Scottish Hypnotherapy Foundation

Raising the Standard of Hypnotherapy in Scotland

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Hypnotherapy Foundation (SHF) held at the Stirling Court Hotel, Stirling on Saturday 3rd September 2016

Present:

John LawrenceChair

Susanne McMahonVice Chair

Mary-Jane ArmstrongMarketing Director

Alison BruceConference Director

Rae JensonEducation Director

Dr Jenny LimTrustee

Dr Fiona McLeodMedical Advisor/Research Director

Jo GossTreasurer/Secretary

Martin Armstrong-PriorBreconbeds Hypnotherapy

Sharon BrownSharon Brown Hypnotherapy

Carole CassidyCarol Cassidy Hypnotherapy

Bob CurranIncisive Hypnotherapy

Margaret ForbesHypnotap

Heather HutchisonHMH Therapy

Anne KellyAMH Hypnotherapy

Scott LawrenceScott Lawrence Hypnotherapy

James McAuleyHypnosis NLP Fife

Renee McBrideHealthy Healing

Liz McConnellThinking Room

Irene MunroIrene Munro Hypnotherapy

Thomas MunroConfident Conversations Scotland

William WattieBield Hypnotherapy

June YoungsonHarmony Therapies

Apologies:

Mandy GahanSee Far Therapies

Rogan GrantPositive Inspiration

Graeme HarveyCenScot Therapies

John JudgeAssociate Member

Shonagh TerryAccess2balance

The meeting commenced at 12pm.

Item 1. Chair’s Report

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the third AGM of the SHF. Heexpressed his thanks to all the Trustees, who had worked hard over the past year in progressing the aims of the SHF. He also expressed his thanks to all those involved in the organisation of today’s Conference. These included Alison Bruce, Mary-Jane Armstrong, Rae Jenson and Jo Goss.

  1. Changes to the Board of Trustees.

There have been a number of changes to the Board of Trustees during the year. These are as follows:

  1. Thomas Munro retired from his position as Education Director in May 2016.
  2. Rae Jenson has transferred from her positon as Marketing Director to that of Education Director.
  3. Mary-Jane Armstrong has been co-opted into the position of Marketing Director with effect from 14th June 2016.
  4. Dr Jenny Lim has been co-opted as a Trustee with effect from February 2016.
  5. Rachel Coleman retires from her role as Fundraising Director with immediate effect.

The position of Fundraising Director is currently vacant. The Chair invited any interested members with fundraising experience to apply for this position. He advised that this is a challenging role, especially in the current financial climate. Fundraising is a highly competitive field. Grants are strictly limited, and it has been a difficult year for any organisations seeking financial support.

  1. Achievements.
  1. Annual Conference. The SHF held its first Annual Conference at Callendar House, Falkirk on Saturday 17th October 2015. This highly successful event was attended by 22 SHF members, 15 hypnotherapy students and 11 non-members. Attendance is slightly down this year. However, we are not alone in this. Other hypnotherapy organisations have also reported lower attendance at their conferences this year.

We are already looking for speakers for next year’s Conference, and it is hoped that Terence Watts will be one of these. We would also like to encourage any of our talented members to present at our future Conferences, and would welcome offers or suggestions.

  1. Charitable Activities. Our Professional Members have carried out between them a total of 303 hours of subsidised therapy and 118 hours of pro-bono hypnotherapy. We are most grateful to our members for this excellent contribution to our cause.
  1. Membership. Our membership is gradually increasing and we now have 28 Professional Members and 2 Associate Members.

Item 2. Treasurer’s Report

  1. Receipts and Payments Account for the Year ending 30 June 2016.

The Treasurer reported that the SHF remained in a similar positon financially to last year. Although we once again ended the financial year with a small deficit of £102 this was £100 less than last year, so we are certainly holding our own. The accounts have been approved by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). Also, thanks to the generosity of our members in so generously provide so many hours of subsidisedand pro bono therapy, OSCR has confirmed that we retain our charitable status.

  1. Income

The total income for the Financial Year ending 30th June 2016 was £3471, an increase of £1275 during the previous financial year. The main source of income came from last year’s Conference at Callendar House, Falkirk. Total income from this event was £2285. Most of the remainder came from membership fees, which amounted to £1140. We also received donations amounting to £36 through EventBrite, resulting in an additional £9 in Gift Aid.

  1. Expenditure.

The total expenditure for the Financial Year ending 30th June 2016 was £3573. A large proportion of this (£2145) was incurred through the cost of our highly successful Conference at Callendar House. Other expenses included the Accountant’s fees for the Independent Examination of our accounts (£265), Insurance (£290), and web site maintenance (£170). The remainder was used for general administration and PR expenditure.

  1. The Current Situation.

As of 1st September we hold a total of £1417 in our account. This does not include any income generated by this year’s Conference, which will be paid into our account by EventBrite shortly. Nor does it include the fees to be paid for this year’s Conference.

  1. Annual Report and Receipts and Payments Account.

The Annual Report and Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 30 June 2016 is attached separately.

