September 28th 2026
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WellBeing Magazine
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Complementary therapies remain a largely unregulated industry, where credibility matters more than most places. IICT has spent 24 years building it, and now counts more than 12,133 members across 35-plus countries and 1487 modalities, making it the largest list of any professional body in the world.
The International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) began, as founder and CEO Lawrence Ellyard tells it, with a deliberately oversized name. He was operating out of Fremantle, covering Australia only. The natural move would have been to call it the Australian Institute. Instead, he reached for international, planted a flag in the future, and then spent two decades growing towards it. Whether it was manifestation or strategy, it worked.
Twenty-four years on, IICT has more than 12,133 members in 35-plus countries, covers 1487 modalities — the largest modality list of any professional body in the world — and a new technology build is underway, designed to enable a full global rollout.
One of IICT’s most practical benefits is that no Continued Professional Development (CPD) points are required to renew membership or insurance. Members are encouraged to stay current with industry developments, but the renewal process is not conditional upon it.
Another benefit of IICT Membership includes a well-r listing, IICT’s new practitioner directory where clients can search by modality, price, location and reviews. The directory listing is valued at $529 and comes complimentary with your IICT membership.
Building a community
For many practitioners, IICT Membership is the professional signal their clients are looking for. In an industry that remains largely unregulated, the IICT logo on a website or clinic wall tells a client something specific: that this person’s training has been assessed against recognised standards by an international body. That distinction matters, particularly for practitioners working in modalities their clients may be encountering for the first time.
Membership also carries practical weight when it comes to running a business. IICT-recognised practitioners can list their services with confidence, share their practice through the well-r member directory, use the IICT member logo across their marketing materials, and point clients to an internationally credentialled body that stands behind their qualifications. For therapists working in corporate wellness, alongside GP clinics or in any setting where referral relationships matter, that external validation can be the difference between a door opening or staying shut.
IICT’s member resources set students and practitioners up for success. Included is a Marketing Mastery Checklist, a Social Media Content Calendar, eBooks on growing a practice, how to go from learning to earning, and many more valuable resources. IICT carries a social impact commitment through a partnership with i=Change, which allows members to direct a $1 donation from their membership fee to one of three causes: economic independence for women facing barriers to employment, safe housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence, or specialist trauma support for children.
The New Woo
Ellyard’s latest project, The New Woo, is a documentary targeting a 2027 release that aims to bring together the world’s leading wellness thinkers on a single global platform. “The things that were considered woo woo years ago are becoming more and more commonplace,” he says. “People talk openly now about meditation, mindfulness, breathwork. There’s an evolution underway.” A podcast and book are expected to follow the launch in 2027.
The long game
Ask Ellyard what he wants for IICT and the answer is specific. He wants complementary therapies inside mainstream healthcare, sitting alongside conventional medicine rather than in opposition to it. A GP who asks about nutrition, emotional state, sleep. A referral to Chinese herbal medicine or breathwork as readily as a prescription.
“Often physical symptoms are driven by emotional and mental states,” he explains. “A truly holistic approach doesn’t just treat what’s presenting. It looks at what’s contributing to it.”
With IICT offering 1487 modalities and counting, it seems the world is finally starting to catch up.
- Student Membership: up to two
modalities - Full Membership: up to three modalities
- Premier Membership: unlimited
modalities
IICT is offering WellBeing readers 20 per cent off their first year’s membership. That includes Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance, no CPD points to renew
and a complimentary well-r listing valued at $529. Consider this your sign to join.
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https://www.wellbeing.com.au/shop/education-shop/international-institute-for-complementary-therapists-2.html
