Welcome to the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)

The independent UK regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners.

CNHC was set up with government support to protect the public by providing a UK voluntary register of health practitioners. CNHC's register has been approved as an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, a body accountable to Parliament.

We register the following professions:

Alexander Technique teaching; Aromatherapy; Bowen Therapy; Colon Hydrotherapy, Craniosacral Therapy; Healing; Hypnotherapy; Kinesiology; Massage Therapy; Microsystems Acupuncture; Naturopathy; Nutritional Therapy; Reflexology; Reiki; Shiatsu; Sports Massage; Sports Therapy; Yoga Therapy

Click here to find out more about us.

Information for the public

Learn more about us and how you can choose a complementary healthcare practitioner with confidence.

Register with us

If you are a practising therapist, find out more about how you can become a CNHC Registrant

MyCNHC

If you are a CNHC Registrant, find out how to make the most of your CNHC registration

Latest News and insights

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CNHC Workshop at IPM 25 - Setting standards: The regulation of complementary healthcare in the UK

Date: Thursday 19 June 2025 Time: 16.30 to 17.00 Venue: Rutherford Room, QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE Price: Free for conference delegates / £30 for an all day workshop a...
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Our latest newsUpdate is out now

The latest issue of our our newsletter is out now. Click on the link below to download it. Issue 177: May 2025 (pdf) You can sign-up to receive our newsUpdate direct to your email inbox every m...
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Celebrating International Nurses Day at the University of Chester

In this blog post CNHC registrant Norman Dunsby, who practises massage therapy, reflexology and aromatherapy, tells us how he helped the University of Chester’s Faculty of Health, Medicine & Societ...
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Campaign to set up an APPG on Integrated and Sustainable Healthcare: Write to your MP

The Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC), of which CNHC is an Associate Member, is campaigning for the formation of a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Integrated and Sustainable He...
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Discount for CNHC registrants at IPM 25 

CNHC are pleased to be supporting the Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress (IPM) for a  fourth year. This year’s Congress takes place on 19 to 21 June 2025 at the QEII Centre in London....
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Working as a rural or remote Complementary Healthcare Practitioner

In this blog post CNHC registrant board member, Jennifer Barnes, shares her experience of working as a massage therapist and sports massage therapist within a countryside setting and gives tips on ...
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Two tools to help build the evidence base for complementary therapies

Meaningful Measures Ltd license two tools MYMOP® and MYCaW® that many practitioners have found useful for gathering individualised data on outcomes in complementary therapies. CNHC encourage practi...
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Sustainable Healthcare Day 2025

6 April 2025 is Sustainable Healthcare Day. Sustainable Healthcare Day was established in 2022 by the Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) and its member organisations (which includes CNHC as ...
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National Complementary Therapy Week: 20 - 26 March 2025

National Complementary Therapy Week takes place from 20 - 26 March 2025, sponsored by Complementary Health Professionals (CHP) – a multi-disciplinary professional association and one of CNHC’s Veri...
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NHS Open Space

NHS Open Space provides access to treatment and consulting rooms in England from NHS partners.  As practitioners on an Accredited Register, CNHC registrants are able to hire these workspaces. You...
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Merry Christmas from CNHC

CNHC’s Board and staff team wish you a happy and restful Christmas break and all the best for 2025. The CNHC office will be closed from 5pm on Monday 23 December and reopen on Thursday 2 January.
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CNHC Core Curricula

Did you know that CNHC publish a Core Curriculum for each of the 18 disciplines we register? They incorporate National Occupational Standards (NOS), which are government standards for safe and com...
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Building a sense of community in complementary healthcare

CNHC Registrant Board Member, Lynsey Metcalfe, shares with us her experience of building a network in the health sector and the importance of a sense of community. I have worked as an Alexander Te...
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Phishing email sent to CNHC registrants

It has come to our attention that a number of our registrants have received a scam email, either offering to sell them a list of our registrants or a list of attendees at the CNHC annual conference...
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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for CNHC registrants

As a CNHC registrant you are required to participate in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain your registration. In this article, we take a look at the requirements you must meet, C...
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Our workshop presentation at IPM 24