Item 3. Election/Re-election of Trustees

No nominations for new Trustees had been submitted. It was therefore agreed that the following Trustees should be re-elected for a further term:

Vice ChairSusanne McMahon

Education DirectorRae Jenson

Conference DirectorAlison Bruce

Medical Advisor/Research DirectorDr Fiona McLeod

Item 4. Hypnotherapy for Drug Concordance.

The SHF had been approached by Dr Ben Reynolds, a consultant paediatric nephrologist in the west of Scotland, who is interested in starting a trial involving hypnotherapy, and asking whether the SHF would be willing to become involved.

Dr Reynold’s concern is that adolescent and young adult recipients of kidney transplants are not complying with the medications that help to keep them well and the transplant working properly. As a result kidney grafts are most likely to be lost in the 18 - 25 age group. He is wondering whether hypnotherapy might have a role to play in helping the patients comply with medication, and he’s interested in doing a pilot study initially, hopefully followed by a full trial if the results are encouraging.

This would be an opportunity not only for individual therapists to increase their scope, but also for the SHF to be involved in worthwhile research which hopefully will strengthen the argument for integrated care, and we have registered out interest as a group. Dr McLeod, our Research Director, has agreed to be the SHF liaison for this project.

To allow Dr Reynolds to determine the funding required for this project three important aspects needed to be considered. These were discussed as follows:

  1. The number off our members who would be interested in participating. Fourteen of our members have indicated that they would be interested in participating in this research.
  1. The number of sessions we would advise. It was agreed that 6-8 sessions would be practical. However, it was noted that, given the nature and the age group of the clients, there could be problems with individuals turning up to their sessions.
  1. Cost per session. It was agreed that £60 per session would be a realistic price.

It was agreed that, as this would be a formal research project, there should be a specific protocol. This would include the production of script-type interventions to cut down on variables.

Dr McLeod agreed to contact Dr Reynolds for further discussions and to report back as soon as further information was available. If any member would like to be involved in these discussions they would be most welcome. So far one member has indicated her interest.

Item 5. Constitution Amendments.

Amendment to Clause 11. Classes of Membership. It was proposed that an additional class of Membership, SHF Fellowship, should be added to the Constitution. The initial proposal was as follows:

Fellowship is awarded, at the Board’s discretion, to those Health Professionals who are deemed to have made a significant contribution to the profession of hypnotherapy.

Seventeen Members (including Proxy voters) voted in favour of this proposal, and three voted against it. Concern was expressed that such membership should be awarded at the discretion of the Board. Although the vote was carried by a significant majority it has been decided that the new clause should be amended as follows:

Fellowship is awarded, at the Membership’s majority discretion, to those Health Professionals who are deemed to have made a significant contribution to the profession of hypnotherapy.

Amendment to Clause 12.3. Regulated Membership. Currently one of the requirements for Professional Membership is that Professional Members should be registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). It was proposed that the Membership requirements for Professional Members should be extended as follows:

  • be included in the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) Register and/or be regulated by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

This proposal was approved by both attending Members and those voting by proxy unanimously.

Amendment to Clause 113. Operation of Accounts.It was proposed that Clause 113 of the SHF Constitution (Operation of Accounts) should be amended to read:

The signatures of two out of four signatories appointed by the Board will be required in relation to all operations (other than the lodging of funds) on the bank and building society accounts held by the organisation; both signatures must be those of an authorised Board Member.

This proposed amendment is at the request of the Co-operative Bank, with whom we hold our account. The current number of required signatories in accordance with the Constitution is three, and we wish to have four.

This proposal was approved by both attending Members and those voting by proxy unanimously.

The Secretary would update the Constitution accordingly and would notify both the Co-operative Bank and OSCR of these amendments.

Item 6. Any other Business

  1. Collection Boxes. Following last year’s AGM the Secretary had agreed to look into the cost of SHF collection boxes for anyone wishing to keep one at their Practice. She reported that unfortunately most suppliers would only accept bulk orders, and that the cost was beyond our budget. It was agreed however that any individual who wished to produce a collection box for their practice would be welcome to do so.The SHF is always pleased to receive donations by any means. Arrangements surrounding such donations are the responsibility of those donating. Unless such donations are initiated or managed by the SHF Executive.
  2. Police Benevolent Fund. Ch. Supt. Crossan, one of our Conference presenters, had mentioned in conversation with one of our Members that a £3m police benevolent fund was available and that he was starting talks with Glasgow University to carry out research on mental wellbeing in Police Scotland, so that they can decide on how to spend this money most effectively and in a way that helps as many police officers as possible. To this end Mary-Jane Armstrong our Marketing Director is keeping open dialogue with Ch. Supt Crossan. Hopefully such dialogue can lead to some fruitful discussions on how SHFmembers can assist further.

The Meeting closed at 12.40pm

We certify that this is a true record of the Meeting.

Signature:

Chair, SHFDate: 9 September 2016

Signature:

Treasurer/SecretaryDate: 9 September 2016

The Scottish Hypnotherapy Foundation National Office: 15 Gordon Street, Hopeman, Elgin, Morayshire IV30 5SF

Tel: 01343 835705. E-mail: . Web site:

Registered Charity No: SC044083