Seychellois-born therapist Barry Laine, now a pioneer in promoting alternative medicines in Seychelles, is seeking support in launching a holistic organisation here and which will regroup all qualified practitioners.

Mr Laine, who resides in UK, has spent the last 15 years studying and practising clinical hypnotherapy, clinical aromatherapy and natural healing by utilising natural herbs and medicines.

He belongs to several holistic organisations in UK and is accredited to the UK Medical Organisation.

Mr Laine, who has set up his own therapy centre in Seychelles since last year, is now inviting everyone who believes in alternative medicines to join him in forming the Seychelles Holistic Federation of Practitioners, to bring a high standard of practice and promote alternative therapies as a genuine form of treatment.

According to him, the time has come for Seychelles to fall in line with what is happening elsewhere in the world.

Qualified practitioners

"Holistic therapies is on the increase everywhere and what we have to do is ensure that only qualified practitioners are allowed to offer genuine services to avoid 'quacks' coming to Seychelles to proliferate their self-beliefs and offer improper therapies," Mr Laine said.

He also said that it was important for treatments to be licensed "if we are to remain in the forefront of promoting alternative therapies."

Speaking on the roles of the proposed federation, Mr Laine said it would assist primarily in making the process of healing genuine and "freak-free." It will also be responsible for providing training and examination of practitioners to ensure that a high standard of treatment is offered.

"Young people interested in studying holistic treatments will have a vehicle to study and qualify through before they are let loose in the field," he explained, adding that training and accreditation must therefore be of world standard.

The federation should also be affiliated with other similar bodies in different parts of the world, Mr Laine stressed.

To deal with quacks

The therapist continued that "the time has come to eliminate 'quacks' and 'freaks' who give our trade a bad name and instead let young people be trained and get qualified in alternative therapies."

Mr Laine went on to explain that in several countries like Europe and US, as well as in Australia, most forms of therapies were accredited by medical boards. Doctors refer patients for acupuncture, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy and reflexology.

These, he noted, were regarded as complementary to conventional medicine.

"They do not take the place of conventional medicine except in some cases where the patient has a problem which is not body related but mind related," he explained.

In other words, Mr Laine said, this happened when conventional medicine had failed to cure the problem because the problem was actually in the mind. In this case, clinical hypnotherapy, sometimes combined with aromatherapy completely cured the patients, he added.

"It has been proved time and time again that if a patient does not believe in the treatment, he or she will never be cured. On the other hand, if the patient believes in the treatment, then he will be cured," Mr Laine told Family Life.

"The mind controls the body and once the mind has accepted the treatment, the body will be cured."

Any person interested in forming the Seychelles Holistic Federation of Practitioners can contact Mr Laine on 578482.

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