Shiatsu Society

Shiatsu Regulatory Forum

A Shiatsu regulatory forum is a forum for different Shiatsu associations involved in registering practitioners in this country. The purpose of the forum is to explore the latest government requirements for the regulation of complementary therapies, and create a unified body for the different Shiatsu organisations in order to facilitate compliance with government directives. The Shiatsu Society was until recently a member of The General Shiatsu Council (GSC), and was a founder member of this regulation forum.

The GSC regulatory forum was set up in response to the House of Lords Report in 2000. This report recognised the demand and benefits for greater public access to complementary therapy within the National Health Service (NHS). In order to protect the public, it recommended that complementary therapies should be independently regulated.

Many complementary therapy organisations, such as the Shiatsu Society, already have their own internal regulation and registration procedures, however, such procedures exist to protect the profession as well as the public. It is perceived that there could be a conflict of interests in this arrangement. An independent regulatory body would exist exclusively to protect the public, and would work with the support and input from the unified professional regulatory groups.

To assist the process of independent regulation,  the Department of Health has granted the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health (PFIH), an independent charity, £900,000 to provide a Regulation Training Program for the professional complementary therapy organisations. The aim of this program is to facilitate the complementary therapies in setting up an independent regulatory body.