What's VSR?

A Brief History...

Voluntary Self-Regulation - The Background

In 2000, the House of Lords' Science & Technology Committee issued a report assessing the current status & standards of Complementary Therapies and Alternative Medicine. The report highlighted issues of public protection & safety; the establishment & regulation of practitioner standards - code of conduct, standards of professional training etc - and the evolving provision of complementary therapy through the NHS.

The Committee recommended that regulation should be proportionate to the risks involved and listed each therapy submitted for inclusion into a Group category. It recommended that unregulated CAM professions develop their own independent, unified systems of Voluntary Self-Regulation.

What are the benefits of regulation?

Voluntary Self-Regulation (VSR) offers the public increased protection and safety. It provides therapy membership associations with an elected, representative body to preserve an holistic approach within their chosen therapy and to actively participate in the future of how their therapies are developed.

No presentations on sound therapy were made to the committee, so sound therapy was not considered for inclusion in the House of Lords' report. Despite the omission, there is growing public interest and awareness of the therapeutic effects of sound and more therapists are interested in incorporating sound therapy in their work.

The Federal Working Group (FWG) representing the 12 Group 2 therapies was established by the Prince of Wales' Foundation for Integrated Health (funded by the DoH). Discussions for creating a VSR Council (Voluntary Self-Regulation) to represent those therapies were initiated. However, human nature being what it is, the good intentions with which this process began were superceded by alternative agendas and complex processes which eventually led to the withdrawal of many of the "original 12" therapies forming the FWG. One breakaway group even established and launched an alternative regulatory body, announcing that they were THE regulation body in the UK

The British Complementary Medicine Association (BCMA) worked with the Reiki Regulation Working Group (RRWG)and contributed to the FWG process indirectly, but ultimately realized that there were going to be numerous therapies and practitioners who would be left outside the regulatory process. So the BCMA began developing a simpler VSR process, also following the recommended guidelines of the House of Lords' report, specifically to cater to those therapies that would otherwise be excluded.

The Foundation ultimately formed the Complementary Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and the breakaway group referred to previously - became the General Regulatory Council for Complementary Therapies (GRCCT). Both these councils remain in competition and any likelihood of a harmonious future partnership appears unlikely.

The BCMA and the CNHC have already held a meeting to agree - in principle - co-operation rather than competition. The CNHC plan to regulate the "original 12" therapies of which 2 are currently active for registration. The BCMA has formed the British Complementary Therapies Council (BCTC), which has 20 other therapies outside of the original 12 and registration will be open to all of them.

The BCMA has requested a meeting with the CNHC to further develop their relationship, with a view to agreeing that: