You need to demonstrate that you've undertaken 450 hours of counselling or psychotherapy core practitioner training. These should be lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical sessions led by a tutor.

We can only accept courses which you've successfully completed and have been awarded when you apply.

Accredited training

If you've completed a BACP accredited course, you will have completed the equivalent of 450 hours of training. You'll be able to select your training centre and course from the dropdown lists on the application form.

Non-accredited training

If you had to take our Certificate of Proficiency to become a registered member, your training was not BACP-accredited so you’ll need to give us more information about it.

You must provide clear evidence of core practitioner training in counselling and psychotherapy, but you can supplement this with other core practitioner training, if necessary, to meet the 450 training hours required.

There needs to be clear progression from one course to the next. For example, you could use a Certificate level course combined with a Diploma level course, providing these meet all the criteria when considered together.

You must show how the course covered:

  • theory
  • skills
  • professional issues
  • personal development

If you have it, you can submit an official breakdown of the course hours and elements from your training institution, providing the breakdown is clearly shown.

Placements

You must have completed an integral supervised and assessed placement on at least one of the courses you use. This must have been assessed and supervised counselling or psychotherapy work, with genuine clients (not other students) carried out as part of your course and which you had to pass to graduate from the course.

You'll need to give details of this placement in your application.

Award certificates

You'll need to upload copies of your award certificates for all your relevant training in the upload section at the end of the online application form.

If your name on our records is different from that on your certificates, you'll need to send us formal evidence of that change, such as a marriage or civil partnership certificate or deed poll, unless you've previously provided this information.