Hypnotherapy Regulation
To follow along with my last two articles on the misconceptions which surround hypnotherapy, I thought it might be helpful to revisit the issue of hypnotherapy regulation. This is not as clear cut as one might expect, indeed the issue of regulation is a complex, but important.
The first important thing to know is that hypnotherapy, similar to most of the talking therapies (Art Psychotherapy being the exception) are not “statutorily” regulated. That is to say that hypnotherapy and hypno-psychotherapy are not regulated by the state via an Act of Parliament or by an Order in Council via parliament.
This does not, however, mean that these professions are unregulated. In the case of hypnotherapy, the Council of Natural Health Care is a body which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which in the UK is the regulator of regulators. The same is true for Hypno-Psychotherapy, though this is regulated through the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy which is also an accredited register with the Professional Standards Authority.
So as you can see, these professions are regulated in a meaningful way, just not a statutory way. It is essential when consulting either a hypnotherapist or a hypno-psychotherapist that they are registered with one of the above bodies, which will help to guarantee your rights as both a client and a consumer.
