Atlas›Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful›Guide 035
Guide XVI-035

Magnetic healing and animal magnetism as therapy

Franz Anton Mesmer1770Paris
A 27 · L 63 · M 1021 interventions in the Trinity explorer
Client cardCompare
[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: the historical and regulatory record of magnetic healing as a therapy, from the 1784 Paris Royal Commission (in the IML Donaldson English translation, 2014, published for the James Lind Library and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh) through 19th-century American magnetic healers and the 1902 Supreme Court case on a mail-order magnetic-healing school, to present-day static-magnet, copper-bracelet and "biomagnetism" products as their sellers and regulators describe them. Mesmer's animal magnetism as a current of ideas and the 1784 Commission in full are covered in Domain XIV 081; Puységur's magnetic somnambulism in Domain XIV 082; magnet therapy and PEMF devices in Domain XII 083 and XII 084; chiropractic in Domain X 044. This guide cross-refers to them rather than repeating them.

Magnetic healing is a discredited therapy, written for history and safety. It is not a recommended treatment and this guide does not teach it.

What it was. "Animal magnetism" was the claim, associated with Franz Anton Mesmer in late 18th-century Paris, that an invisible magnetic fluid pervades living bodies and that a trained practitioner can direct it to cure illness. The Royal Commission appointed in 1784, whose members included Benjamin Franklin, Antoine Lavoisier, Jean-Sylvain Bailly and Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, ran controlled tests and found "nothing to prove the existence of an animal magnetic fluid"; it attributed the observed effects to imagination, imitation and touch [source: Donaldson translation, RCPE; Franklin Papers résumé]. "Magnetic healing" became the 19th-century name for a family of hands-on and mental-healing practices descended from it, carried to New England by lecturers such as Charles Poyen in the 1830s, taken up by Phineas P. Quimby, and later sold as a profession by schools that also treated patients by mail [source: Museum of Old Newbury; Mary Baker Eddy Papers; American School of Magnetic Healing v. McAnnulty, 187 U.S. 94 (1902)].

Its claimed mechanism of change. Proponents claimed a physical force (a magnetic fluid, later "vital magnetism") passed from healer to patient, or, in the later mental-healing versions, that the mind largely causes and can remedy bodily illness; the school in the 1902 case stated that "the mind of the human race is largely responsible for its ills" [source: McAnnulty, Justia]. The investigations that discredited it located the effects in expectation, suggestion and attention rather than in any magnetic agent [source: Donaldson translation].

The psychotherapist's work here is historical literacy (the line from magnetism to hypnosis, suggestion and placebo research, and to New Thought and Christian Science), recognition of present-day magnet products and their claims, assessment of whether a client is delaying medical care, respectful work with clients who use or are drawn to magnet products, and repair where money, health or trust has been lost [synthesis].

2. Framework

Historical phases of the practice (outline)

