1. What is BACP and what does it do?

2. Why should I complain to BACP?

3. What can’t BACP do for me?

The Association can only consider complaints against its own members who were in membership at the time of the alleged unprofessional conduct and are current members at the time you wish to make your complaint.  

4. Am I expected to try to resolve the matter with my practitioner before I make my complaint to BACP?

5. How do I make a complaint?

You are advised to firstly contact a member of staff in the BACP Professional Conduct Department.  The member of staff will ask certain questions of you in order to ensure that you are sent the correct documents which you may need to refer to when making your complaint.  Complaints must be made to BACP either as soon as possible after the alleged unprofessional conduct; within three years of the ending of the professional relationship or within a reasonable time from when you first became aware that the therapy you received was allegedly unprofessional.  However, this does not mean that BACP will not consider a complaint that occurred beyond these time limits.  Very serious complaints that have occurred outside this timeframe can be considered under another procedure.  If your complaint is outside this timeframe, you are advised to discuss the matter with a member of staff in the Professional Conduct Department who will offer guidance on this issue.

Your complaint must name the member concerned, together with any known address/contact details and give a succinct account of the events that you wish to complain about.  If you have any supporting evidence or statements from witnesses, these should be attached to your complaint in the first instance, although there will be an opportunity to submit any final supporting evidence at a later date.

6. How is a complaint dealt with?

Upon receipt of your complaint, it will be checked to ensure that all the relevant information about the member is given, and also that any evidence that is alluded to within the complaint, is attached.  If not, you may be required to forward it.  When these checks are completed, your complaint will be forwarded to a Pre-Hearing Assessment Panel (PHAP) for consideration.

7. When is the member notified of my complaint?

BACP will notify the member that a complaint has been lodged against them at the point when the complaint is considered to be ‘complete’ and ready to be submitted to the Pre-Hearing Assessment Panel.  The member will not be expected to respond to the issues raised at this point.

8. I have complained – what happens next?

Your complaint will be submitted to the next meeting of the PHAP which is usually once a month.

9. What does the Pre-Hearing Assessment Panel do and how is it made up?

The Pre-Hearing Assessment Panel is independently constituted, which means that none of the three people on it have any prior knowledge of you or the member, or any of the details of your complaint. The Panel will consist of usually, two members of the Association and one lay professional.  All panels carrying out this work on behalf of BACP are bound by strict rules on confidentiality.  The PHAP will consider the complaint and any supporting evidence.  Its task is to decide whether or not, on the evidence presented, there is a case to answer.  

This Panel does not decide whether the complaint is proved or not.  If the Panel decides there is a case to answer, it will refer it directly to a Professional Conduct Hearing.  Where there are insufficient details and/or evidence available for the Panel to make this decision, it may refer the complaint back to you for more information and may also seek some clarification of the issues from the member concerned.  You will be given a deadline by which to provide it and, if necessary, the member also.  Any further evidence will be put back to the PHAP for consideration and decision.   If this happens, any ‘new’ evidence will be considered by the Panel and, again, it will either accept it for a Professional Conduct Hearing or not.  Where a complaint is so weak either at first instance, or following a request for more information, the Panel may reject it outright.

If the complaint is rejected, you can appeal against the decision and this is detailed in the Professional Conduct Procedure.  The appeal will be independently assessed to determine if the decision of the PHAP was correct.

10. What complaints and/or details will be considered?

All complaints alleging unprofessional conduct by the member will be considered.  The Association has no jurisdiction to consider criminal or civil law matters; only those matters that relate to the Association’s own Codes of Ethics & Practice and/or Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy.

11. How is a decision reached?

The PHAP has to decide whether there is a case to answer.  That means that it has to satisfy itself that if the member did not challenge the allegations, there is sufficient detail/evidence available within the complaint that it could be upheld by a Professional Conduct Panel, if it were so referred.

12. Will I be informed of its decision?

Yes.  The decision will be notified to you in writing, normally, within fourteen days of the PHAP reaching its decision.

13. What happens next if the complaint is accepted for hearing?

If your complaint is proceeding to a Professional Conduct Hearing, as far as is possible, a mutually convenient date is fixed for the Hearing.  The member has an opportunity to respond to the formal complaint and you will receive a copy of the response when it is received.  Both you and the member will subsequently be notified of a date set for receipt of any final submissions; this is not an opportunity for you to respond to the member’s response.

14. Who makes up the Professional Conduct Panel?

The Panel is independently constituted with no member of it having any prior knowledge of the case or either party.  It is made up of, usually, two members of the Association and one lay person.

15. What does this Panel do?

The task of the Professional Conduct Panel is to question both parties and to consider all the written and verbal evidence presented and relevant to your complaint, that is: your complaint, the member’s response, together with any additional submissions received from either party, including the verbal evidence submitted on the day of the Hearing.  

16. What does this Panel decide?

The Panel has to consider each of the allegations made, together with any supporting evidence relevant to the allegation, and decide whether or not to uphold all or some of the complaints made.  

17. How does this Panel reach its decision?

The Panel has to reach its decision on the balance of probabilities; that is, on the weight of evidence, is it more probable than not that ‘x’ happened.  As the complainant, it is for you to prove your case and, therefore, it is important that you provide as much evidence/detail as possible.

