Updated 28 April 2008

What is the core curriculum?

The core curriculum gives training organisations a basis for their courses. It includes elements which, BACP believes, should be present in all counsellor / psychotherapist practitioner training courses. The organisation is then able to add to this core as appropriate. It is hoped that by adopting this it will be possible to achieve some standardisation in training while still allowing courses to have their own identity and individuality.

Why is a core curriculum needed?

There have been both internal and external motivations to the development of a core curriculum. BACP has recognised the disparate nature of training and can see the merit in having a curriculum which all trainee counsellor / psychotherapists will cover in their training. Externally the Health Professions Council (the proposed regulator for the psychological therapies) has certain requirements and one of these relates to the profession applying a defined body of knowledge.

How are both counselling / psychotherapy covered in the core curriculum?

The core curriculum is designed for both counselling and psychotherapy training courses and makes no difference between the two.

What about training courses that are based around a specific theoretical approach?

The core curriculum is designed to be generic and applicable to all theoretical approaches. It makes recommendation about the key elements of a counselling / psychotherapy training. Training organisations can then use this core and interpret and deliver it in a way that is congruent with the chosen theoretical perspective. The core curriculum provides the framework around which the course is then built. Courses must contain all the elements in the curriculum but are not limited to it.

What about specialist practitioner training courses?

The core curriculum is generic and sets a minimum baseline standard. Trainee therapists should cover the core curriculum at some point in their training irrespective of an intention to only work in particular settings or with specific client groups. This may be achieved by either completing an initial specialist course which covers the core curriculum or by completing a generic course, based on the core curriculum, and then continuing to a more specialised training.

Can I see a copy of the core curriculum?

The core curriculum is being adapted to meet the requirements of different groups before being made available.

Who has produced the core curriculum?

A consortium of trainers was commissioned to produce this on behalf of BACP. They represented a wide range of theoretical perspectives and all three training sectors.

What is the core curriculum based on?

In preparing the core curriculum the consortium have made reference to a variety of sources. Examples are:

• Existing BACP Accreditation Criteria for both Counsellor / Psychotherapist and Training Courses
• QAA Subject benchmark statements for similar professions e.g. Arts Therapists
• National Occupational Standards in relevant subjects
• Standards of other professional associations related to counselling / psychotherapy

Will I have train again and do a course which covers the core curriculum?

No. The core curriculum is a recommendation for the future of training provision. It will not be necessary for people, who are already working in the profession to retrain - unless they wish to do so.

I have seen reference to degree level qualifications - what will this mean for me?

The Core Curriculum does not prescribe the sector in which training should be delivered. It does recognise that in the HE sector full delivery would be matched to the QAA graduate or postgraduate level, although this could be reached in several stages. This is equivalent to levels 5, 6 and 7 in the National Qualifications Framework / Qualification and Credit Framework. As an organisation BACP will not be imposing the core curriculum retrospectively therefore, from our perspective, it will not be necessary for existing individual members to retrain or to have a degree.

The Health Professions Council has to date approved only HE qualifications, but it is not yet clear if they will follow this pattern exclusively for the regulation of counselling / psychotherapy, as training in counselling and psychotherapy is delivered in Further and Higher educational institutions and by private training providers. In the past the qualification used as the threshold for entry to the HPC Register has been the qualification most common in the profession at the time of regulation.

What will happen to existing training courses?

BACP cannot impose the core curriculum on a training organisation. As a professional body for counselling / psychotherapy part of our role is the development of professional standards and this is what the core curriculum sets out to do.

If the core curriculum becomes widely accepted then training organisations may find that they need to make changes to their existing courses in order to satisfy the requirements. When the core curriculum is approved as a definitive document it will be made widely available so that training organisations can assess the extent to which they meet the proposed requirements.

What will happen to BACP accredited courses?

Once the core curriculum has been finalised it will be considered against the current BACP Course Accreditation criteria (Accreditation of Training Courses, 2002 edition). This may result in revisions to our existing course accreditation criteria to ensure the two documents are aligned. In this way accredited courses will be expected to deliver to the core curriculum, but as noted above this is in the context of the document itself facilitating individuality and creativity.

If changes to the course accreditation criteria are required then existing BACP accredited courses will be helped to manage the transition between the two sets of requirements.

If you have any further questions, in relation to the core curriculum, please contact Rebecca Mann, tel: 01455 883343, email rebecca.mann@bacp.co.uk or write to Regulatory Policy Department, BACP House, 15 St John's Business Park, Lutterworth, Leicestershire LE17 4HB