  • Paris, 1770s-1780s: animal magnetism. Mesmer's public group treatments drew crowds; in 1784 the King appointed commissioners from the Faculty of Medicine and the Académie des sciences. Their blind and sham tests showed that subjects responded when they believed they were being magnetised and did not respond when magnetised without their knowledge. The public report (dated 11 August 1784, printed by the Imprimerie royale) concluded that the effects came from touch, imagination and imitation, with imagination the most important, and that public magnetic treatments could only do harm over time [source: Franklin Papers résumé; Donaldson translation].
  • The secret report (1784). A second report, also signed on 11 August and meant only for the King, warned that magnetic treatment threatened morals as well as health, especially for women, describing the physical contact between magnetisers and patients and implying that some sessions might be deliberate deception [source: Franklin Papers résumé; Donaldson introduction]. Its full text is not reproduced here.
  • New England, 1830s: lecture tours. Charles Poyen lectured on animal magnetism in Portland, Maine (1836), Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and elsewhere, with stage demonstrations involving a young mill worker presented as his "experienced somnambulist"; he claimed the force could treat disease, depression and anxiety, and returned to France in 1839 [source: Museum of Old Newbury]. Poyen's own book Progress of Animal Magnetism in New England is cited by that source [uncertain: not verified].
  • Quimby and mental healing, 1830s-1866. Phineas P. Quimby (1802-1866), a Maine clockmaker, took up mesmerism in the late 1830s after Poyen's lectures, toured with a young man who served as his "somnambulist", then turned to healing, moving from magnetism towards changing patients' "false beliefs"; he practised in Portland from 1859. Mary Baker Eddy, later founder of Christian Science, consulted him in 1862; scholars see Quimby's ideas as one source of New Thought, while Eddy later distinguished her system from his [source: Mary Baker Eddy Papers].
  • Professional magnetic healers, 1880s-1900s. Magnetic healers practised without licences in the Midwest; D. D. Palmer practised as a magnetic healer in Davenport, Iowa, for about nine years (his own 1904 account) before announcing chiropractic, with the founding date usually given as September 1895, a date some researchers question; his newsletter of January 1896 was titled The Magnetic Cure [source: Johnson 2020, J Chiropr Humanit]. An 1886 Iowa law restricted practice by non-regular physicians [source: Johnson 2020].
  • Mail-order schools and the Post Office, 1900-1902. The American School of Magnetic Healing at Nevada, Missouri, treated patients in person and by mail and taught its method; its mail brought payments it put at roughly $1,000 to $1,600 a day. In May 1900 the Postmaster General issued a fraud order stopping its mail. The Supreme Court (Justice Peckham, with Justices White and McKenna dissenting) held in 1902 that the order was unlawful because the efficacy of mental healing was a matter of opinion, "opinion only, and not existing facts", not provable fraud under the statutes, and that the school could still be shown to violate the statutes at trial [source: McAnnulty, Justia]. The case is a precedent on judicial review of administrative action, not an endorsement of the method [synthesis].
  • Today: magnet products and "biomagnetism". Static magnets in bracelets, insoles and wraps, copper bracelets, "biomagnetism" kits and pulsed electromagnetic field devices are marketed for pain and many other conditions (see Domain XII 083-084). US regulators have acted against unsupported claims: a 1999 FTC consent order against a magnetic-therapy company that had advertised its products for cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure and severe pain, and an August 2020 joint FDA-FTC warning letter to a California seller of "Biomagnetism Magnetic Therapy DIY Kits" promoted against COVID-19 [source: FTC 1999 analysis; FDA warning letter 2020].

Evidence status in one line each

  • Static magnets for pain: a 2007 CMAJ systematic review and meta-analysis pooled nine placebo-controlled trials and found no significant difference from placebo; the authors concluded that static magnets cannot be recommended for pain, with osteoarthritis meriting further study [source: CMAJ 2007].
  • NCCIH: "Scientific evidence does not support the use of magnets for pain relief"; magnets should not replace conventional care or delay seeing a provider [source: NCCIH fact sheet D408].
  • Copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps in rheumatoid arthritis: a University of York double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial with 70 participants (PLOS ONE, 2013) found no meaningful benefit beyond placebo [source: University of York news].
  • PEMF devices: evidence status depends on the device and condition; see Domain XII 084 [uncertain].

Phases of the psychotherapist's work

  1. Recognition and historical framing: notice magnet, copper or "energy" products, the language of magnetism or mental healing, and the client's meaning for them. Move on when the use and its purpose are clear.
  2. Assessment of risk: is any medical diagnosis, treatment or investigation being delayed or replaced; is there financial loss or pressure from a seller or network; are there device interactions (pacemakers, insulin pumps) [source: NCCIH; CMAJ 2007]. Move on when risk is rated and any medical routing agreed.
  3. Collaborative exploration and psychoeducation: expectancy, placebo, the 1784 findings, and supported alternatives for the problem the product targets. Move on when the client has the information they want and their own decision.
  4. Repair and follow-up: shame about money spent, conflict with family, grief over delayed treatment, consumer complaints and reporting [synthesis].

