Regulations and legal obligations

Hi Lisa Most CAM therapies are not subject to statutory regulation. This means that there are no legal requirements pertaining to the specific practice of such therapies. This means that there are no specific legal requirements or restrictions on what you can or cannot do. However, running a business as a CAM therapist does mean that you will be subject to various legal requirement such as Health & Safety or Trading Standards. For example, if you advertise Hot Stone therapy, your treatments need to deliver what you have promised: you cannot make false or misleading statements either in print or on your website. I believe treatment rooms on businesses premises need to have a sink in the room, but home-based ones do not. So any practice will be subject to wider legalities. There is voluntary regulation through professional bodies such as CThA and FHT. These organisations will have their own rules about appropriate levels of training, treatment practice, ethics, etc. But, of course, therapists may choose not to belong to such organisations. So: NO STATUTORY REGULATION OF THE TREATMENT OPTION VOLUNTARY REGULATION THROUGH PROFESSIONAL BODIES BUSINESS PRACTICE SUBJECT TO WIDER LEGALITIES Hope this helps. Richard

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