Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

What Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council does

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) is the independent UK regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners, founded in 2008 with government support and headquartered in the UK. CNHC maintains a voluntary register of practitioners across 18 disciplines — including massage therapy, hypnotherapy, nutritional therapy, reflexology, reiki, aromatherapy, and yoga therapy — and has held Accredited Register status from the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA), a body accountable to Parliament. The register functions as a public protection mechanism, allowing members of the public, employers, and NHS trusts to verify practitioner credentials against UK-wide standards codified in CNHC's Core Curricula, which incorporate National Occupational Standards (NOS) developed with Skills for Health.

Operationally, CNHC runs a web-based infrastructure comprising a public practitioner search directory (CNHC Register), a registrant management portal (MyCNHC), and supporting content, newsletter, and event channels. Its revenue model is subscription-based: practitioners pay annual registration and renewal fees, supplemented by associate membership dues from partner organizations such as the Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). Its go-to-market combines a sales-led approach targeting practitioners (Apply to Register) and employers/commissioners (Find a Practitioner) with a community-led Local Champions programme and peer-to-peer content marketing through registrant blog posts and industry events such as the Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress (IPM).

CNHC's stakeholder base spans NHS trusts (Royal Surrey, Barts Health, UCLH, Leeds Teaching Hospitals), hospices, cancer support charities (Mulberry Centre, Macmillan Centre), and commercial therapy room operators (Neal's Yard Remedies, 23 UK locations). The organization is governed by a lay and registrant board and is currently undergoing a leadership transition, with Joanne Shaw replacing long-serving Chief Executive Margaret Coats in early 2026. No acquisitions, funding rounds, or revenue figures are disclosed; operations are supported by an employee base of 1-10.

Name

Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

Legal name

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

Website

https://www.cnhc.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CNHC is the UK government-supported voluntary regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners, maintaining a PSA-accredited register across 18 disciplines. It generates revenue through annual practitioner registration fees and serves the public, employers, and NHS trusts with verified practitioner credentials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Complementary Healthcare Regulation

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Licensing, Accreditation & Credentialing Boards (HLAJACAC)

Keywords

• Complementary healthcare regulation
• Practitioner voluntary register
• Professional accreditation services
• Healthcare practitioner standards
• Integrative medicine regulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Practitioner Registration Fees: CNHC generates revenue through registration fees paid by complementary healthcare practitioners. Initial registration secures entry on the register for one year. Additional fees apply for adding further disciplines, though these do not extend the initial registration period. Renewal fees apply annually for continued registration.
2. Member Organisation Dues: Associate membership fees from organizations like the Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC), of which CNHC is an Associate Member.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CNHC operates a UK-wide voluntary register of complementary healthcare practitioners across 18 disciplines, accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. Practitioners pay annual registration fees to be listed on the public register and gain access to the MyCNHC portal, the CNHC Quality Mark, Core Curricula publications, and CPD resources. The register enables members of the public, employers, and NHS trusts to search for and verify practitioners who meet UK-wide standards.

Product overview

CNHC operates as a regulatory body providing a unified platform for the complementary healthcare sector in the UK. The core offering consists of the CNHC Register (a searchable directory of verified practitioners across 18 disciplines), the MyCNHC member portal for registrants, Core Curricula for each discipline, CPD resources, and the CNHC Quality Mark. CNHC does not offer a single software product but rather a suite of regulatory and membership services. The 18 registered professions include 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, and Yoga Therapy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CNHC Practitioner Registration
• Core Curricula Publications
• CNHC Register Search Directory