This work is usually woven into ongoing therapy rather than run as a separate course [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

  • Medical care first. Practical meaning: whenever a magnet product is being used for a physical symptom, check that the client has a medical clinician for that symptom; NCCIH advises against using magnets to postpone seeing a provider [source: NCCIH].
  • Never present magnetism as a treatment. Practical meaning: you do not recommend, sell, apply or refer to magnet therapy or magnetic healers, and you do not frame any product as treating cancer or any physical disease [synthesis].
  • Never advise on medicines. Practical meaning: if a client has stopped or reduced a prescribed medicine because of a product, you route this to the prescriber; you do not advise starting, stopping or changing it [synthesis].
  • Respect autonomy, without collusion. Practical meaning: low-risk use alongside medical care is the client's choice; your task is to keep the information accurate and the risks visible [synthesis].
  • Expectancy is real; the magnet is not the active agent. Practical meaning: you can acknowledge that a client genuinely feels better while explaining, as the 1784 Commission and later trials found, that the effect tracks belief and attention rather than magnetism [source: Donaldson translation; University of York news].
  • Curiosity about meaning before facts. Practical meaning: ask what the bracelet or healer represents (control, hope, family tradition, distrust of medicine) before offering evidence [synthesis].
  • Historical literacy without contempt. Practical meaning: magnetism sits in the family tree of hypnosis and psychotherapy; describe it accurately and without ridicule, which helps clients who feel foolish [synthesis].
  • Attend to power and touch. Practical meaning: the 1784 secret report already warned about touch and vulnerable women; ask about consent and boundaries if a client describes a hands-on healer, and remember touch is never sexual and requires consent before and during [source: Franklin Papers résumé; synthesis].
  • Follow the money. Practical meaning: magnetic healing was sold by mail at scale in 1900 and magnet products are still sold with disease claims; ask about cost, contracts and recruitment [source: McAnnulty; FTC 1999].
  • Use the regulators' words, not your own verdict. Practical meaning: quote NCCIH, the FTC or the FDA when you explain the evidence, so the conversation is about the record, not your opinion [synthesis].
  • Keep your role clear. Practical meaning: do not combine a therapy relationship with selling or promoting wellness products; see APA Ethics Code Standard 3.05 on multiple relationships [source: APA Ethics Code].

4. Intervention inventory

The interventions below are the psychotherapist's own work; steps not drawn from a cited source are marked [synthesis]. None is a step of magnetic healing or magnet therapy.

4.1 Non-judgemental inquiry about magnet and "energy" product use

  • Purpose / when: at intake and whenever a client mentions a bracelet, insole, magnetic mattress pad, "biomagnetism" kit, PEMF device or a magnetic or energy healer. Clients often do not volunteer this; NCCIH recommends telling all providers about complementary approaches [source: NCCIH].
  • Steps: (1) Ask an open question about anything the client uses for health beyond prescribed care. (2) Name the product neutrally, using the client's word. (3) Ask what it is for, since when, where bought, and the cost. (4) Record it in the notes without evaluative language [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Some people use things like magnetic bracelets or copper bands alongside their regular care. Is there anything like that you use?"
  • Watch for: defensiveness or embarrassment (slow down and normalise); a product used for a symptom no clinician has assessed (go to 4.3). It is working when the client describes use openly and in detail.

4.2 Exploring the meaning of the product

  • Purpose / when: after 4.1, before any evidence is shared, to understand what the product does for the client psychologically (hope, control, a gift from a relative, distrust of doctors) [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Ask what difference it makes in daily life. (2) Ask who introduced it and what that person means to them. (3) Reflect the need it meets. (4) Note any themes (medical trauma, loss of control) for the formulation [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "When you put it on in the morning, what does it give you?"
  • Watch for: strong attachment linked to grief or a relationship (handle any later evidence discussion gently); medical mistrust rooted in real past harm, which needs validating. Working when the underlying need is named.

4.3 Delayed-care and replaced-care screen

  • Purpose / when: whenever a product is used for a physical symptom. NCCIH advises against using magnets in place of conventional treatment or to postpone seeing a provider; the York trial lead urged people with suspected rheumatoid arthritis to "seek early medical treatment, rather than placing faith in such devices" because delay risks lasting joint damage [source: NCCIH; University of York news].
  • Steps: (1) Ask whether a doctor has assessed the symptom. (2) Ask whether any appointment, test or treatment has been postponed, declined or dropped because of the product or a healer's advice. (3) If yes, explore the reasons without blame. (4) Agree a concrete next medical contact and, with consent, liaise with the client's GP or physician. (5) For warning signs of serious illness, advise urgent medical care [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Has anyone medical looked at this pain yet? I'd feel better knowing a doctor is in the picture alongside whatever else you're trying."
  • Watch for: a seller or healer telling the client to avoid doctors; claims that a product treats cancer, HIV or other disease (the FTC acted against exactly such claims in 1999) [source: FTC 1999]. Working when medical contact is booked or confirmed.

