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NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — High school principal George Kenney
acknowledged using hypnosis to help people: students who needed to
relax before tests, a basketball player having trouble making free
throws and even school secretaries who wanted to quit
smoking.
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But now the popular 51-year-old principal’s future at North Port
High School is in question since it came to light that he had
hypnotized two students before their separate suicides this spring.
There is no indication their deaths were any more than a tragic
coincidence. However, Kenney acknowledged conducting the sessions
after being warned by his boss to stop such one-on-one hypnosis
with students at school.
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Most students, teachers and fellow administrators at the southwest
Florida school were aware that Kenney was a trained hypnotist who
would eagerly help those who sought him out for sessions, according
to a school district report. Students looked forward to his
demonstrations in a psychology class and at other school
events.
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In April, according to the Sarasota County School District report,
he hypnotized a 16-year-old student to help him better focus on a
test. The next day, the boy committed suicide. Kenney was put on
leave in May when the boy’s parents, who had given their permission
for the sessions, raised concerns after his death.
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The administrator’s situation then got stickier when an
investigation showed that he had also hypnotized another student
five months before her May 4 suicide, initially lied about it and
had defied three separate verbal warnings to stop the sessions with
students.
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A 134-page independent investigative report released by the
district last week includes an interview with Kenney, who
acknowledged defying the orders and then lying.
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“I’m not saying I used great judgment all the time here,” he told
an investigator. “I think I used poor judgment several
times.”
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But the report also reflects the support and affection Kenney
enjoys at the 2,300-student high school, about 90 miles south of
Tampa. Two Facebook pages, one with more than 1,600 fans, have been
created to support Kenney, principal of North Port High since its
opening in 2001. Some students who were hypnotized say it helped
them with sports and academics.
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Many students and staff credit him with guiding the school through
a time of grief. In March, before the two suicides, a 16-year-old
football player was killed in a car crash, which followed the
traffic death of a teacher killed driving to school in
November.
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Kenney is the “glue that just holds the school together,” said his
administrative assistant, Dianna McLaren.
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Kenney declined to comment through his attorney, Mark Zimmerman,
who said there is no “causal connection” between the hypnosis
sessions and the suicides. Both students had sought Kenney’s help
with test anxiety and had signed permission slips from their
parents, Zimmerman said. In the case of student Brittany Palumbo,
her mother was present during the session.
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“It sort of conjures up a feeling of mind control, which of course
is not what hypnosis is,” Zimmerman said. “This was hypnosis as a
relaxation and focus technique to aid in test and athletic
performance.”
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Zimmerman said Kenney initially misspoke when he told an
administrator that he had not had a session with Palumbo, and never
intended to hide it.
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Kenney was more than a hobbyist when it came to hypnosis. He wrote
four books about using hypnosis in defeating test anxiety and
mastering baseball and basketball skills. He trained at a Florida
hypnosis center and was a member of the National Guild of
Hypnotists and the National Board of Hypnosis Education and
Certification. He told investigators he has worked with around 36
students – with parental permission – in the past couple years,
mostly on test anxiety, athletic performance and anger management.
He also worked with several of the school’s sports teams, staff
members and their families.
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“Dr. Kenney isn’t doing any hocus-pocus,” Ann Brandenberger, a
psychology teacher at the high school, told an investigator. “That
is just what this has been blown into.”
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According to the report, Kenney would have people close their eyes
and visualize something serene as he talked them into a state of
“deep relaxation,” then would suggest to them that they will feel
calm and focused before a test, sporting event or other
activity.
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Gerald Kein, director of the National Board of Hypnosis Education
and Certification, described hypnosis as “bypassing the critical
factor of the conscious mind,” creating an “open-mindedness” to new
ideas.
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Kein said that to his knowledge Kenney didn’t violate any of the
board’s rules about treating children. Rules call for written
permission from parents and urge parental involvement in the
sessions. Kein said a hypnotist shouldn’t work with anyone who
clearly needs help from a licensed medical professional. Kenney
said he had no indication that either student who later committed
suicide was suffering from mental illness.
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“I think the whole thing is ludicrous. I think it’s ridiculous,”
said Kein, who is also director of the Omni Hypnosis Training
Center in DeLand, Fla., one of the places where Kenney trained.
“From what I understand, he just worked on motivation with these
young people, motivation and test anxiety and allowing them to be
the very best they can.”
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School district spokesman Gary Leatherman said school officials
will wait to see whether the North Port police decide to prosecute
Kenney under a decades-old state law that requires a doctor’s
reference for hypnosis as therapy. After that, the district
superintendent will decide what, if any, punishment he should
receive.
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Kenney’s attorney said he’s working in the school district offices
pending the outcome of the investigation and looks forward to
getting back to his post at the high school.
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