“With a unified Register of Members, patients and members of the public would then have a single, reliable point of reference for standards, and would be protected against the risk of poorly-trained practitioners and have redress for poor service”. (House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology Report on CAM).

The National Regulatory Register for Hypnotherapy

A fundamental principle of Voluntary Self Regulation in U.K. complementary therapies is the need for the establishment of a unitary national register of practitioners.   Such a register provides a point of reference for the public as well as service providers such as the N.H.S., offers increased public protection, and avoids confusion regarding the many qualification routes available to practitioners and their variety of choice of professional body.

In early 2007, the Working Group for Hypnotherapy Regulation responded to the need for a truly unitary and national register by creating an interim register of hypnotherapy professionals, consisting of a list of assenting professional bodies.

The Working Group has now moved on to the next phase of this project, and for the first time in the UK a single, unitary, national register of professional hypnotherapists has been created and is available to members of the public.   This is a leap forward and answers the criticisms that hypnotherapy is a divided or immature profession.

At launch, the register maintains in excess of 3,800 practising U.K. hypnotherapists and we expect to go far beyond this in the future.   The register already, therefore, comprises a clear majority of U.K. hypnotherapy professionals.

The existence of the Register is one of the fundamental building blocks of the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the profession.   For the first time, members of the public can search a database which crosses the boundaries of professional bodies and individual training backgrounds; for the first time there is a central and national resource for NHS Primary Care Trusts and other interested parties.

Entry to the Register is currently available via membership of those professional bodies which participate in the Working Group.  After an initial grandparenting phase, the Working Group will, by a process of democratic consensus and open consultation within the profession, establish a set of common entry criteria to the Register.  The Register will be updated regularly and individual hypnotherapists wishing to join the Register should join a participating professional body and request entry via their professional body.  However, this is only an interim measure and the Register will become open to all hypnotherapists regardless of professional affiliation in the future.

Below are some FAQ for hypnotherapists regarding The Register:

Q: I have signed up for the newsletter – does this mean I’m on the Register?

A: No, it just means you will be informed of the Group’s work and offered the opportunity to participate in its democratic processes.

Q: What are the entry criteria?

A: At present, entry to the Register is via membership of one of the 25 participating professional bodies.   This is only an interim or “stop gap” measure.   Because the Group is fully aware of the entry criteria for the participating bodies, it’s a good starting place for the formation of a Register in the absence of common entry criteria.

The Group will develop via profession-wide democratic consultation a set of common entry criteria in the future.  These criteria will be independent of professional bodies, whose own criteria may meet, not meet, or even exceed them.

Q:  I don’t currently belong to one of the participating bodies – what do I do now?

A:  Just because you don’t currently belong doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to join once the common entry criteria are established.   The Register will eventually become independent of professional bodies.

Q: I belong to a professional body which is not a participating member.  Does this mean that the Working Group doesn’t recognize it?

A:  Certainly not.  The Group is not there to offer recognition or non-recognition to professional bodies.  Many have chosen to participate and others have not.  Although 80% of the profession is on board, there are professional bodies which offer good services to their members and to the profession which are not signed up.   You will still be able to participate in the democratic processes and eventually join the register through the common entry criteria.

Q:  I meet the criteria but am not listed – what do I do?

A:  Contact your participating professional body and ask that they confirm your membership with us.

Q: There is no complaints procedure to remove people from the Register – isn’t this a problem?

A: Yes it is.   Once we have established the democratic code of ethics, we will launch a consultation on the complaints procedure and will have one in place in the future.  This will strengthen the work of the Register and increase public confidence.  The procedure will be completely independent.

Q: So how are complaints heard now?

A:  Again, as an interim measure, any complaint upheld through a professional body will be deemed to apply to the Register.   Once the independent procedure comes in to place, being on the Register will be separate from membership of professional bodies.

Q: I can’t seem to search the Register by region, town etc.   Will it become more searchable?

A: The purpose of the Register is not for the public to locate practitioners for business – this is the job of the registers promoted by professional bodies.  The purpose of the Register is fundamentally that of public protection.   It is designed for the public to be able to verify that the practitioner whose services they intend to use is on the Register.

Please note: due to its size, the Register will download to your computer as an Adobe PDF file.  After clicking on the link, please allow a delay for the file to start loading.

To view the full National Regulatory Register,click here.