4.4 Device-interaction safety prompt

  • Purpose / when: when a client with a pacemaker, insulin pump or other implanted or worn medical device uses magnets. NCCIH and the 2007 CMAJ review note magnets may interfere with such devices [source: NCCIH; CMAJ 2007].
  • Steps: (1) Ask whether the client has any implanted or worn medical device. (2) If yes, say plainly that magnets may interfere with some devices. (3) Ask them to check with the clinician who manages the device. (4) Note the advice given. You do not judge device safety yourself [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Magnets can interfere with some medical devices, like pacemakers. Could you check with your cardiology team before using it?"
  • Watch for: dismissal of the risk; skin reactions (the CMAJ review mentions skin reddening) to be raised with a doctor [source: CMAJ 2007]. Working when the client has checked with the device team.

4.5 Medicine-change screen and prescriber routing

  • Purpose / when: if a client says they have reduced, stopped or plan to stop a prescribed medicine because a product or healer "works" [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Ask what has changed and when. (2) Do not advise on the medicine either way. (3) Ask the client to speak with the prescriber before any further change, and offer to help them plan that conversation. (4) If the change could be dangerous (e.g. antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, antipsychotic or anticoagulant treatment), encourage same-day contact with the prescriber or urgent care [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "That's a decision to make with the doctor who prescribed it. Would it help to work out together what you'd want to ask them?"
  • Watch for: pressure from a seller to stop medicine; relapse of a psychiatric condition after stopping. Working when the prescriber is involved.

4.6 Psychoeducation on expectancy, using the 1784 Commission

  • Purpose / when: when the client asks why they feel better, or is curious about how magnetism "works". The Commission found that subjects responded when they believed they were magnetised and not when magnetised without knowing; it concluded that "the imagination without magnetism produces all the effects attributed to magnetism" [source: Donaldson translation].
  • Steps: (1) Ask permission to share some history. (2) Describe the Commission and its blind tests in outline. (3) Link to modern trials where magnets did no better than look-alike placebos [source: CMAJ 2007; University of York news]. (4) Stress that expectancy effects are real experiences, not foolishness. (5) Ask what the client makes of it [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "In 1784 a commission including Benjamin Franklin tested this. People felt the effects when they thought they were being magnetised, even when they weren't. Your relief is real; the research suggests it comes from you, not the magnet."
  • Watch for: the client feeling mocked (return to 4.2); intellectual interest (offer 4.15). Working when the client can hold both "I feel better" and "the magnet isn't the cause".

4.7 Sharing current evidence in regulators' words

  • Purpose / when: when the client asks directly whether magnets work, or is considering spending more [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Ask what they have read. (2) Offer the NCCIH statement and, where relevant, the York trial result. (3) Offer the source so they can read it themselves. (4) Invite questions and disagreement [source: NCCIH; University of York news; synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says the evidence doesn't support magnets for pain. I can give you the link if you'd like to read it yourself."
  • Watch for: argument (avoid debate; see 5.2); requests to rule on a specific device you know nothing about (route to the treating clinician). Working when the client engages with the information.

4.8 Values-based decision conversation

  • Purpose / when: when the client is deciding whether to continue, stop or buy more. Low-risk use alongside medical care is their choice [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) List with the client what they hope for, what it costs (money, time, hope) and any risks identified in 4.3-4.5. (2) Ask what matters most. (3) Summarise their own reasoning. (4) Respect the decision and keep safety items active [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "So the bracelet costs little and you're also seeing your rheumatologist; the subscription is what worries you. What would you like to do about that part?"
  • Watch for: your own wish to win the argument; the client deferring to you to avoid conflict. Working when the decision is clearly the client's.

