Profile guidelines for ASA compliance

The CAP code

Whatever industry you practice within, legislation is subject to frequent changes and it can often be difficult to keep up with what's what. If this is the first time you are hearing about the CAP Code, the following FAQs may help to further your understanding.

What is the CAP Code?

The CAP Code is the 'UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotions and Direct Marketing'. The code stipulates what can and cannot be said within web and print adverts to make advertising and marketing communications as truthful as possible.

What is the role of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)?

The Code is the responsibility of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and is independently administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA is responsible for enforcing the code and investigating complaints about adverts that are not compliant.

Why must I comply with the CAP Code?

Both under the code and by law, it is your responsibility to ensure that your advertising does not mislead.

If you do not comply, there is always the chance that a complaint may be lodged. In the event of receiving a complaint about one of your adverts, ASA would consider the complaint against the Code, and if it does not meet the standards, you could be asked to amend or remove the advertisement under scrutiny.

From a client perspective, it is also comforting to know that your practitioner is abiding by the necessary industry rules and regulations.

Where can I find further information about the CAP Code?

The full UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code), can be viewed on their website. Should you have any queries regarding the code itself, please contact CAP directly.

What parts of the CAP Code are relevant to my profile listing on Hypnotherapy Directory?

Whilst it is important to familiarise yourself with the entire CAP Code, the most important rules are regarding references to medical conditions in marketing communications.

Rules 12.1 and 12.2 of the Code state respectively that marketers must not make efficacy claims without evidence, nor must they discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.

How do I know which medical conditions are deemed as requiring treatment from a suitably qualified medical professional?

To help marketers determine what medical conditions they can and cannot discuss, the Copy Advice team has compiled two lists.

• List A – Identifies medical conditions for which medical advice from a suitably qualified person should be sought.
• List B – Identifies conditions which could legitimately be referred to in marketing communications without breaching Rule 12.2, subject to them complying with all other appropriate rules.

Hypnotherapy Directory has published both List A and List B on our website for your reference, but please note these lists are not exhaustive and are subject to amendment and updating in line with ASA adjudications and prevailing medical opinion, including Government reports.

Both lists originally appeared in the CAP Help Note on Health, beauty and slimming marketing communications that refer to medical conditions, which can be downloaded from the Copy Advice website.

What information can I include on my profile?

We continue to recommend that members include as much information as possible on their profile pages to make them appealing and memorable to potential clients. CAP provides specific guidance for professionals advertising hypnotherapy services - so this is a good place to start when writing about your service.

Here's some information about what you should be aiming to include within your profile page.

Can I discuss what a patient 'may' seek treatment for?

Yes, certainly. Members can discuss on their profiles general situations in which an individual may seek advice on hypnotherapy, for example, during pregnancy or during the recovery period after an operation. However, discussing specific medical conditions that appear on List A is non-compliant and in breach of the CAP Code, and discussing medical conditions that appear on List B without evidence may be non-compliant and again in breach of the Code.

When discussing any other medical conditions, care must be taken not to make efficacy claims that are not supported by evidence. For instance, claims that are more specific and refer to particular conditions may be problematic e.g. ‘hypnotherapy can successfully cure insomnia’ could not be accepted without robust evidence. You can see examples of claims that CAP is likely to find acceptable.

Can I use personal testimonials on my profile page?

Yes, absolutely. Your profile is a great place to display positive testimonials you have received from current and previous clients. The CAP Code stipulates that individual practitioners can use personal testimonials as long as they:

• do not mention a condition from List A
• are not misleading
• do not imply that it has cured or treated a condition that cannot be verified. (If you have had success based on your own approach as opposed to a recognised methodology and publication in a medical journal, your client cannot mention the successful treatment or cure specifically.)
• are related to the professional skills of the practitioner.

Can I discuss the benefits of hypnotherapy?

Yes, you can, although be careful not to veer off into making efficacy claims. We recommend that you use statements such as 'promoting a sense of well-being', 'improving energy levels' and 'aiding relaxation' for example, as opposed to statements such as 'hypnotherapy could rid you of migraines’ - which is an efficacy claim with no supporting evidence.

CAP provides specific information about two common areas hypnotherapists may work with - minor addictions and smoking cessation - in their Hypnotherapy advice guide. We recommend reviewing this advice before writing your profile text.

What information can't I include on my profile?

Can I use a professional study to support an efficacy claim made within my profile?

ASA states that any professional study used must be of a 'robust' nature and accurately presented.

NICE guidelines and large studies are likely to be considered by ASA to be 'reasonable' but the information must be accurately described in so far as it must not just include the 'positive' supporting examples but also the negatives to really give a full overview.

As it stands it is not possible to include this kind of information on profiles, so we are currently in the process of investigating alternative options.

Can I claim to 'cure' or 'treat' certain medical conditions?

No. Under the code, claims must not be made to 'cure' or 'heal' any medical conditions unless robust evidence is provided to support said claim. You can read more about claims CAP considers to be problematic for hypnotherapists here.

Whether the words 'treatment', 'treat', or 'cure' are used, all are likely to be seen by members of the public as claims to alleviate or cure a condition or a symptom. CAP advises that these terms are not used either directly or indirectly unless evidence has been provided to support the claims.

Can I use my own personal study to support an efficacy claim made within my profile?

No. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) do not consider small-scale or personal studies adequate evidence of efficacy. According to ASA guidelines, the evidence submitted to support health claims should include at least one adequately controlled experimental human study.

Can I list the conditions I deal with on my profile?

No, please do not do this, this is what our tickboxes are for. Underneath the tick boxes included on your profile, we have inserted a disclaimer so that potential clients know they should be seeking medical help for specific medical conditions. If you publish your own list of conditions, they will not be accompanied by a disclaimer and will therefore not be compliant with the code. The way information about medical conditions is presented on our site has been carefully constructed to comply with the CAP code.

Can I publish my own disclaimer on my profile page so that I can include the content I wish to?

No. We have tailored our disclaimer to be as simple as possible for users. Including your own disclaimer with different information may confuse visitors to your profile and it may also contradict the Hypnotherapy Directory disclaimer.

Can I say whatever I want on my profile if I agree to take responsibility for its content?

No. The Code applies to portal sites as well as to individual advertisers so it is our responsibility to ensure that the individuals who market themselves on our website do so responsibly.

Does the CAP code apply to any articles I submit?

Do I need to make sure that my articles comply with the CAP Code?

Our articles provide links back to the author's profile, and as such as a form of marketing for our members even if they're provided purely for information. This means that the CAP Code will still apply to any articles you submit. You'll need to make sure that any claims in your article are supported by robust scientific evidence, and/or are accepted by CAP. You'll also need to ensure that your article doesn't discourage essential treatment by a medical professional.

How does Hypnotherapy Directory comply with the CAP code?

How will Hypnotherapy Directory continue to ensure the website and the profiles on it will remain compliant?

We have put numerous quality control checks into position to ensure that both our content and member content continue to remain what we believe to be compliant under the CAP Code.

Useful resources

Documents and resources mentioned in this help guide:

• The CAP Code – The full CAP Code.
• CAP Help Note on Health, beauty and slimming marketing communications that refer to medical conditions – A help guide produced by Copy Advice featuring guidance on medical conditions that can be acceptably referred to in marketing communications and those that cannot. This document is also the original source of lists A and B.
• CAP advice guide for Hypnotherapy - Copy advice that specifically focuses on advertising Hypnotherapy services.
• List A – Conditions for which suitably qualified medical advice should be sought.
• List B – Conditions for which evidence could be sought.