Colour therapist

Colour therapists believe it’s possible to use colour to help physical, mental or emotional problems by balancing energy.

Salary Range: Variable

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• a private training course

Colour therapy may sometimes be included as part of a broader complementary or holistic therapy course, like the Level 2 or Level 3 Diploma in Complementary Therapies.

You’ll find it helpful to have:

• experience or qualifications in counselling, anatomy or physiology
• experience of working in a caring profession

Entry requirements

You may need:

• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

More information

• equivalent entry requirements
• funding advice
• search for courses

Other routes

You could do a short course with a private training provider that offers qualifications in colour therapy.

More information

Professional and industry bodies

Colour therapy is an unregulated area of complementary medicine. You can increase your career prospects by joining a professional body like The British Register of Complementary Practitioners. This is administered by the Institute for Complementary and Natural Medicine.

Further information

You can find out more about training as a therapist from the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine and the International Institute for Complementary Therapists.

Skills and knowledge

You’ll need:

• excellent verbal communication skills
• active listening skills
• sensitivity and understanding
• a desire to help people
• the ability to understand people’s reactions
• to be flexible and open to change
• customer service skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could be:

• discussing your client’s needs and colour preferences
• using stained glass filters, crystals, lighting gels, or coloured silks to apply colour to the whole body, or a specific area of the body
• setting up a selection of bottles of coloured essence, and applying the liquid to the skin of the client
• using meditation and visualisation methods
• demonstrating and teaching breathing exercises

Working environment

You could work in a therapy clinic or at a client’s home.

You may need to wear a uniform.

As a self-employed therapist, your success will depend on your ability to network, build a good reputation and client base.

You could move into practising other therapies or training other therapists.