4.9 Financial-harm and seller-pressure assessment

  • Purpose / when: when costs are high, ongoing, or tied to recruitment, courses or memberships. Magnetic healing was a large mail-order business by 1900, and magnet sellers have faced regulatory action over disease claims and testimonials presented as typical results [source: McAnnulty; FTC 1999].
  • Steps: (1) Ask about total spending, contracts, subscriptions and debt. (2) Ask whether the client has been asked to recruit others or sell. (3) Ask whether anyone discourages them from leaving or seeking medical care. (4) Explore the impact on household and relationships. (5) Signpost debt or consumer advice services as relevant [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Can we look at what this has cost so far, all in? Sometimes it adds up more than people expect."
  • Watch for: shame (go to 4.13); signs of financial abuse of an older or vulnerable adult by a third party (adult safeguarding routes). Working when the client has a clear picture and a plan.

4.10 Supporting a consumer complaint or report

  • Purpose / when: when a client was sold a product with disease claims, or wants to complain. US regulators act on such claims: the FTC's 1999 consent order and the 2020 joint FDA-FTC warning letter are examples [source: FTC 1999; FDA warning letter 2020].
  • Steps: (1) Ask whether the client wants to complain; it is their choice. (2) Help them gather what they kept (adverts, receipts, messages). (3) Identify the relevant regulator for their country (in the US, the FTC for advertising and the FDA for devices; in the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority and MHRA [uncertain: UK routes not verified]). (4) Support the emotional side of complaining [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "If you'd like to, there are regulators who take complaints about health claims in adverts. We can look at which one fits."
  • Watch for: the complaint becoming a source of re-shaming; legal action, for which you suggest independent legal advice. Working when the client feels they acted on their own terms.

4.11 Working with a client drawn to becoming a magnetic or energy healer

  • Purpose / when: when a client plans to train or practise as a healer, or pay for such training. In 1900 a school taught its method and treated patients by mail [source: McAnnulty].
  • Steps: (1) Explore what draws them (helping others, meaning, income, their own recovery). (2) Ask about the cost and the claims the training makes. (3) Share, if invited, the evidence and the legal risks of making disease claims [source: FTC 1999]. (4) Explore regulated routes to the same value (counselling, nursing, peer-support roles) [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "It sounds like what really pulls you is being someone who helps. Can we look at the different ways people do that?"
  • Watch for: the client planning to treat others' serious illness; heavy debt for courses. Working when the decision is informed.

4.12 Hands-on healer: consent, boundaries and abuse screen

  • Purpose / when: when a client describes treatment by a hands-on healer. The 1784 secret report already warned that magnetic treatment put women at risk through physical contact with magnetisers [source: Franklin Papers résumé].
  • Steps: (1) Ask neutrally where and how they were touched and whether they agreed beforehand and could stop. (2) Ask whether anything felt uncomfortable or sexual. (3) If a boundary violation or assault is disclosed, follow trauma-informed disclosure practice, discuss reporting options (police, any regulatory body) and support services, and follow safeguarding duties for children or adults at risk. (4) Document carefully [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Touch in any treatment should only happen with your agreement, and you should always be able to stop it. Was that how it was for you?"
  • Watch for: self-blame; a minor involved (mandatory reporting and child-protection routes apply). Working when the client feels believed and knows their options. Touch is never sexual and needs consent before and during; you never use touch to demonstrate.

4.13 Repair of shame and regret

  • Purpose / when: when a client feels foolish about money, hope or time spent on magnet products or a healer [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Name the shame gently. (2) Offer context: in 1784 the effects convinced crowds in Paris until blind tests were run, and in 1902 the Supreme Court treated the efficacy of mental healing as a matter of opinion [source: Donaldson translation; McAnnulty]. (3) Separate the client's hopes (understandable) from the sellers' claims (unsupported). (4) Use self-compassion work and identify what the client wants to take forward [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Very clever people believed in magnetism for a long time. Wanting relief and trusting someone who promised it isn't stupidity."
  • Watch for: self-criticism spreading to other areas; depressive symptoms (assess). Working when the client can talk about it without collapsing into blame.

