Here is a question that lands in my inbox with the regularity of a Swiss timepiece: "Is hypnotherapy recognised by the NHS?" The short answer is: yes, sort of, maybe, it depends. The long answer involves NHS commissioning, medical politics, and enough regulatory acronyms to make a civil servant weep with joy.
The official position
The NHS officially recognises hypnotherapy as a complementary therapy. It maintains dedicated information on complementary and alternative medicine, which includes hypnotherapy. Acknowledged, accepted, and then promptly filed under "things we might consider if everything else fails and the budget allows".
The practical truth is that hypnotherapy is not usually available on the NHS. The NHS is not a monolithic organisation making unified decisions; it is a collection of independent commissioning bodies, each with their own budgets, priorities and interpretations of evidence-based medicine. Some areas fund it for specific conditions. Most do not.
What this means for you
If you are waiting for a referral, you will likely be waiting a very long time. Most people who benefit from hypnotherapy access it privately, which is why practitioners like me keep the entry point simple: a free consultation, honest advice about fit, and a clear programme with published pricing.
Recognition debates matter less than one question: does it work for what you are dealing with? That is exactly what the free call is for. Ask me anything, including the awkward questions.