Private Osteopaths

You may choose to pay for your osteopathic treatment privately (as many patients do) and most osteopaths offer private clinics for this purpose. You can either do this with or without a GP referral letter.

How to Find a Private Osteopath

You can use this website to locate your nearest osteopath. The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) website can be used to help you be assured that the osteopathic clinic is owned and run by a fully registered osteopath. If you find your private osteopath through word of mouth (or a simple internet search) then it would be important for you to check that the osteopath was registered by the GOsC.


Once you have found the private osteopath that you wish to use, booking an appointment can be done over the telephone (and occasionally through the website). You may also want to check what payment methods your osteopath accepts so that you are prepared to pay after your initial consultation. Most private osteopathic clinics will have a website where you will be able to gain lots of information about the osteopath and payment methods etc.

Private Osteopathic Clinics

Some work out of a back room in their house whilst others have separate offices with administrators that they may share with other osteopaths or other therapy providers. However, be assured that any osteopath registered with the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) has to conform to a set standard of care and will be trained up to level in order to provide you with a safe and professional level of care.

Saying this, if you don’t get on with your osteopathic clinic (either because it is too small or too big or you just don’t like the feel of it), then don’t give up on osteopathy altogether- try another clinic! One of the many advantages of being a private osteopathic patient is that you have the choice to say if you no longer want treatment or if you want to be treated by someone else. For example, you may want to be treated by a female osteopath or a male osteopath if your condition causes you embarrassment.

Specialisations of Private Osteopaths

A number of private osteopaths may have particular specialities (or be interested in certain treatment methods or injuries). This could mean that you might want to consider “shopping around” to see if you have a nearby private osteopath that specialises in your current condition/injury. For example, if you are a pregnant woman looking for osteopathic treatment and your nearest private osteopath concentrates on sport injury patients, you may want to travel a bit further out to go to a private cranial-osteopath that specialises in paediatrics. However, you may equally want to visit the sports osteopath (as they will also be fully trained in all the standard osteopathic methods).

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