4.14 Grief and anger after delayed or replaced treatment

  • Purpose / when: when the client or a relative went without timely medical treatment because of magnetic or energy healing, and the illness worsened or a death followed. Delay is the main documented risk: NCCIH warns against postponing care and the York trial lead warned of joint damage from delayed arthritis treatment [source: NCCIH; University of York news].
  • Steps: (1) Assess current risk, including suicide risk, if guilt is intense. (2) Allow grief and anger towards sellers, healers, family or self. (3) Work on responsibility realistically (who knew what, when). (4) Consider complaints or legal advice if the client wishes (4.10). (5) Use standard grief and trauma-focused approaches as indicated [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "You trusted what you were told at the time. We can look honestly at what happened without you carrying all of it."
  • Watch for: suicidal thoughts (follow your service's risk protocol; crisis lines: 988 in the US, Samaritans 116 123 in the UK and Ireland); complicated grief. Working when the client can hold the loss with less self-attack.

4.15 Historical-literacy conversation for interested clients

  • Purpose / when: when a client is curious about the history (for example, because they use hypnosis or have read about Mesmer). Magnetism leads historically to stage somnambulism, Quimby's mental healing, New Thought and Christian Science [source: Museum of Old Newbury; Mary Baker Eddy Papers]; see Domain XIV 081-082 for Mesmer and Puységur.
  • Steps: (1) Ask what they already know. (2) Offer the outline in section 2. (3) Distinguish history from present-day evidence. (4) Suggest the public sources listed below [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Magnetism is part of the family tree of hypnosis. Its investigators were among the first to use blind testing."
  • Watch for: the history being used to legitimise a current product ("it's been around for centuries"); return to 4.7. Working when the client can tell history from evidence.

4.16 Religious, spiritual or family-heritage meaning

  • Purpose / when: when mental-healing or magnetic ideas are part of the client's faith or family tradition (e.g. New Thought or Christian Science heritage, or a culturally rooted healer). Where the difficulty centres on the tradition, the DSM-5-TR "Religious or Spiritual Problem" may be named, code Z65.8 (ICD-10-CM Z65.8 (Unbound Medicine)); DSM-5-TR wording [uncertain: not verified].
  • Steps: (1) Use the DSM-5-TR Cultural Formulation Interview, including its supplementary module on spirituality, religion and moral traditions. (2) Work with cultural humility; do not attack the faith. (3) Keep the medical-care check (4.3) separate from the faith question. (4) Consider spiritual and religious competencies (Vieten et al. 2013) [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Your faith matters a lot to you. I'm not here to question it; I want to make sure your health is looked after too."
  • Watch for: conflict between the client's faith community and medical advice; children's medical needs (4.19). Working when the client feels respected and medical care is in place.

4.17 Working with families divided over a relative's use

  • Purpose / when: when a client is distressed that a parent, partner or adult child relies on magnets or a healer instead of medical care [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Clarify what the client can and cannot control. (2) Help them express worry without ridicule, using the relative's own goals. (3) Plan one specific, achievable request (e.g. one medical appointment). (4) Explore adult safeguarding if the relative lacks capacity or is being financially exploited [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "You can't make your dad take the bracelet off. You might be able to ask him to let the GP check his chest pain as well."
  • Watch for: escalation into rupture between family members; carer burnout. Working when the client has a plan they can live with.

4.18 Routing chronic pain to supported care

  • Purpose / when: when magnet use reflects poorly managed chronic pain [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Ask about current pain care. (2) Suggest review with the client's doctor or a pain service. (3) Where in your competence, offer psychological approaches used in pain services (e.g. pain-focused CBT or acceptance-based work), named as such and delivered under their own evidence base [synthesis; uncertain: specific guideline recommendations not verified]. (4) Never frame psychological work as treating the underlying physical disease.
  • Example language (illustrative): "There are pain teams who work on exactly this. Would you like to ask your GP about a referral?"
  • Watch for: the client hearing "it's all in your head"; explain that psychological approaches help living with pain, not deny it. Working when pain care is in place.

