FAQ Section
Question: Should I study Tutored or Self Study?
Answer: We offer you a choice of two different methods of study - "Tutored" and "Self Study". The lessons are the same whichever method you choose. All course work, Tutored or Self Study, is sent out in Modules which consist of 3 lessons. As all of our courses are accredited by the International College of Holistic Medicine we have a duty of care to ensure that you are reaching the required standard before any more course work can be sent.
When you enrol for a Tutored Course, you are assigned a Personal Online Tutor to whom you submit your work after each lesson. Its really easy, just email your answers and your Tutor will mark your work and return it to you by email. Usually within 3 - 5 working days. You will receive a percentage mark along with any helpful comments that are relevant. Your Personal Tutor is here to assist you should you run into difficulties and will answer any questions that you may need assistance with during your studies. You will be given the name of your 'personal online tutor' when you submit your first assignment or ask a question.
With Self Study, you submit your work to the Self Study Team, three assignments at a time. Your work is assessed qualitatively but you are not given a percentage mark. If you are making serious errors you will be informed and asked to redo the assignment, but apart from that, feedback is minimal. Your work is not returned to you with this method, however you will hear from us usually within 4 - 6 working days with your next lessons. We recommend this much more economical system to students who are familiar with studying and require the minimum amount of assistance with their coursework. This works fine for those who are acquainted with the subjects that they choose, and are able to work on their own initiative. If you only need occasional assistance a member of staff will be available to help you. Our dedicated Self Study Team are very knowledgeable but they are not specialists.
In our experience, we find Self Study students have a broad background knowledge of the subject they are studying. They are also familiar with studying methods in general. Tutored courses, on the other hand, provide that 'extra pampering' for people who like or need additional feedback and support throughout their studies.
Question: What if I fail my course?
Answer: It hardly ever happens. The coursework is not difficult and we are not here to catch people out. Our role is to make all our students happy and successful. We will give you all the help you need to pass the course and become a professional practitioner. If you need to re-sit an exam there will be no additional cost to you. If you need extra help you will always receive it at the School of Natural Health Sciences.
Question: How long has The School of Natural Health Sciences been operating?
Answer: We first opened our doors to students in 1997, in September 2001, SNHS Ltd., was formed. We now have over 13,500 students studying with us from all over the world.
Question: Can I work as a Therapist, once I have completed any of your courses.
Answer: Yes, with our valuable accreditation from The International College of Holistic Medicine, (ICHM), all our successful graduates are entitled to work as Holistic Therapist's. This accreditation will appear on Your Diploma(s).
Question: Will I be able to obtain Insurance?
Answer: U.K. students who graduate from the School of Natural Health Sciences and/or become a member of the ICHM, will be introduced to an Insurance Company to cover you for Public Liability Insurance. Overseas students will be able to get insured where they live.
Question: How long do your courses take to complete, how long is the course?
Answer: Regarding time-scales we do not impose any time limits on the completion of any of our courses. You simply work through the assignments at your own pace FREE from the restrictions and pressures of working to deadlines (on average students take approximately 200 hours to complete a foundation course and in excess of 300 hours to complete an advanced course). Many individuals come to us with some knowledge of the subject/subjects they will be studying, whilst others will be starting from beginner level. For this reason time-scales will vary, also every individual has a different threshold for learning. We take into account all these variables, giving everyone the same opportunity to learn, by taking away the pressure of time limits. This way every student has the opportunity to produce their best work under the most 'favourable relaxed conditions'.
This is 21st Century Adult learning. You simply put in the hours of study at your convenience, when you have the opportunity, with no pressure from ourselves. This way you can accommodate studying around a busy and full lifestyle. Many of our students have full time employment whilst others are juggling with the responsibilities of bringing up young families. You will only hear from the School when you submit an assignment, so you are in complete control of your studies once you have enrolled.
Question: If I do not receive the required 80% pass mark what happens then?
Answer: Should this be the case (and it hardly ever happens) you will be given the opportunity to re-sit your assignment or exam, with no additional fees involved. We are not trying to 'catch you out'. We want you to enjoy your studies and achieve the success which you deserve. We help and encourage everyone to be successful. Our role is to 'train our students', helping everyone to achieve their best results under the most 'favourable conditions'. Students enjoy studying with us and usually will stay studying with us, working through different subjects over years, in some cases.
Question: Are your courses available everywhere in the world?
Answer: We supply our courses all over the world. Wherever you are located you may study with us. We provide our coursework by Email or CD's. Most students like to print out their lessons and study them away from the computer. To make things simple you can Email your assignments to us for assessment. So there are no geographical barriers whatsoever.
Question: If I enrol for more than one course or a Course Package, do I have to study all the subjects together?
Answer: You may complete your course subjects in any order that you choose. Some students prefer to take their courses one at a time, while others like to study them all together. The choice is yours.
Question: Do I have to travel anywhere to take my Final Examination?
Answer: No attendance is required for your Final Examination. Should you wish to appoint your own personal adjudicator then please do. However, we do not require students to memorise their coursework. We are simply assessing that the coursework has been understood. This is after all Adult Learning, 21st Century style.
Question: Do you have any sample lessons I can see before I enrol?
Answer: You are very welcome to request one or two sample pages from the lessons. Just write in to enquiries@naturalhealthcourses.com and let us know which courses you are interested it.
Question: If I wish to pay for my course by instalments, how do I make my monthly payments?
Answer: We have a special web page where you may make your monthly payments. The URL of this payments page will be emailed to you when you enrol.
Question: Do you recommend any special books to accompany the courses?
