Hi,
I'am a 37 year old mum and also translator....first off all SORRY for my English.
I live in Cyprus and I want to completely change my profession... I would love to become a Relaxation Therapist and Stress management .... As you can imagine, with two kids, I would have to do the education online...because I couldn't find anything here in Cyprus and I can not come for such long time to the UK.
So I've found a few schools offering this education online but I read also a lot of negative things about those schools... I would really appreciate if some of you could tell me if this only concerns the courses which obviously need practical training or if somebody has another good idea for my situation .....
I've found basically the BSY School and the School of Natural Health Sciences.
It seems strange to me that it is so easy to change completely the career. Maybe you can tell me also about the accreditations and what about the insurances.
I would be so thankful if you could help . I am really open for any suggestions.
Thank you in advance
Carole
Hi Carole and welcome to Healthypages,
Do a search of these forums for "British School of Yoga" who is BSY (the forum doesn't search for things with less than 4 letters so "BSY" won't find anything). Unfortunately they don't have the best of reputations, and many insurance companies and regulatory bodies will not recognise the qualifications they issue (except the regulatory body they set up themselves).
I don't know about the School of Natural Health Sciences.
I understand it's difficult to learn things with kids and not having anything local to yourself, however many complementary therapies are best learnt in person, especially those that require any sort of body work such as massage etc. Being able to practice on real people with the real support of a teacher/tutor present to guide you is invaluable.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Hi Carole - you're in a tough position! I agree with what Giles said - but I'm also going to give another angle.
There are 2 different issues involved: legality and ethics.
Here in the UK most professions are not regulated by the state. This means it is not illegal to practice the profession even if you have no qualifications or training. In the Health field, things like Doctor, Physiotherapist and Pharmacist are regulated so I cannot legally practice without qualifications. But things like stress management therapist, massage therapist - even psychotherapist - are not regulated. So anyone can legally offer these services without any training at all (although it is probably illegal to claim to have qualifications). Of course, with no qualifications you would not get insurance - but as they are not regulated you do not legally require insurance.
So first you need to check what the legal position is in Cyprus.
Then there's the issue of ethics. This is a matter of what is right and proper and of competence rather than legality. The truth is that possessing a qualification does not make one competent. There are many people in all areas of work who have certificates but are simply not particularly skilled. And many who have no certificates who are gifted. One of the best massage therapists I've known was a Chinese woman who had no qualifications (either from the UK or China), but who'd spent 7 years learning massage as an apprentice alongside her grandfather. She was most certainly competent, and despite her lacking in formal qualifications and insurance I have no issues with her practicing as a massage therapist. (I daresay others may disagree!)
Part of the judgement here is about risk. How much damage might someone with no formal training cause? With a doctor the potential is high - so the profession is regulated. With a relaxation therapist it is low.
I don't know the quality of the online courses you've found. You could take them; also undertake home study (buy lots of books on Amazon, read websites, etc). And then make your own assessment on whether you consider yourself to be competent. Do a few free sessions for people: do they benefit? Are they happy with what you've done for them?
Obviously good training with supervised practice is the ideal. But I don't think your position should stop you.
Best
Richard