CNHC were pleased to have held a workshop at the Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress 2024 on 6 June on the topic of Setting standards: The regulation of complementary healthcare in the U...
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Help publicise CNHC’s Accredited Register

We produce three leaflets - one aimed at complementary healthcare practitioners, encouraging them to “Stand Up for Standards” by registering with CNHC, a public information leaflet aimed at people ...
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Yoga Therapists helping people with musculoskeletal conditions to manage chronic pain

CNHC Registrant and Yoga Therapist, Julia Woodham, tells us about a project she is involved in – providing free yoga therapy sessions for people with musculoskeletal conditions experiencing chron...
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Registrants helping to promote CNHC

CNHC would like to thank Jeanne Long, CNHC Registrant and member of our Profession Specific Board (PSB) for Reiki, for all her hard work in helping to promote CNHC at the South Gloucestershire Show...
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Review of CNH1: Consultation

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) requires CNHC to embed the standards for responsible advertising within the core curricula. To meet this requirement CNHC has ...
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Update to CNHC's guidance on advertising

CNHC's Advertising guidance for Registrants been updated to ensure clarity about the use of Testimonials and Endorsements as follows:   “5. Do Testimonials and Reviews constitute advertising? 5.1...
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Applying for complementary therapy jobs: making your application stand out

Ceris Fender-Reid got her first complementary therapy job in the NHS in 1996 and has recruited and managed therapists in healthcare settings ever since. A former registered tutor for the Massage Tr...
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Introducing Kinesiology to patients and staff at a GPs Practice

CNHC Registrant Marcia Fletcher has been practising Kinesiology for over 15 years in London, Devon and Central America as well as teaching Foundation Kinesiology as a certified Touch For Health (TF...
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Advertise your vacancies for complementary therapists on our website

Are you looking for a CNHC Registered complementary therapists for a  paid or voluntary role? Did you know you can advertise your job opportunities for free on the Vacancies section of our websit...
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CNHC Registrant helps to promote CNHC at an airshow

CNHC would like to thank CNHC Registrant and Reiki Practitioner, Jeanne Long, for all her hard work in helping to promote CNHC to the public at an event in July. Jeanne set up The Reiki Connection...
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More than just Games: From Personal to Professional

Earle Abrahamson, CNHC Registrant Board Member and Chair of the GCMT reflects on his experience of volunteering at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games which took place from 28 July to 8 August: ...
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Sustainable Healthcare Day

This year, on Wednesday 6 April 2022, the Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) and its member organisations (which includes CNHC are supporting the establishment of Sustainable Healthcare Day....
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CNHC welcomes a new lay Board Member

CNHC is pleased to welcome Dawn Atkinson to our Board as a lay member. Dawn is the Group Deputy Director for Clinical Governance and Performance at a large acute London NHS Foundation Trust and br...
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Update for training providers: Requirement for in-person training restored

Now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted across the UK, we are restoring the requirement for in-person training on all courses meeting CNHC’s standards. Any training course leading to e...
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Change to CNHC's Code: Section A2 "Chaperones"

 Section A2: "Chaperones" of  CNHC's Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance says: "You must identify when there is a need for another person to be present when you are assessing or caring for a cl...
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Providing Bowen Therapy for people with palliative care needs

In our latest blog post, Paul Dunn, a Bowen Therapist, member of the Bowen Association UK (BAUK) and CNHC Registrant talks about how he has been continuing to provide therapy for people with pallia...
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CNHCstatement on NHS England's Grab a Jab vaccination campaign

CNHC Registrants play an important role as part of the wider public health workforce, supporting members of the public to improve their health [1].  As part of its commitment to public health, the...
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Time to focus on healthy food choices in 2021

Time to focus on healthy food choices in 2021In our second blog post on supporting your wellbeing by eating well, Claire Sambolino, a CNHC Registered Nutritional Therapist and Communications Manage...
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How to eat well and live well to support physical and mental wellbeing through the winter months

Winter is fast approaching and with so much focus on supporting our immune system, this year especially, what are the things we can all do to increase our nutrient intake? Claire Sambolino, a CNHC ...
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In Touch: Improving the wellbeing of parents and carers of children in hospital through massage therapy

