Indecent assault perpetrator spruiks himself as ‘life coach’ and ‘therapist’

A Launceston psychologist convicted of indecently assaulting four schoolboys during their therapy has been spruiking his services as a ‘life coach’, ‘mental health therapist’ and hypnotherapist.

Ex-psychologist David Wilson Henty, convicted in 2005 of indecently assaulting four boys, has been spruiking himself as a ‘life coach’ .

A Launceston psychologist convicted of indecently assaulting four schoolboys during therapy has been spruiking his services as a “life coach”, ”mental health therapist” and hypnotherapist.

David Wilson Henty was sentenced to six months’ jail in 2005 after being found guilty of five counts of indecent assault, with judge Alan Blow describing his crimes as a “very serious breach of trust over a very long period”.

Henty’s victims, aged 11 to 14, were indecently assaulted during treatment sessions between 1970 and 1999 when he was employed as a guidance counsellor at various schools.

While Henty ceased work as a psychologist after his convictions, The Australian has learned Henty has been advertising his services in the Yellow Pages as a “Life Coach”, while “hypno­therapy and hypnosis” appear as relevant skills for the online ­listing.

As well, the psychologist, who a jury accepted had touched or rubbed boys’ groins and the area of one boy’s penis, has set up a LinkedIn account spruiking his credentials as a “mental health therapist” from the 1980s to “present”.

The thought of Henty continuing to practice as a therapist of any sort has alarmed child abuse survivors, with particular concern around his apparent offering of hypnosis.

It comes as Tasmania grapples with revelations of decades of child sexual abuse and cover-ups of abuse in public schools, hospitals and juvenile justice, which are being investigated by a commission of inquiry.

Henty confirmed he had advertised in the Yellow Pages, and spruiked himself as a mental health therapist on LinkedIn, but said he would not see children and had not had any customers.

“It was an unsuccessful bid to create an income in an area where I was legally entitled to practise,” he told The Australian.

He defended his right to work as a therapist and hypnotherapist as “quite acceptable” and said the listings dated from “ages ago”, while the Yellow Pages ad would “disappear with the new book”. “The restrictions did not stop me from being a hypnotherapist; you don’t have to be a registered anything to be a hypnotherapist,” he said.

“The only illegal thing … would be if I had my name there as a psychologist.”

Justice Blow accepted uncontested witness impact statements that Henty’s offending – when he was meant to be treating the boys - had inflicted long-term harm and was an abuse of his “unique position of trust”.

One boy told the court the indecent assault he suffered had “screwed up his life”, spoiled his schooling, and caused him not to trust counsellors. Other victims reported ongoing trust, anger and behavioural problems.

Justice Blow said Henty’s ­actions were likely to “exacerbate and compound each boy’s problems, rather than alleviating them”.

He told the court Henty had continued to commit his crimes even after being twice warned by the Education Department – which investigated his conduct in relation to a number of boys in the mid-1990s - to stop touching children.

However, Henty told The Australian there was “no legal reason” why he could not practise as a hypnotherapist or a life coach and that those concerned about the prospect were being “unfair”.

“I would not have taken juvenile patients,” he said. “I was president of the Australian Society of Hypnosis … My behaviour was of a minor indiscretion compared to pedophilia.”

He said most people seeking his services would be aware of his convictions, given Launceston’s small population.

“There’s nothing secret about my existence in this area,” he said.

“They (people concerned about his advertising) are trying to dig up dirt.”