Hypnotherapy

[Guest maya24]

I have an employee who asked if Hypnotherapy is reimbursable expense. She says she is not sleeping to the point of causing physical issues, and said she can get a Drs note to back it up. It is not covered by her insurance and I am not finding a whole lot to go on. Thanks

[Guest JerseyGirl]

We apply this test to questionable expenses: Would the employee be seeking treatment from this practitioner for any personal gain, a strictly cosmetic reason or only for improvement of general health? If the answer is *yes*, I'd be inclined to deny the expense. If the only reason she is seeking this treatment is because she has exhausted all traditional treatments (and feeling exhausted by now, I would guess) and is trying this on the advise of her physician, who is willing to provide her with documentation to back up that claim, I believe it comes under the heading of an acceptable alternative treatment. The definition of ‘medical care’ under Code Section 213(d) (1) includes non-traditional treatments as long as they are “for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body”. In my mind, this is an eligible expense as long as she does get the doctors note as promised.

[SLuskin]

We consider hypnotherapy to be a valid treatment for insomnia, which is a medical condition. Sleep disorder treatments are big business down here.