CNHC Registrant Nicola Stewart has been working as a massage therapist for 20 years. As well as running her successful practice she has authored a popular guide to massage. Together with Melinda Ed...
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Supporting haematology patients with complementary therapies

CNHC Registrant and Reflexologist Melissa Tyers talks about her experiences of working within the Haematology Service, which treats diseases related to blood, at City Hospital Nottingham: In 2015 ...
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COVID-19: Returning to practise reflexology in a social care setting by Johanne Gosling

Regulated health and social care organisations, which include care homes, are exempt from Government restrictions on working due to COVID-19. In our June blog post, CNHC Registrant and reflexolog...
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Covid-19: CNHC advice to training providers

All courses that meet the requirements for CNHC registration must normally include a specified number of hours with the simultaneous physical presence of the learner and a lecturer, tutor or superv...
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The Holistic Health Directory: Spreading the word about complementary healthcare by Cathy Vivian

CNHC Registrant and Bowen Therapist Cathy Vivian has worked in complementary healthcare for over 20 years, practising a variety of different disciplines. Here Cathy talks about a project by her loc...
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Sugar Awareness Week: Tips on cutting down your children’s sugar intake by Nathalie Gudgeon

This week is Sugar Awareness Week (20- 26 January 2020), a national awareness week run by the charity Action on Sugar.    To mark the week, Nathalie Gudgeon, a Nutritional Therapist and CNHC Loca...
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Integrating Reiki Therapy within a NHS setting by Ann Singleton

Integrating Reiki Therapy within a NHS setting by Ann Singleton Ann Singleton, one of our CNHC Local Champions, shares her experience of working in the NHS, how this led to her career as a Reiki p...
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Health inequalities and access to complementary healthcare - a patient’s story by Catherine Hughes

A Patients Story by Catherine Hughes How does income affect access to complementary healthcare? We know that increasing numbers of people are dealing with long-terms conditions that cannot be cur...
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CNHC Statement on Vaccinations

CNHC Registrants play an important role as part of the wider public health workforce, supporting members of the public to improve their health [1]. The CNHC Board notes with concern the UK’s loss ...
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Be a champion in your area, your profession and a champion in your own right by Matt and Kirsty Grogan

‘Go beyond what is expected, but never lose your individuality. For to be individual and unique and still deliver high standards is something that will always set you apart from the rest’. You may...
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Yoga Therapy in a clinical setting by Yasmin Zaman

I am registered with CNHC as a yoga therapist, however I refer to the yoga portion of my work as therapeutic yoga - and myself as a therapeutic yoga teacher. As a discipline, the evidence base for ...
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When words fail, touch really matters by Raj Verdi, CNHC Registrant and Massage Therapist

I’ve been volunteering with Paul's Cancer Support Centre as a massage therapist on their Home Visiting Service (HVS) team for just over a year now. Paul’s is based in Clapham Junction and the chari...
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Complementary therapy service and social prescribing pilot programme funded by Kensington & Chelsea CCG By Teresa

The complementary therapy service which I started to develop in April 2016 forms one element of a social prescribing offer which, in turn sits within a larger Self Care programme. It is funded by W...
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Gaining international recognition for Massage Therapy by Earle Abrahamson

I have been an active member of The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSoTL) for the past 11 years, using my scholarship to orchestrate change and improve practic...
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Getting Comfortable with Boundaries as a Therapist by Katherine Creighton Crook

Monday morning, 8:30 am. An unknown number rings my mobile. ‘Hi, you do massage, right? Do you have any appointments today? I woke up and my neck is killing me. I’ve had to call out of work.’ ‘Ye...
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Meditation Retreat: is it worth it? by Ignaty Dyakov

Meditation Retreat: is it worth it? In light of World Meditation Day coming up on 15 May, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share my experience on a meditation retreat I attended in 2018....
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Participating in research is easier than you may think by Ruth Farrow

I have been registered with CNHC as a Hypnotherapist for the past 9 years and have loved to read the articles in the monthly newsletter. Back in 2015, I read an article from Bristol University requ...
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My journey to becoming a Hypnotherapist by Georgia Riley