Quantifiable outcome

• Independent research by Envoy Partnership showed that complementary therapy work delivered approximately 3.5x value return to the local healthcare system and patients compared to cost of therapies (covering ~300 clients over one year)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe PSA accredits CNHC's register, providing government-backed assurance that CNHC meets standards for governance, transparency, and fitness of purpose. This accreditation is critical to CNHC's legitimacy as the UK's regulator for complementary healthcare practitioners.
• Integrated Healthcare Collaborative (IHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNHC is an Associate Member of the IHC, a coalition of organizations working to promote integrated healthcare. CNHC participates in IHC initiatives including Sustainable Healthcare Day and campaigns for All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Integrated and Sustainable Healthcare.
• Skills for HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills for Health is the Sector Skills Council that develops National Occupational Standards (NOS) used in CNHC's Core Curricula. Each profession on CNHC's register must have specific NOS developed in conjunction with Skills for Health before being added to the register.
• Neal's Yard RemediesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNeal's Yard Remedies operates 23 therapy room locations across the UK and actively recruits CNHC registered complementary healthcare practitioners. Practitioners can apply to join Neal's Yard therapy rooms which have hired complementary healthcare practitioners for over 20 years.
• Massage Training Institute (MTI)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMTI is a professional association for massage therapists with 900 active members. MTI provides tutor opportunities for CNHC-registered Massage Therapists and is referenced by CNHC for advice, support, and continued professional development. Earle Abrahamson serves as Chair of MTI.
• Barts Health NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS trust in London seeking CNHC registered volunteer complementary therapists (Aromatherapy, Bowen Therapy, Massage Therapy, Reiki, Reflexology, Shiatsu) at Whipps Cross University Hospital and St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Provides CPD training and NHS clinical experience.
• UCLHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCLH (University College London Hospitals) NHS Foundation Trust seeks volunteer touch therapists including Reflexologists and Massage Therapists for central London hospitals. Provides up to £10.50 towards travel and £4.50 for snacks per 3-hour shift.
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS trust recruiting volunteer Complementary Therapists for the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital, seeking practitioners for Massage Therapy, Reiki, and Yoga Therapy with minimum 2 years experience.
• The Mulberry CentreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAward-winning cancer support charity at West Middlesex University Hospital seeking CNHC registered volunteer Reiki practitioners and Reflexologists for Meadow House Hospice. Provides CPD opportunities, training, and reimburses CNHC registration fees retrospectively.
• Complementary Health Professionals (CHP)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCHP is a multi-disciplinary professional association and one of CNHC's Verified Suppliers. CHP sponsors National Complementary Therapy Week (20-26 March annually).
• The Association and Register of Colon Hydrotherapy (ARCH)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorARCH developed colon hydrotherapy as an established complementary health practice in the UK and collaborated with CNHC to add Colon Hydrotherapy as a new category on the CNHC register. ARCH funded the necessary National Occupational Standards development through Skills for Health.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT): UK membership organisation for complementary, holistic beauty and sports therapists. FHT and CNHC serve overlapping practitioner communities, with FHT offering association benefits and CNHC offering government-backed PSA-accredited registration — competing for the same therapist wallet.
• British Complementary Medicine Association (BCMA): UK membership body for complementary medicine practitioners. Competes with CNHC for practitioner registration in similar disciplines (aromatherapy, reflexology, etc.) but without PSA accreditation.
• Complementary Health Professionals (CHP): Multi-disciplinary professional association for complementary therapists in the UK. A CNHC Verified Supplier that sponsors National Complementary Therapy Week, directly serving overlapping practitioner segments.

Broad incumbents

• General Chiropractic Council (GCC): UK statutory regulator for chiropractors, accountable to Parliament via the PSA. Comparable model to CNHC (register + Code of Conduct + CPD) but operates under statutory authority, illustrating the higher-tier regulatory structure CNHC could aspire to.
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC): UK statutory regulator for 15 health and care professions, overseen by PSA. Closest analogue to CNHC's model at scale, providing a benchmark for governance, registration renewals, and CPD requirements that shape CNHC's standards.
• General Medical Council (GMC): UK statutory regulator for doctors. Highly comparable regulatory architecture (register, revalidation, fitness to practise) but at much larger scale, providing a structural template relevant to CNHC's governance and standards framework.

Others

• Professional Standards Authority (PSA): UK body accountable to Parliament that accredits voluntary registers such as CNHC and oversees statutory regulators. PSA is the institutional counterparty that defines CNHC's regulatory standing and Standards compliance.
• Skills for Health: UK Sector Skills Council developing National Occupational Standards (NOS) that anchor CNHC's Core Curricula. Direct upstream partner determining which professions CNHC can register and what their competency standards look like.

Emerging players

• The Association and Register of Colon Hydrotherapy (ARCH): UK professional body for colon hydrotherapists. ARCH funded the National Occupational Standards that enabled CNHC to add Colon Hydrotherapy to its register — a model of how discipline-specific associations partner with CNHC to gain PSA-backed status.

Regional players

• British Holistic Medical Association (BHMA): UK organisation promoting holistic and integrative approaches within healthcare. Operates in the same complementary health ecosystem as CNHC, engaging healthcare professionals and policymakers on integration of complementary therapies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CNHC_UK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKOt06Z5k-kSCF-PoZ_Ve7w
• Facebookfacebook.com/CNHC.org.uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-complementary-and-natural-healthcare-council
• Instagraminstagram.com/cnhc_uk

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council