18. Can I, or the member, be represented?

Both of you can be represented by a ‘friend’.  This can be legal representation if either of you so chooses.  The Association does not pay any costs to either party and, therefore, any decision to instruct solicitors is entirely one made by the party concerned.  If you choose to be represented, your ‘friend’ must represent you and your evidence and not give their own version of events or opinions.  However, the ‘friend’ may not answer questions on either party’s behalf – these must be answered directly by the party concerned.

19. Can I, or the member, call witnesses?

Both of you have an opportunity to submit the details of any witnesses you wish to attend the Hearing.  You will be notified of a deadline for this in the course of the complaint.  However, the Panel has the final decision as to whether to call any witnesses and this decision will be made in accordance with the Professional Conduct Procedure.  You can discuss this, and any other matters, with a member of staff in the Professional Conduct Department.

20. If my complaint is upheld, what happens to the member complained against?

The Professional Conduct Panel can impose a sanction on the member.  The purpose of imposing a sanction is to attempt to get the member to address the area of poor practice that led to the complaint being made, and to demonstrate a change of practice as a result.  This will usually require the member to submit periodic reports for monitoring and approval by a separate Panel, known as the Sanctions Panel, over a specified period.  In extreme cases, the Panel could withdraw the membership of the member concerned.  If they fail or refuse to comply with the requirements of the sanction this may also lead to the withdrawal of membership.

21. Will I be informed of the findings and any sanction?

Both parties will be notified in writing of the findings and any sanction within 28 days of the Hearing.

If the complaint is upheld, the findings of the Professional Conduct Panel and any sanction will be published in the Association’s journal.  If an appeal is lodged, the findings and sanction will not be published until the appeal procedure has been finalised.  If the appeal is allowed, the case is closed and therefore no findings or sanction will be published, but you will be notified accordingly.

22. Can I, or the member complained against, appeal?

You cannot appeal against the findings or sanction, but the member can.  The member must appeal against the grounds of appeal as set out in the Professional Conduct Procedure and submit evidence in support of their appeal.  The grounds of appeal will be considered by an independent appeal assessor.

23. What does the Appeal Assessor do?

The Appeal Assessor receives the appeal documentation together with all the papers submitted and considered by the Professional Conduct Panel, including a copy of the recording of the Hearing.  The Assessor has to decide whether any of the grounds of appeal exist and, if so, will grant leave for the appeal to be considered in full by an Appeal Panel.  If the Assessor decides there is no evidence to support the grounds of appeal, the appeal will be rejected.  The Appeal  Assessor’s decision is final. In this instance, the original decision and any sanction will apply.  Both parties will be notified in writing of the decision.

24. Do I get an opportunity to submit papers for an appeal hearing and to attend the Appeal Hearing?

If the appeal is accepted, you will be given a copy of the appeal documentation and an opportunity to submit evidence by a deadline.  You will be expected to attend the Appeal Hearing and will be questioned and given an opportunity to put your case.  At the Appeal Hearing, it is the member who has to prove their case to the Appeal Panel and not for you to do so.

25. Who makes up the Appeal Panel?

The Appeal Panel is independently constituted with no prior knowledge of the case or either party.  The Chair is a person delegated by the Board of Governors and his fellow panellists will be, usually, a member of the Association and a lay professional.

26. What happens at the Appeal Hearing?

The Appeal Panel has to consider the appeal in its entirety.  In doing this, it will look at all the evidence that was put before the Professional Conduct Panel and decide whether that Panel’s decision was correct in all the circumstances.  The Appeal Panel can consider any new evidence that may be submitted but this will only be accepted in accordance with the Protocol on New Evidence.  This is not an opportunity for either party to produce evidence that should have been properly submitted and considered by the Professional Conduct Panel and there must be a good and sufficient reason why any late evidence was not submitted earlier.  If the Appeal Panel is not satisfied, it will reject any new evidence.

27. Will I be informed of the outcome?

You will be informed, in writing, of the outcome of the Appeal normally within fourteen days of the Hearing.  The Appeal Panel’s decision is final.

28. Will other people be informed of the outcome of my complaint?

Not directly by the Association.  However, all findings and sanctions are published in the Association’s journal.  The Association reserves the right to publish such details of complaints as it deems appropriate, but this will never include the complainant’s details.

29. If my therapist/practitioner is not a member of BACP, what can I do?

You will be advised at the outset if your therapist/practitioner is not a current member of BACP.  You may also be given details of other professional associations that you may wish to contact in order to establish membership of any other body.  Failing that, and given the particular circumstances of your case and the seriousness of it, you may choose to seek legal advice and have your matter dealt with under civil law remedies.

30. Is there anybody that can help me make my complaint?

BACP has to maintain a neutral position in the matter of complaints and, therefore, cannot advise or advocate for either party on the matter of their complaint or response.  However, staff in the Professional Conduct Department can advise on the procedures and protocols and you should always contact the office if you have any particular difficulties or queries in this respect.  BACP does have an Information Office that can provide guidance on ethical issues but, again, the staff cannot give advice or advocacy services in these matters.  

There are independent services available that may be able to assist you in making your complaint and may be able to represent you at hearings if needed.  These are: CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) contact your local office; some of the mental health associations such as MIND have advocacy services and you should contact your local branch to make enquiries.  If you contact the Professional Conduct Department on tel.: 01455 883377/883378, it may be possible to put you in contact with confidential and independent advocacy services.

© BACP 2003, 2007, 2008