4.19 Safeguarding children

  • Purpose / when: when a child's medical treatment is being withheld or replaced by magnet products or a healer [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Gather the facts calmly. (2) Discuss with the parent the child's need for medical care. (3) Where a child is at risk of significant harm from untreated illness, follow mandatory reporting and child-protection routes for your jurisdiction and service. (4) Seek supervision and document [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "I can see how much you want to help her. I do need to be sure a doctor is treating her condition too."
  • Watch for: delay while you seek certainty; consult early. Working when the child is receiving medical care.

4.20 When a colleague or institution offers magnet therapy

  • Purpose / when: when a colleague, clinic or service you work in offers, sells or refers to magnet therapy or magnetic healing with health claims [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Do not participate, supervise or refer. (2) Raise concerns with the colleague, citing NCCIH and regulator statements. (3) If disease claims or harm continue, use your employer's governance route and your licensing or professional body's complaints process; report advertising or device claims to the relevant regulator (4.10). (4) If you are asked to sell products to clients, decline; combining selling with therapy creates a multiple relationship (APA Ethics Code Standard 3.05) [source: APA Ethics Code; synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative, to a colleague): "I'm not comfortable with us recommending these; the NIH centre says the evidence doesn't support them, and some clients may delay seeing a doctor."
  • Watch for: retaliation; record your concerns and seek supervision or legal advice. Working when claims stop or the issue is formally reviewed.

4.21 Documentation and cross-referral

  • Purpose / when: throughout [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Record products, claims, medical contacts and advice given. (2) Record safeguarding decisions and reasoning. (3) With consent, share relevant information with the medical team. (4) For the history and adjacent practices, consult Domain XIV 081-082, Domain XII 083-084 and Domain X 044 [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "With your permission, I'd like to let your GP know you've been using this, so they have the whole picture."
  • Watch for: consent and confidentiality limits. Working when the care team shares one picture.

5. Handling problems

  • Client insists the magnet works because they feel better. Do not dispute the experience. Use 4.6: the Commission's and later trials' finding is that the effect tracks belief [source: Donaldson translation; University of York news]. Then focus on safety items, not the belief [synthesis].
  • Argument or resistance to evidence. Stop debating; reflect the client's autonomy and return to their goals (4.8). Ask permission before offering information again [synthesis].
  • "You're just like doctors who dismiss me." Treat as a rupture: acknowledge the client's experience of being dismissed, own any part you played, and repair before returning to content [synthesis].
  • The client discloses delayed care for a serious symptom. Prioritise medical routing the same day if warning signs are present; this outranks other work (4.3) [synthesis].
  • The client has stopped a medicine. Route to the prescriber; do not advise on the medicine (4.5) [synthesis].
  • Non-adherence with medical follow-up after agreeing. Explore barriers (cost, fear, past bad experiences) without reproach; problem-solve one step [synthesis].
  • Overwhelm, guilt or suicidal thoughts after a loss linked to delayed treatment. Assess risk, follow safe-messaging principles and your risk protocol; crisis lines 988 (US), Samaritans 116 123 (UK and Ireland) [synthesis].
  • The client wants you to endorse or try a product. Decline kindly; explain your role and that you do not recommend or provide magnet therapy (section 3) [synthesis].
  • A seller or healer is pressuring the client or isolating them from medical care. Assess for coercion and financial exploitation (4.9); consider adult safeguarding if the client is at risk [synthesis].
  • A client reports sexual or boundary-crossing touch by a healer. Use 4.12; follow reporting and safeguarding duties [synthesis].
  • Your own contempt or frustration. Use supervision; historical accuracy and respect help (section 3) [synthesis].
  • Products sold with COVID-19 or cancer claims. Treat as a red flag for replaced care; regulators have issued warnings about such claims (4.10) [source: FDA warning letter 2020; FTC 1999].
  • Synthesis note: all problem guidance above is [synthesis] except where a source is cited.

Sources

Cross-references: Domain XIV 081 (Mesmer's animal magnetism and the 1784 Royal Commission), XIV 082 (Puységur's somnambulism), XII 035 (magnetic healing as a historical term), XIV 083 (which points here for magnetic healing as therapy), XII 083 (magnet therapy and copper bracelets), XII 084 (PEMF devices), X 044 (chiropractic).

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