Choosing a complementary therapist

First steps:

• Ask at the hospital or your local cancer support centre for advice and recommendations. 
• Contact the professional organisation of the therapy in question to get the names of practitioners who are certified and registered and what’s a fair price.

Find out what a practitioner needs to do to be accepted as a member of the professional organisation. For example:

• Do they need certain professional qualifications, for example a diploma?
• Do they have to have a certain number of hours’ experience?
• Do they need to have insurance?
• Have they signed up to a professional code of conduct and / or complaints procedure?

Ask the practitioner about their training and experience, including if they have any experience with cancer patients.

• Choose a therapist who will work together with your doctors and your hospital treatment plan.
• Check with the Health Service Executive (HSE), or your health insurer (if you have insurance) to see if they cover the therapy in question.
• Many cancer support centres who offer complementary therapies ask for a letter from your cancer specialist or have a simple form for them to fill in before they start, so that they can check that the therapy is suitable for you.