From Ben Mathis-Lilley for Salon.com comes this intriguing -though tragic- story involving…

The Weird Case of Three Florida Teens Who Died After Being Hypnotized

Briefly, this story involves a High School Principle in Florida who had a deep interest in hypnosis and allegedly used it on many of his students.  Three of them, as stated above, died…at least two of which were suicides while a third drove off a highway.  All this happened in the span of two months.

The article notes that a settlement was reached between the school and the parents of the deceased children.  The Principle, who no longer works in any school system, was ultimately…

..convicted of two misdemeanors for practicing therapeutic hypnosis without a license, for which he was sentenced to probation and community service

What bothers me the most about this article is that clearly a boundary that should have existed between this man and his students (and staff!) was crossed.  There is no indication the Principle was engaged in anything malicious…but as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

While the article notes one basketball player claimed the hypnosis offered to him was relatively innocent and intended to help with his “concentration”, the fact is that the Principle was engaging in a form of therapy and as such, not all issues dealt with might be as innocent as this one.

Again, I have no reason to believe the Principle was acting maliciously and somehow tried to hurt those three students, but it is clear the conviction he ultimately faced was appropriate.

Leave therapy to the professionals.