Green-smoothie and other cleanses

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · JJ Smith · 2014

What it is

It is a consumer diet product, not a therapy. A psychotherapist does not run, sell, prescribe or recommend a cleanse. The guide covers what clients are likely to be doing and the therapist's own work alongside it.

Format

• How the method runs, as promoters describe it. A defined cleanse period replacing usual meals with smoothies (the publisher's framing), then a maintenance or "lifestyle" phase, supported by books, recipes, success stories and follow-on products. Other cleanses are sold as kits, juice-company…
• Who practises or sells it. Self-help authors and publishers, juice and smoothie companies, wellness retreats, some naturopaths, social-media influencers and, in some cases, multi-level-marketing distributors.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Regulatory status (one line): in the US, NCCIH reports that the FDA and FTC have taken action against detox and cleanse sellers for hidden ingredients, false disease-treatment claims and unapproved colon-cleansing devices; smoothies and juices themselves are sold as foods, and untreated juice sold in shops must carry an FDA warning label. UK and other jurisdictions: advertising claims fall to national advertising…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status (one line): NCCIH describes the evidence for detox claims as weak, with few, generally low-quality human studies, no long-term studies, and initial weight loss mainly from low calorie intake that is usually regained.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• A parent's own eating disorder or health anxiety shaping the child's diet; adolescents copying influencers; secrecy; signs of faltering growth reported by others. Working when: the child's or…
• Your own bias leaking in; the client deferring to you ("just tell me"); coercion from a group or seller; a decision being driven by an eating-disorder voice rather than values (return to 4.4).…
• Clients' shame or fear of the seller; your own duty to report under local law where a child is at risk. Working when: reports are made where warranted and the client feels supported rather than…
• Shifting from informing to persuading; the client hearing criticism of their community as criticism of them; you giving nutritional advice (refer to a dietitian instead). Working when: the client…
• if the client is using a cleanse instead of seeking investigation or treatment for symptoms or a diagnosed illness, name this gently and support medical contact. No cleanse is a treatment for any…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.