Answer: While not essential for most courses, undertaking extra reading can greatly improve the depth and breadth of your knowledge and help you to understand the course material better. A link to our Recommended Reading List will be sent to you when you enrol on your chosen course. The only subjects for which there are set books are Anatomy & Physiology, Homoeopathy and Child Psychology. For all our other courses it is entirely up to you whether you wish to get any of the recommended books or not.
Question: Do I need to do any practical work?
Answer: Your Practical Work is carried out with our assistance and guidance, this is an enjoyable and enlightening experience. Our courses are unique, not only in the 'easy to understand format' that they are presented in, but also because as Distance Learning Courses, they have achieved 'Accreditation level', without the need for 'practical attendance'. This reflects the high level' of detail and information found in all our lessons and reflects our 21st Century Assessment and examining procedures. All the 'Practical Elements' are dealt with in the coursework, by way of detailed diagrams.
WITH ALL HANDS-ON THERAPIES: Please arrange your own team of volunteers to coincide with your enrolment for any 'hands-on' therapy subject. We ask you to begin working with these people as soon as you commence your studies, putting into practise every movement which you are covering in your coursework. This will give you confidence which will build throughout your course. (We advise you to select individuals who are close to you, whom you feel comfortable with, who have no serious ailments, it is essential that you receive detailed feedback from these volunteers in order that you can work with them to build your confidence and perfect your techniques) This will give you the required confidence to build on your knowledge and expertise throughout your course. Should you experience any problems during this initial period, this is the time to ask us for assistance. It is our role as professional trainers to assist on an on-going basis, throughout the learning period of all our students.
This is your opportunity to gain valuable hands on experience prior to working with your paying clients once you have graduated.
CASE STUDIES - We will require a minimum of three case-studies (three different volunteers) to be written up and submitted to us prior to your final (theory) examination. Each case-study should give details of a series of at least three different sessions. We provide everyone with guidelines on how to conduct this Practical Work. If you need additional assistance or advice our 'friendly team' are at your disposal to guide you through. This really is the 'fun part' of your coursework, working with the therapy that you are studying, assessing your results and obtaining feedback from your volunteers will serve to enhance your confidence once you begin working with your paying clients. Enjoy this vital part of your training, this will pay dividends later in your career as a professional therapist.
WORKSHOPS - Although not compulsory at present, workshops are available and are of great benefit to those student who choose to attend.
Question: Do you publish your Terms and Conditions?
Answer: Yes we do. The School of Natural Health Sciences is a helpful, friendly organisation which will always do its best to help its students, however the Terms & Conditions, as set out on this website define our legal position. By applying to become a student, or by using our website, you agree to be legally bound by our Terms & Conditions.
We also have a Privacy Policy. When using this website or enrolling on our courses your privacy is completely protected. Your name, email address and other personal information are strictly confidential and will never be shared with or sold to anyone. Our Privacy Policy gives more details and sets out the legal position.
Question: Why are your course fees so much more reasonable than others?
Answer: Basically there are so many people offering courses that it is often difficult to make the distinction between what is a worthy training establishment and those who are not. We have a thirteen year track record in the Holistic Therapy field, providing courses only related to this specialised area, whilst others may offer Holistic Therapies, Accounting, Carpentry and all manor of other different subjects.
With regards to the fees, we are passionate about making these courses affordable for everyone, with this marketing strategy, it is highly unlikely that you will find an accredited course of this level at a more reasonable fee. We are simply market leaders for providing excellent courses at prices which are affordable for everyone and not just the chosen few. We are regarded as the leading distance learning school training to practitioner level in the major Holistic Therapies. Our student following has tipped 13,500, we are currently training that number of students from around the world, which is a phenomenal achievement in thirteen years of operation.
Have you looked at our Testimonials Page » on our website: Here you will see the emails we receive regarding how pleased our students are with the service and coursework they receive from us. There would be no way we would have reached the 'dizzy heights of our success' without such enthusiastic and positive feedback from our students. Very rarely will a student come to us for just one course and never be heard of again. Our success is moulded around the fact that our students stay with us, enrolling for more and more courses over several years.
It may be of help to you to take a look at Our Web Page entitled Our Graduates ». Here you will see the careers that a selection of our graduates from around the world are successfully creating for themselves with our qualifications.
Question: Please can you tell me what title I would use after graduating from your School. Also what sort of salary would an advisor/therapist expect to earn and where would I begin to find work?
Answer: Basically how you decide to market yourself is your decision, whether it is advisor, consultant etc. However, as we train to Practitioner Level, our graduates will mainly call themselves Therapists (In their particular field of specialisation) This is really a personal thing to decide once you have graduated. Some examples would be: Nutritional Therapist, Aromatherapist, Stress Management Consultant, Meridian Psychotherapist or Colour and Crystal Healing Therapist etc.
Often our graduates will begin by working alongside other therapists who are qualified in different fields, this gives you the immediate advantage of being able to share a ready made client base without encroaching on the business of the other therapists. For example you may decide to work with Counsellors, Aromatherapists, Reflexologists or indeed work from local Gyms and Spas.
To learn more about Networking in this way, please go to the Reading Room » on our website. Our workshop leader has written a particularly relevant article about how she got started through 'Networking' with other like minded therapists. Her name is Sue Pash.
This idea has proved so successful that Sue has set up her own Therapists Network. A link to this is at the base of her article, here it is again: http://www.thetherapistnetwork.com/
Regarding fees: Usually you will charge a rate for a treatment and it is a good idea to consult other therapists where you live for lists of their charges. Initially, we recommend that you start by making your prices competitive but not too low as this could create a non-professional image and cause bad feeling.
It may be of help to you to take a look at Our Web Page entitled "Success Stories »". Here you will see the careers that a selection of our graduates are successfully creating for themselves with our qualifications.