Accredited Register Programme And Regulation
The National Hypnotherapy Society holds the first and only current hypnotherapy register to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority
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The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is an independent body accountable to the UK Parliament. It promotes public health, safety, and wellbeing by overseeing statutory regulators of health professionals and accrediting registers of those in unregulated health and care roles.
To gain accreditation, organisations must hold a register for unregulated health and care occupations, demonstrate a focus on public protection, and meet the PSA’s high standards. Accredited registers can display the Quality Mark, showing they have achieved a recognised level of good practice.
The National Hypnotherapy Society’s register is accredited by the PSA, meaning we meet all eleven of the Authority’s standards, including public protection, governance, training, complaints handling, and ethical practice. This ensures that when clients choose a hypnotherapist from our register, they can trust that practitioner has been assessed against rigorous standards.
Read more about the Accredited Register Programme
Being accredited under the Accredited Register programme offers enhanced protection to anyone looking for Hypnotherapy services which includes:
- Members of the public seeking a Registered Hypnotherapist
- Qualified Hypnotherapists seeking to become Registrants
Hypnotherapists on our register, also known as registrants, will be able to display the Accredited Register quality mark, as a sign that they belong to a register which meets the Authority's rigorous standards.
Members of the public will, from now on, be encouraged to choose a practitioner who belongs to a register which has been vetted and approved by the Authority. The Accredited Register programme was set up by the Department of Health to ensure that the public are able to choose safe, ethical and competent professionals for their health and social care needs.
The National Hypnotherapy Society believes that all Accredited Registers should be seen as equal. Recognition of the programme is growing:
The Society's position on standards
Hypnotherapy is a unique talking therapy which has much in common with counselling and psychotherapy, although it should be seen as a distinct discipline and profession. We support hypnotherapists who develop knowledge of psychotherapeutic or counselling practice and hypnotherapy training which provides knowledge of these issues.
The Society's standards of entry to the Register are now benchmarked against Ofqual levels, where a Level 3 Diploma is required for entry to the Register and further training is required for progression in membership. By benchmarking against Ofqual Levels the Society is demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that hypnotherapy training is independently verifiable as meeting national standards.
In addition, standards are benchmarked against Skills for Health National Occupational Standards.
Before becoming the first register accredited by the Authority, the Society has been represented at numerous meetings over the years including at the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health, Skills for Health and others. We co-founded the Working Group for Hypnotherapy Regulation and were central to the establishment of National Occupational Standards. We also have a cooperation agreement with the Royal Society for Public Health.
Our Register
The National Hypnotherapy Society is responsible for ensuring that those individuals who wish to join the Society and have their details listed on the Accredited Register meet the high standards set for the Society by the Professional Standards Authority.
All applications are assessed by the Society and as well as providing evidence of educational qualifications, references and professional insurance all registrants are required to be bound by the Society’s Code of Ethics and Complaints Policy.
Full details of the criteria for membership are given in the 'Become a Member' section of the website.
Successful applicants are given a membership certificate that is renewed annually and their details are published on the Society’s Accredited Register, found in the 'Find a Therapist' section of the website.
Code of Ethics
All Registrants are bound by the Society’s Code of Ethics and Complaints procedure throughout the period of their membership/ remaining on the Accredited Register.
Professional Insurance
Society registrants must have current professional insurance. There are a variety of different insurance brokers who provide insurance for those in private/self-employed practice and this information is provided to all registrants by the Society. For those who are in employment or volunteer with an agency that organisation will provide insurance.
Evidence of will be required when a registrant first joins the Society and at the time of any audit of practice.
Supervision
Supervision is considered to be vital to the practice of hypnotherapists and is a requirement for those who are on the Accredited Register. In the early years of practice it is one of the best ways in which a new hypnotherapist can seek guidance in their work with clients. It is also the way in which a therapist can be seen, by a more experienced person working in the same field, to be growing and maturing.
Supervision is a valuable "checking in" procedure, helping a hypnotherapist stay grounded and centred, maintain professional and personal boundaries, avoid "burnout” and thus provide safe, ethical and competent hypnotherapy for all clients.
As a guideline for a hypnotherapist in full time practice we recommend 1.5 hours of supervision every month, each person’s level of experience and also the client group they are working with will affect how much supervision is needed. If a hypnotherapist has any concerns about any aspect of their work with a client then they should refer to their Supervisor for further advice. There should be a provision for emergency advice or consultation with the Supervisor over and above the agreed number of sessions.
Registrants are required to keep a record of their supervision hours and evidence of this will be requested during any audit.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
In order to remain on the Accredited Register it is important that registrants can demonstrate a continued commitment to safe and ethical practice and they are responsible for their continuing professional development as a practitioner.
Registrants should complete a minimum of 30 hours CPD each year to ensure that they keep up to date their theoretical and practical knowledge and skills relating to their work as a professional practitioner, including any new legislative requirements.
The Society defines CPD ‘as a range of learning activities through which professional hypnotherapists grow and develop throughout their careers to ensure that they retain their ability to practise safely, ethically and legally within their evolving scope of practice’.
Registrants should keep a record of all CPD activities - detailing the number of hours, types of activities, the learning they have gained from each activity. This information and supporting evidence will be required for the Society’s audit process.
Society Audits
The Society is required to verify that those who are on the Accredited Register comply with Standards to remain on the Register. To do this we carry out a random audit of registrants – this is one of the methods that the Society uses to ensure that our register complies with the standards set by the Public Standards Association.
As an ongoing process the Society will select a percentage of individual registrants (on a random basis) to participate in the Society’s audit process.
Those selected will be sent communications informing them that they have been chosen for audit along with the guidelines on the information that they will need to supply to the Society.
Those who are chosen for audit are required to submit all the information required to the Society within a given time scale.
Breaks in Practice
The Society will recognise a 3 year period when an individual can take a break from practice. Within this period a registrant can suspend their membership and automatically re-join the Society when they are ready to continue practice.
Any period of non-practice that is longer than 3 year will require an individual to re-apply for membership of the Society.
The Society is responsible for the Accredited Register and may have to amend and update those who are on the register for different reasons.
These reasons may be:
- A Registrant is given sanctions but allowed to remain on the register.
- A Registrant is suspended – the suspension is noted on website, then removed if suspension lifted.
- A Registrant is removed from register due to upheld complaints process
- A Registrant doesn’t comply with audit.
- A Registrant is no longer practicing (change of personal circumstances e.g. retirement).
