Ethics Framework 1.4 Evidence and Honest Claims

Ethics in IEMT Practice: Lesson 1.4

Evidence and Honest Claims

Welcome

Clients decide whether to work with you based on what you tell them. If you describe IEMT, your qualifications or likely results inaccurately, even with good intentions, their decision is not properly informed. Honest description is therefore part of consent, part of advertising and part of your professional integrity. This lesson looks at how to talk accurately about what IEMT is, what is and is not known about it, and what you can call yourself.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe IEMT accurately, including the limits of the current evidence.
Tell different kinds of evidence apart and say what each can and cannot show.
Recognise claims that breach the Association's policies or UK advertising rules.
Describe your title and qualifications correctly.

What the Association asks of you

The Standards of Competence (section 1) ask you to describe the procedures you were trained in accurately. They ask you to present ideas such as emotional imprints, identity imprints and the Patterns of Chronicity as models or working ideas, not as validated diagnoses or proven causes. They also ask you to state accurately that IEMT has a limited and emerging evidence base, and to update your explanations as the evidence changes.

IEMT is reportedly beneficial, as experienced and shared by many practitioners and clients alike, rather than it being a guaranteed solution.

Andrew T. Austin, Director, Marketing and Efficacy Claims guidance

That sentence is a good model. It says what many people report, and it says what IEMT is not: a guaranteed solution.

Kinds of evidence

Not all evidence carries the same weight. Being clear about the difference helps you avoid over-claiming. The Standards ask you to distinguish observation, client report, case evidence, experimental research and controlled clinical evidence.

Kind of evidence	What it can tell you	What it cannot tell you
Your own observation	What you saw and heard in sessions.	Whether the change was caused by IEMT, or would have happened anyway.
Client report and feedback	How clients experienced the work and how they felt afterwards.	Whether others would have the same experience. People can feel better for many reasons, including attention and expectation.
Case reports and testimonials	One person's account, in detail.	How common that outcome is. The Advertising Standards Policy says case material must not be used as proof of effectiveness.
Laboratory or experimental research	How a component, for example eye movements, affects attention, memory or emotion in a controlled setting.	Whether the whole IEMT procedure works for real clients with real problems.
Controlled clinical studies	Whether an intervention works better than a comparison, in a defined group.	Nothing about IEMT unless a study of IEMT itself exists. At present the evidence for IEMT is limited and emerging.

Do not borrow evidence from other methods

You may be asked, “Is this like EMDR?” or “Does the research on working memory apply?” The Standards of Competence and the Scope of Practice Policy are clear that you must not transfer evidence, or guideline status, from EMDR, exposure therapy, working-memory research or any other intervention to IEMT. The procedures differ, so the evidence does not carry across. It is fine to say that other approaches exist and that you are not offering them.

Describing IEMT honestly

The Advertising Standards Policy says communications must be “legal, decent, honest and truthful”. In particular, you must not state or imply that IEMT is proven, evidence-based or clinically validated, give guarantees, make universal claims, imply rapid or permanent change, or suggest that non-response is the client's failure. The table gives examples.

Avoid	Consider instead
“IEMT cures anxiety, trauma and phobias.”	“IEMT is a technique some people find helpful when working on emotional responses and memories. The evidence for it is limited and still emerging.”
“Fast, permanent results in one session.”	“Experiences vary. Some people notice a change in a short time and some do not. I cannot predict what you will experience.”
“Proven”, “clinically validated” or “evidence-based”.	“An emerging technique.”
“As effective as EMDR”, or “better than CBT”.	Do not compare unless you can back the comparison with evidence.
“If it didn't work, you weren't ready.”	“No change is a possible outcome, and it is not your fault.”

Recognise no change, mixed change and deterioration as legitimate outcomes.

The Association for IEMT Practitioners, Standards of Competence, section 10

Your title and qualifications

IEMT training qualifies you to describe yourself as an IEMT practitioner, subject to your training, certification and membership. It does not by itself give you the title of therapist or any regulated clinical, psychological, psychotherapeutic or counselling title. Trainees must not describe themselves as certified.

IEMT training does not, by itself, confer the broader professional title of therapist.

The Association for IEMT Practitioners, Clarification of the IEMT Name, “Professional titles and scope of practice”

The Association's name clarification (September 2026) explains that the preferred wording is now “Integral Eye Movement Technique”. The abbreviation IEMT is unchanged, and members are asked to use “Technique” in new materials. It also sets out wording you can use:

Practitioner of IEMT, or IEMT Practitioner.
Practitioner of Integral Eye Movement Technique.
Coach who uses Integral Eye Movement Technique.
Counsellor, therapist or other professional who incorporates the technique, but only where you hold a separate, suitable qualification and describe it accurately.

Also take care not to imply that the Association is a statutory regulator. The Association's register is voluntary and is not accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Some titles are protected in law, for example “practitioner psychologist” and “art psychotherapist” are protected by the HCPC. Terms such as counsellor, psychotherapist and therapist are not protected, which is why an accurate description of your actual training matters.

The law on advertising

Whatever the Association's policies say, you must also comply with UK advertising law and rules. In outline:

The CAP Code (section 12), enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority. Rule 12.1 says objective claims must be backed by evidence. Rule 12.2 says marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
ASA guidance on mental health. Do not claim to treat, cure, diagnose or advise on serious mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders or suicidal thoughts unless the treatment is supervised by a suitably qualified medical professional.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Since 6 April 2025 it prohibits unfair commercial practices, which include misleading actions and omissions.
The Cancer Act 1939, section 4. It is an offence to take part in publishing an advertisement offering to treat any person for cancer, or to give advice on its treatment.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and elsewhere

The CAP Code applies across the UK. The Cancer Act 1939 applies in Great Britain. Other countries have their own advertising rules, so check them if you advertise abroad. The full discussion of advertising ethics is in the appendix on the Ethics of Marketing.

Try this: a simple honest explanation

“IEMT is a technique that uses guided eye movements while you think about a memory or a feeling. I am trained and certified in it. I am not a doctor or a psychologist, and I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Some people find IEMT helpful and others notice little change. The research on IEMT is limited and still emerging, so I cannot promise a result. You can stop at any time.”

Adapt this to your own qualifications. If you are separately qualified, say so accurately.

Self-Reflection Exercise

Look at how you currently describe your work:

Read your website, leaflets, social media profiles and directory entry. Is there any wording that implies a cure, a guarantee, rapid or permanent change, or a regulated title you do not hold?
Do you use testimonials? Are they presented as proof of effectiveness?
Write an honest two-sentence description of IEMT that you would be comfortable saying to a client and printing in a leaflet.

Change anything that does not meet the standards in this lesson.

Key Takeaways

Honest description is part of consent, advertising and integrity.
Say that the evidence for IEMT is limited and emerging, and do not borrow evidence from other methods.
Distinguish observation, client report, case evidence, experimental research and controlled clinical evidence.
Do not guarantee, universalise or imply rapid or permanent change. Treat no change, mixed change and deterioration as legitimate outcomes.
Use an accurate title. IEMT training does not by itself confer the title of therapist.
UK advertising rules and law apply as well as the Association's policies.

Next Steps

Module 2 turns to working with clients. We start in Lesson 2.1 with informed consent and assessing capacity.

This ethics series is produced by The Association for IEMT Practitioners and is intended for professional development purposes. It describes law and guidance for England and Wales as at October 2026 and is not legal advice. Always follow your local law, your insurer’s conditions, safeguarding procedures and your professional judgement.