The Bates method of eye exercises

Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful · William Horatio Bates · 1919 · New York

What it is

What it was. William Horatio Bates (1860-1931) was a medically qualified ophthalmologist who practised at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He held that the eye focuses by "a change in length of the eye" brought about by the muscles outside the eyeball, and that refractive errors come from "a…

Format

• The stages below are the psychotherapist's work, not stages of the method. Set the number of sessions by clinical need. The order is a clinical sequence; safety steps come first whenever a red flag appears.
• Commercial variants, late 20th century to now: home kits and courses. An example is the See Clearly Method, a "natural vision improvement" kit of manuals, charts and tapes from Vision Improvement Technologies, LLC, largely based on Bates's techniques and now defunct. Sales were stopped in 2006…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Origins, 1891-1919: Bates publishes claims about reversing short sight and promotes his theory that the external eye muscles do the focusing [1891 date: uncertain: secondary, unverified]. Around 1917 he works with physical-culture publisher Bernarr Macfadden on an eye-training course. The ACO Museum files Macfadden's and Gayelord Hauser's eye books with Bates's as alternative treatments.
• Peak promotion, 1919-1931: Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses (1919), The Cure of Imperfect Sight (1920) and Better Eyesight magazine. A 1929 Federal Trade Commission complaint about misleading advertising.
• Core idea of change, as proponents stated it. Strain causes poor sight; relaxation and retraining of habits of seeing relieve the strain and restore normal focus, so glasses are unnecessary and even harmful. The named practices, given here as labels only, were palming, visualisation and memory of black, shifting and swinging, central fixation, and "sunning" (exposing the eyes to sunlight, later said to be done with…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Exploration and psychoeducation. Goal: understand what the method means to the client (anxiety, identity, distrust, spirituality, money spent) and share a balanced account of the evidence. Move on when the client can hold both the appeal and the evidence without feeling dismissed.

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?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• 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

• shame or secrecy. It is working when the client stops exposure or agrees to an examination.
• the client reading relaxation as eye treatment. It is working when the client keeps the two apart.
• vague answers that suggest care has stopped. It is working when you have a clear picture to act on.
• the client using this to legitimise Bates claims. It is working when they understand the difference.
• confidentiality limits in safeguarding situations (see 4.8). It is working when care is coordinated.

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.