As a hypnotherapist, you may have read about this as mentioned by some of the bigger and forward thinking organisations in the field. It is certainly news that shows some steps forward for the hypnotherapy profession and if you are a hypnotherapist, you should really know this stuff.
This is the text of the latest Newsletter (19) released by UKCHO:
PROFESSIONAL REGULATION
“Regulation, whether statutory or voluntary, is about protecting the public. For this reason, the Government through the Department of Health fully supports the work of The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). The Department of Health has stated that the only register of complementary or alternative therapists that they will recognize is the CNHC.” (A Statement by the Department of Health, 2010).
As reported previously in UKCHO News, The Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council has been established and supported by the Department of Health with the aim that its kite-mark ‘CNHC Registered’ will give complementary healthcare practitioners the opportunity to demonstrate that they are bona fide and meet recognised standards of competence and probity, and abide by a rigorous code of conduct, performance and ethics, and, in addition, that they are covered by adequate professional indemnity insurance. The Hypnotherapy Regulatory Forum, with its two constituent bodies, The UK Confederation of Hypnotherapy Organisations and The Working Group on Hypnotherapy Regulation, has now finalised its policy and programme of work for the voluntary regulation of the hypnotherapy profession. Under the independent chairmanship of Dr Jenny Gordon, and with the professional advice and financial support of The Prince’s Foundation, the Hypnotherapy Regulatory Forum has agreed standards for education and training, together with codes of conduct, ethics and performance, and has established registers of accredited hypnotherapists, who are safe and competent to practice.
The target date for the completion of the work leading to the professional regulation of hypnotherapy has always been 30th December 2010, and UKCHO is pleased to report that the Hypnotherapy Regulatory Forum has now agreed with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council that the voluntary regulation of the hypnotherapy profession will begin on 1st December 2010 with the opening of the new CNHC National Register of Hypnotherapists.
The first stage in the regulation process will be for the transfer to the CNHC of the information contained in the UKCHO database of hypnotherapists, so that CNHC may contact individual hypnotherapy practitioners inviting them to register with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. (For the professional advantages of CNHC Registration, please visit the website at www.cnhc.org.uk). This transfer of information to the CNHC will comply with the Data Protection Acts and those hypnotherapy practitioners who do not wish their details to be passed on to the CNHC should notify UKCHO at ukcho.registrar@btinternet.com by Friday 26th November 2010, giving their name and registration number, together with a clear statement that they do not wish their details to be transferred to CNHC. It is important to note, however, that to be recognized by the Department of Health hypnotherapy practitioners will need to be listed on the CNHC Register.
Within The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council the hypnotherapy profession will have its own ‘Profession Specific Board’ to advise the CNHC on relevant matters of education and training, and standards of ethics, conduct and performance. Initially, the four members of the PSB will be nominated by the Hypnotherapy Regulatory Forum to serve for an initial period of three years, after which nominations for election to the PSB will be sought from all ‘CNHC Registered Hypnotherapists’.
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I shall be watching developments with a keen eye and look forward to seeing what it is like to be CNHC registered…
Hi
I’m not sure about this either. I’ll be waiting to see what happens!
I don’t remember seeing the DoH saying that ‘the only register of complementary or alternative therapists that they will recognize is the CNHC’. I can’t see it on the UKCHO website – do you know where it came from?
Thanks!
I’m not sure why you are unsure about this proposal. Surely anything that allows the public to get a better quality of service and to have a government backed initiative designed to help them to be more confident in our profession is a good thing. It may also lead to some of the charlatans out there calling it a day and looking for different ways to exploit people which would also be a good thing.
If I have missed some details that should cause me to be as worried/unsure about this as you are I would love to know the details.
Richard
I totally agree about getting rid of the charlatans, but the CNHC also regulate reflexologists and are soon to regulate reiki, bowen therapy and craniosacral therapy. Do you really think being lumped in with those quacks (sorry if I offend anyone with that term) will be good for the profession?
Besides, I’m not sure how about this ‘better quality of service’ . All the CNHC will do is ensure that its members will have good training before they can register. That in itself doesn’t improve anything (other than weed out those not properly qualified).
Maybe I’m just having a bad day.
Hello Richard and Joe…
I have not said I am unsure about this move… Just that I look forward to seeing how things progress.
Whilst I empathise with comments pertaining to Reflexology and Reiki, they are not wholly relevant to us in this field and I think we’ll be better for having this kind of regulation than being without it.
Maybe it’ll be a little less like the Wild West out there as a result and maybe this is a step in the right direction. I am inclined to encourage and support this step in the hope of more steps forward to come.
I sometimes get concerned about the bureaucracy involved in these kinds of moves, but it all seems to make sense to me at this stage. Here, we pride ourselves on providing training that matches national occupational standards, so why should we not start to develop a structure for the profession in its entireity that matches similar standards?
Thank you both for your contributions.
Aaaaah! That really helps me understand why this may not be such a good move Joe. There is no doubt that some people get benefits from Reiki & reflexology etc but I prefer to think of myself as a clinical hypnotherapist and being associated with other less scientific ‘disciplines’ may not be so great. But as Adam said, anything that raises the game of our industry should (overall) be a good thing. I will watch with interest and maybe won’t now be at the front of the que for my CNHC membership…
Richard
Some people may get a benefit from reflexology or reiki, but it’s just the placebo effect and it certainly can’t cure anything (other than the help a bit of relaxation can give). The problem I have is that they frequently make claims about what they do that are just, well, nonsense! I certainly don’t want to lumped in with them and I think that’s the way the public (ie future customers) will see it!
For information on research in Reiki, please see http://www.reikicouncil.org.uk/Research/tabid/76/Default.aspx