BACP Briefings

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Briefing from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) regarding the Department of Health’s White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century

“Because their practice is well established and widespread in the delivery of services, and what they do carries significant risk to patients and the public if poorly done”, the Government today announces that it is “planning to introduce statutory regulation for psychotherapists and counsellors and other psychological therapists”.

BACP, the largest counselling and psychotherapy body in the United Kingdom and Europe welcomes this statement having campaigned for regulation in this field for well over 10 years. BACP is delighted that the whole field of the talking therapies is to be regulated so that ‘struck off’ therapists from one branch may not be able to turn up in a ‘legitimate’ role in another.

While regulation is no panacea, BACP believes the public do find it unacceptable that counselling, psychotherapy and psychology should be practised beyond a framework of legally verified competence.

In the absence of formal legislation, BACP’s Ethical Framework, Accreditation, and Professional Conduct Procedures have been used as benchmarks for good practice for therapy in Britain. These guidelines – mandatory for existing BACP members – have also been widely copied abroad. But at present BACP remains powerless to regulate beyond its own membership.

BACP will continue to work closely with the Health Professions Council and other allied professional bodies to ensure that the best possible regulation is achieved in this once-only opportunity.

BACP endorses this further recognition of the profession of counselling and psychotherapy and agrees that more consultation within the profession is needed (page 85 of the document) to ensure the process of statutory regulation raises standards by supporting best practice from existing self-regulatory codes.

BACP views the protection of the public as its first and foremost priority and supports any Government moves to safeguard this.

For journalists requiring further information, or wishing to speak with the authors, please contact Phillip Hodson 020 7794 2838 email: phillip@philliphodson.co.uk or Gilly White on 0870 443 5243 email: gilly.white@bacp.co.uk

BACP Briefing Paper for Dinner Hour Debate in the House of Lords on the Regulation of Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling 5th February 2 - 7

BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) is a professional association of 26,500 individual and 1,200 organisation members. As such it is by far the largest UK wide professional association in the field. BACP has operated voluntary self regulation schemes for 25 years; it holds the United Kingdom Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. It’s Ethical Framework has won national and international acclaim.

BACP has long supported the statutory regulation of the talking therapies to enhance public protection and fully accepts that best regulatory practice requires the separation of the disciplinary functions from those of the professional association.

BACP’s concern is that statutory regulation enhances the public protection and professional standards that already are in operation in its current voluntary self regulation.

The opportunity to regulate comes only once, and now is the moment to get it right, so that the regulation of the psychological therapies can carry the confidence of the profession and the public. It is BACP’s view that ineffective statutory regulation is worse than no regulation, as it will give the public and government a false sense of security.

BACP does not have confidence that the HPC will deliver effective regulation of the psychological therapies. This view is shared by all the major professional associations in the field, which together represent circa 100,000 practitioners.

Reasons why the Health Professions Council will not do.

HPC regulates Health care professions. 70% of psychological therapists do not work in or for the Health Service.

HPC does not register students in training, but students in the psychological therapies work in intimate relationships in one to one settings dealing with confidential and disturbing material.

HPC grandparenting procedures would allow the untrained and incompetent to register and thus achieve legal status.

HPC conduct codes and procedures do not address the relational and ethical issues that arise in the psychological therapies.

HPC’s continuing professional development requirement for re-registration are far lower than those currently in place in the professional bodies

The major professional associations in the field, led by BACP, BPS and UKCP, have presented an alternative proposal to the form of a Psychological Professions Council to the Department of Health in response to the Foster Report on the Regulation on Non Medical Health Care Professions. The proposals contained in the PPC would address the major weaknesses of the HPC with regard to the regulation of the psychological therapies. We would welcome support for this council.