ANP – Association of Naturopathic Practitioners

Hi all

I am currently looking at various colleges in London (the CNM being one) with a view to training as a naturopath or naturopathic nutritionist. The problem that I am encountering is that many courses are not accredited and there is no central governing body to oversee this.

I hold dual citizenship for both the UK and Australia and will want to qualify with an option to practice in Australia. I don't want to have to go to Australia and undertake another six months or year of study to qualify to practice there (and have to pay for even more study given that most of the colleges I am considering in the UK have fees around £2-3k per year).

If I practice in Australia I need to be represented by an association who can help with insurance, TGA certification and ideally health fund registration therefore I need to study a course here that is going to be recognised in Australia. Does anyone have any advice on this? And can anyone tell me what the most highly respected association is in Australia? Is there an association here in the UK that I should be speaking to – I'm not sure whether the ANP has a balanced view as they seem closely linked to the CNM.

I'd be grateful for any advice and/or thoughts on this subject – am getting more confused by the second!

Thanks,

K

Hi KC,

I'm an Australian qualified Naturopath living in London and I worked in Sydney as a Naturopath for years before coming out here. Although I do not know how the qualifications between here and the UK overlap, I do know the associations which are the best ones to be a part of. ATMS is the main organisation which most natural therapists join and you will need to be a member to be able to charge back client consultations from private health funds. Private health funds now offer a certain amount of rebates each year on 'natural therapies' which includes anything from fitness, remedial massage to naturopathy. A majority of your clients will want to use this rebate when coming to see you so an ATMS approved course would be ideal. There is no Naturopathic association (well, that I know of anyway!), however the National Herbalists Association (www.nhaa.org.au) is the only herbal medicine association worth looking into. They are a fabulous bunch of people and very supportive!!

Also, just so you know, Sydney has the highest number of naturopaths per capita, so market well and speicalise!

Good luck!

R