I see a lot of reviews here saying that the documentary omits information and steers the narrative to one side. Perhaps this is true in some sense.
However, regardless of how effective or influential the hypnosis was on these students; this high school principal, again....this high school PRINCIPAL, should never have, under any circumstances, been performing these hypnotherapy sessions on students. He wasn't even the guidance counselor, which would have still been inappropriate, but at the very least it would've been adjacent to his professional scope of practice. "Scope of practice" being a key concept here. This is why dentists are not supposed to write prescriptions for depression meds even though they are also doctors who care about your health.
I felt like I was taking crazy pills as I watched these people struggle with some perceived moral conundrum about whether he was at fault or not. How in the hell is an educational administrator allowed to perform psychiatric therapy without the proper credentials and on minors no less?! What year is it? What country is this? These actions alone are criminal. I graduated high school in 2005, so not too far from these students, and I couldn't fathom my old high school principal holding private, recorded, hypnotherapy sessions on students.
So, it's impossible to prove how much or how little these sessions may have affected the outcome of these students' lives. One thing we do know is that we wouldn't be asking these questions had any adult used common sense in this situation and said anything close to, "Um, actually, no. This is entirely inappropriate and bizarre to think that you can mess around in the minds of children as a high school principal with nothing more than good intentions and a hypnosis certificate."
This is exactly why we require credentials in this country. And this principal was incredibly narcissistic to think that he could circumvent the proper credentials based on his own comfort in his level of understanding. And that's what the documentary truly succeeded in proving to me. That he is, without a doubt, guilty of being irresponsible with minors and abusing his position.
However, regardless of how effective or influential the hypnosis was on these students; this high school principal, again....this high school PRINCIPAL, should never have, under any circumstances, been performing these hypnotherapy sessions on students. He wasn't even the guidance counselor, which would have still been inappropriate, but at the very least it would've been adjacent to his professional scope of practice. "Scope of practice" being a key concept here. This is why dentists are not supposed to write prescriptions for depression meds even though they are also doctors who care about your health.
I felt like I was taking crazy pills as I watched these people struggle with some perceived moral conundrum about whether he was at fault or not. How in the hell is an educational administrator allowed to perform psychiatric therapy without the proper credentials and on minors no less?! What year is it? What country is this? These actions alone are criminal. I graduated high school in 2005, so not too far from these students, and I couldn't fathom my old high school principal holding private, recorded, hypnotherapy sessions on students.
So, it's impossible to prove how much or how little these sessions may have affected the outcome of these students' lives. One thing we do know is that we wouldn't be asking these questions had any adult used common sense in this situation and said anything close to, "Um, actually, no. This is entirely inappropriate and bizarre to think that you can mess around in the minds of children as a high school principal with nothing more than good intentions and a hypnosis certificate."
This is exactly why we require credentials in this country. And this principal was incredibly narcissistic to think that he could circumvent the proper credentials based on his own comfort in his level of understanding. And that's what the documentary truly succeeded in proving to me. That he is, without a doubt, guilty of being irresponsible with minors and abusing his position.