Complementary Therapies

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Acupuncturist
• Chiropractor
• Dance movement psychotherapist
• Homeopath
• Horticultural therapist
• Hypnotherapist
• Herbalist
• Nutritional therapist
• Osteopath
• Play therapist
• Reflexologist
• Sports therapist

• communication and interpersonal skills to build up a relationship with clients
• excellent listening skills
• a logical approach to problem-solving
• sensitivity and empathy
• a calm and understanding approach
• practical skills and dexterity

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement - placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

• Prospects: Healthcare
• National Careers Service: alternative therapies
• Think Care Careers

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• Holistic Therapist Magazine - industry news for holistic therapists (subscription required)
• Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) - sector news, also includes job adverts

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

See also our recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join specific student societies. There are lots of medical related societies that could be useful to join which often organise and promote events.

Use social media to find industry insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career and subscribe to our sector Twitter list.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

General

• General Regulatory Council for Complementary Therapies (GRCCT)
• Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)
• British Complementary Medicine Association
• Research Council for Complementary Medicine

Acupuncturist

• British Acupuncture Council

Chiropractor

• General Chiropractic Council - statutory regulatory body for the chiropractic profession
• British Chiropractic Association includes information on how to become a chiropractor

Dance movement psychotherapist

• Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK

Homeopath

• Society of Homeopaths

Horticultural therapist

• Institute of Horticulture

Hypnotherapist

• National College of Hypnosis
• General Hypnotherapy Standards Council

Medical herbalist/Phytotherapist

• National Institute of Medical Herbalists - includes information about becoming a medical herbalist
• The College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy

Nutritional therapist

• Nutritional Therapy Council
• British Association for Nutritional Therapy

Osteopath

• General Osteopathic Council - includes information about becoming an osteopath

Play therapist

• British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT)
• Play Therapy UK

Reflexologist

• Association of Reflexologists

Shiatsu practitioner

• Shiatsu Society
• The Shiatsu College

Sports therapist

• Society of Sports Therapists - includes accredited course information for BSc and MSc programmes
• Sports Therapy Organisation

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites 
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad 

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.

Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box. 

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice  
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank. 

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.

Jobs in this sector tend to be graduate jobs, after training.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

 Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites  

Most complementary medicine and alternative therapy practitioners are self-employed, or find work in complementary therapy centres.

The NHS employs therapists to offer complementary therapies, such as osteopathy and acupuncture to patients. See NHS jobs for vacancies and NHS choices for details of trusts to contact speculatively.

 See International jobs  for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company. 
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin 

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

 The best way to find hidden opportunities in this sector would be to find and contact people via our professional body list.

Search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world. 

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:  

• staffing agencies and temporary help firms  
• executive recruiters and search firms  

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.