Here is a brief account of how a six month hiatus turned into building a successful business as a hypnotherapist. It all started while I was writing my dissertation for my degree in 2018…and I bega...
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The role of Complementary Therapists in a Cancer Unit by Jonathan Sarson

Jonathan Sarson, CNHC registered Reflexologist, Massage Therapist and Aromatherapist discusses the role of Complementary Therapists on the Cancer Unit of two hospitals in North Wales... During my ...
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Healthy Conversations on Type 2 Diabetes by Mariella Stewart

Mariella Stewart, a CNHC registered Hypnotherapist, writes about her work with diabetic patients and the important role that complementary practitioners play in influencing the nation’s health... ...
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My experience working in an NHS Oncology Unit by Garry Coles

Garry Coles, a CNHC registered Hypnotherapist and member of the CNHC Profession Specific Board (PSB) for Hypnotherapy, writes about his experience working in an NHS Oncology Unit... I’ve being wor...
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Complementary Therapies and HIV Treatment at Terrence Higgins Trust by Adrian Martins

Adrian Martins, a CNHC registered Massage Therapist, writes about his experience working at the Terrence Higgins Trust as their Complementary Therapy Coordinator... As a young and fresh-faced Mass...
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Charity Treatments for Cancer Clients in their Own Homes by Tracey Taylor

Tracey Taylor, a CNHC registered Massage Therapist, writes about Charity Treatments for Cancer Clients in their Own Homes... Circle of Comfort is a registered Scottish charity which offers complem...
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Healing in the NHS by Shuna Watkinson

Shuna Watkinson (second from the right) and the Endoscopy Team at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust I feel very fortunate to be a paid Healer in the NHS for the past 8 years. I am the Complem...
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What I learned after relocating my practice across the country by Fiona Hutchinson

In the summer of 2016 I relocated to Harrogate, Yorkshire from North London. This was not only a big move for my family, but for my practice as well - and I knew nobody there!  Normally word of mou...
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The journey of adding a new therapy onto the CNHC Register by Anne-Lise Miller

Many of you may have been wondering what steps to take in order to add a new therapy onto the CNHC register. This blog covers the work done by CNHC, the Colon Hydrotherapy industry, myself and many...
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Kool to be Kind Initiative in Primary Schools by Janice Barclay

Janice Barclay, a CNHC registered Hypnotherapist, writes about the Kool to be Kind Initiative in Primary Schools... I have been practising Hypnotherapy since 2015 and Meditation for over 10 years,...
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Training Opportunity at the Merlin Multiple Sclerosis Centre by Mike Murphy

(The photo above shows me observing taught techniques) Mike Murphy, CNHC registrant, tells us about training he provided to Therapists at the Merlin Multiple Sclerosis Centre in Cornwall... I was...
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Complementary support for Grenfell Tower residents by Rosemary Pharo

Rosemary Pharo, a CNHC registered Aromatherapist, writes about her experience supporting Grenfell Tower residents by providing Aromatherapy... [Image] It is another day in North Kensington after ...
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From Farm to Fork in Hertfordshire by Karen Shields

Karen Shields, a CNHC registered nutritional therapist, writes about how she teaches healthy eating life skills to a class of learning disabled individuals in Hertfordshire... I qualified as a nut...
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"Why I love my Job" by Ana Angarita

Ana M Angarita, CNHC registered Complementary Therapist- MacMillan Centre Chelsea and Westminster Hospital “Would I want to work in a hospital?” - That was the first question that crossed my mind ...

Vacancies

Paid opportunities

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Freelance opportunities for CNHC Registrants at Neal’s Yard therapy rooms

Neal’s Yard Remedies is looking for experienced and enthusiastic self-employed complementary healthcare practitioners to join their therapy rooms located across the UK.
Neal,s Yard Remedies logo

Freelance opportunities for CNHC Registrants at Neal’s Yard therapy rooms

Neal’s Yard Remedies is looking for experienced and enthusiastic self-employed complementary healthcare practitioners to join their therapy rooms located across the UK.