‘UKCHO’, the UK Confederation of Hypnotherapy Organisations, was founded to bring together professional Hypnotherapy Registering Organisations and create a standard approach to governance and training across the sector.
We have been working together for nearly 25 years now and in this time we have devised a uniform Code of Ethics, which all organisations adhere to, so that all practitioners know what was expected of them. It was also decided that we should share the same Complaints Procedures, so we could ensure fair treatment of therapists and consumers alike across our organisations.
The biggest challenge was to develop a uniform training standard, because we wanted to protect the public from poorly trained therapists and set the kite mark of excellence for anyone who belonged to a member organisation. It took some years to establish that training criteria, but it was completed in 2011. Now there are National Occupational Standards for Hypnotherapy with set training hours. With this agreed criteria in place CNHC (The Complementary and Natural Health Care Council) became the regulator for the hypnotherapy profession. Hypnotherapy constitutes the largest contributor to their voluntary registers.
With these achievements behind us we now want to look to the future. Having established a unified voice for hypnotherapy, our aim is using that voice to raise the profile of our therapy, to dispel the myths surrounding hypnosis, and promote research to support our claims regarding the efficacy of this powerful medium. We will be using social media, blogs and mainstream media to let people know what can be achieved with hypnotherapy, and also how to find a properly qualified therapist. This is important to protect the reputation of our professional members and our therapy, and not have hypnotherapy damaged through negative experiences with poor practitioners who have not met our training standards.
In short, UKCHO is the professional unified voice for hypnotherapy in the UK. It’s an umbrella organisation that holds together the key professional hypnotherapy organisations. Together we can make ourselves heard and achieve change.
Finding the right therapist for you
Finding the right hypnotherapist in the private marketplace can be daunting, so we wanted to give you a few tips to guide you and make sure you get the best practitioner that you can:
- Make sure your therapist is insured, and don’t be afraid to ask for proof.
- Enquire about their qualifications. Practitioners should have completed a course that meets the National Occupational Standards. This requires face-to-face training, not just distance learning.
- Check to see if they belong to a Professional Association, if they do, you know they will be maintaining their professional standards, following a code of ethics and be accountable via a complaints procedure. If their membership is with an UKCHO-registered organisation, you know they have been trained to the highest standards.
- You should be made to be at ease with a good practitioner, feel comfortable asking any questions you may have, and know that you are in a safe environment.
- Confidentiality is paramount to the therapeutic relationship, and like any other clinical or medical practice, your therapist should maintain absolute confidentiality about you and your treatment.
- Therapists should make their costs clear to you from the start, along with their cancellation policy. They should be clear about what you are committing to when commencing your treatment with them.
- Trust your instincts! They are there to protect you, so if you are uneasy about any aspect of the therapist or the practics, then chances are they are not the right therapist for you.
