Well-being fair near Toulouse: between unconventional medicine and charlatans fair

They are naturopaths, karmic mediums or even psycho-energetics. All take part in the well-being, organic and therapy fair which is held in Labège until Sunday 11 September. So, temple of well-being or fair for charlatans? The organization of such a show raises questions after the controversy over Doctolib, accused of promoting unrecognized medical practices.

The well-being, organic and therapy fair started this Friday, September 9th in Labège near Toulouse. For the modest sum of 3 euros, the public can meet a number of therapists. There are no cardiologists or angiologists here. There are rather specialists in “improvement of well-being” as indicated by the website of the event.

Some of these specialists were referenced until recently on the Doctolib website. Following an outcry from doctors’ unions and the Council of the Order, the website specializing in making medical appointments cleaned up and suspended several dubious profiles including naturopaths.

Nearly 10,000 visitors are expected over 3 days. In the aisles of the show, they will be able to come across a builder of a wooden house, an organic winegrower or even a clairvoyant medium. In total: 180 exhibitors. And 60 conferences are organized on very varied themes such as: “Positive Thinking and the law of attraction by the Berber Energy forces” or “Winning the fight against cancer, the discovery that the Republic did not want” .

But who are these speakers? For the organizer of the show, these are specialists practicing a “complementary medicine to traditional medicine“.

Among them, Luc Bodin, a former doctor follower of “groups of prayers for humanity and the planet”. He is also the author of several books including “Soigner avec l’énergie”. According to the author, “This book presents in a clear and detailed way all the existing energy techniques, from shamanism and traditional therapies, to the most recent ones such as pyscho-energetic therapies, acupressure, energy treatments, ho’oponopono, etc. ..

Note also the presence of Jean-Luc Picot, a Toulouse specialist in “Informational therapy and more specifically on energy balancing in all its components: Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual“, as it states on its website.

These speakers provide paid training and workshops throughout the year.

For Patrice Marty, the organizer of the show, these speakers are very competent people in their field. “I am very careful about the choice of speakers in this show. There are charlatans everywhere. It’s not unique to our living room. But we must remain vigilant.

This is not quite the opinion of Dr. Jérôme Marty, president of the French Union for Free Medicine.

They are charlatans. I have no indulgence towards these people.

Dr Jérôme Marty, President of the French Union for Free Medicine

The president of the French Union for Free Medicine is not angry with the holding of such a show: “It’s a shame. We cannot allow anything to happen in terms of health. These people need to be removed. They make money off people’s backs. We recover patients who have tried to seek treatment from charlatans. It is a disaster. It is about health and healing. Authorizing this kind of living room is not possible.

Some practitioners of these so-called “complementary” medicines are in the crosshairs of Miviludes. This is the case of Luc Bodin, quoted above. This government body observes and analyzes the sectarian phenomenon. Recently, he has been working alongside Doctolib, a platform for making medical appointments. Miviludes and Doctolib work together to respond to the problematic situation of unconventional care practices. At the end of August, the website was accused of promoting alternative medicine. Since Doctolib, announced the suspension of several dubious profiles, and the establishment of new rules.

However, some naturopath profiles are still on Doctolib. This is the case of Toulouse Christine Berdoulat. On its Doctolib page, it is clearly stated that “this practitioner is not a healthcare professional and exercises an unregulated profession.”

This naturopath acts as a speaker at the wellness fair.

For Simone Risch, president of info secte Midi-Pyrénées, it is necessary to remain vigilant in the face of certain practitioners of these alternative medicines. “The public authorities need to control this kind of fair a little more. We want controls on these unconventional medical practices. And then the public authorities should be more interested in those who call themselves therapists.”

These naturopaths and other kinesiologists have every right to accompany people in practice or during paid internships. Unregulated professions, but which are still controlled by state services. Investigations by the DGCCRF (Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) carried out in 2018 showed that more than two-thirds of the 675 practitioners checked had at least one shortcoming: mostly lack of information, but also in some cases misleading commercial practices or even presenting risks for patients.

If most visitors find their account, others are much more skeptical. This is the case of Antoine Daoust, founder of Fact & Furious, an independent news and fact-checking site that fights misinformation. For 3 days he will crisscross the living room to try to understand who these therapists are.

3 days to discover quantum bioenergy, Akashic memories, sensory chromobiology… or not!

We would like to give thanks to the author of this post for this amazing material

Well-being fair near Toulouse: between unconventional medicine and charlatans fair


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