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Regulation - Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 29 March 2010
The information below is intended to answer some of the questions that you may have about the regulation of counselling / psychotherapy. We will update the information as more detail becomes available so please continue to check for updates.
What does statutory regulation mean?
Statutory regulation means that a profession is regulated by an independent council that does not belong to any professional body or interest group. In regulating a profession a professional title is protected. Then it is only people who are registered to use that title can legally refer to themselves by it.
When will statutory regulation happen?
The working date for regulation of counselling / psychotherapy, is 2011/12. The General Election will lead to a delay. A lot of preparatory work will be done by the Department of Health and the Health Professions Council in the course of the next twelve months.
Who will be the regulator?
A White Paper has stated that the Health Professions Council will be the regulator for counsellors / psychotherapists (along with psychologists and other psychological therapies). There has been no indication that this will change if there is a change of Government following the General Election.
How will the regulator make decisions on the issues associated with the regulation of counsellors / psychotherapists?
The Health Professions Council convened a Professional Liaison Group (PLG) and BACP had a place on that group.
The Professional Liasion Group membership was:
Sally Aldridge - British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Fiona Ballantine-Dykes - Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body
Mary Clark-Glass - Lay member of the HPC Council
Jonathan Coe - We Need To Talk
Mick Cooper - University of Strathclyde
Peter Fonagy - Skills for Health
Julian Lousada - British Psychoanalytic Council
Jeff Lucas - Lay member of the HPC Council
Brian Magee - Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland
Linda Matthews - British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
Nick Turner - Relate Institute
Jean McMinn - Queen's University Belfast
Kathi Murphy - United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
Eileen Thornton - Alternate Physiotherapist member of the HPC Council
Annie Turner - Occupational Therapist member of the HPC Council
Graham Smith - Physiotherapist member of the HPC Council
Diane Waller - Arts Therapist member of the HPC Council and Chair of the PLG
The PLG recommendations on the issues listed below was subject to a consultation in 2009:
- structure of the register
- protected title(s)
- voluntary register transfer and grandparenting arrangements
- standards of proficiency
- standards of education and training
The summary results of the consultation can be found at http://www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10002BD5psychotherapistsandcounsellorsconsultationresponses-enc5.pdf and the conclusions can be found at http://www.hpc-uk.org/assets/documents/10002BD6psychotherapistsandcounsellorsconclusionsdocument-enc6.pdf
Will regulation be based on theoretical approaches / modalities?
The consultation responses agreed with the proposal that there should be no regulation by modalities.
How do I train to be a counsellor / psychotherapist?
At the moment there is not a standard route for those wishing to train to be a counsellor / psychotherapist. Training usually takes a minimum of three to four years on a part time basis - this is usually made up of a one year introductory course plus a two year practitioner training or a completed four year training.
However, as the profession is due to be regulated in 2011/12 this will have an impact on those who are embarking on a training soon. The regulator for counsellors / psychotherapists (the Health Professions Council) will decide upon a threshold level of qualification for the profession. At the moment this piece of work is not complete and we therefore cannot tell you what academic level practitioner training course to be looking for, however we hope to have more information on this over the course of the next twelve months.
We would therefore suggest that if you wish to pursue a career in this field that you enrol on an introductory course. If at the end of your initial studies you decide that you would like to continue with your training then please contact us again and we should have further information on the level of qualification required.
Should I undertake a BACP accredited course?
Accredited courses have been through an assessment process with us and have been judged to meet our standards. We have been assured by the HPC that BACP accredited courses will be accepted initially as approved qualifications. BACP accredited courses will then be assessed by the HPC. Our advice is that it is better to do an accredited course, if this is possible for you. In regulating a profession the HPC are looking to protect the public, it is not intended to remove competent professionals from practice. We will be working with our accredited courses to assist with any changes that are necessary in the future.
I'm already on a training course - what will statutory regulation mean for me?
When the profession is regulated then you will need to apply to the regulator (the Health Professions Council) to be registered with them. They initially have three possible routes open for registration:
- Transfer from an existing voluntary register. A decision will be made, in the future, on which registers are eligible and thereby which registrants are able to automatically transfer.
- Completion of an approved qualification. It is possible that your course will automatically become an approved qualification.
- Grandparenting. If neither of the above routes is possible then the grandparenting route will hopefully still be available - this is assuming that you will have practised prior to the opening of the register.
Is it better to do a qualification that is based in Higher Education?
As counsellor / psychotherapist training exists in other sectors, in addition to Higher Education, we have been pursuing this issue with HPC. We have been told that, in principle, HPC is not concerned with the sector that a course is delivered in as long as it meets their Standards of Education and Training. As part of the Standards a threshold level will be set for counsellors / psychotherapists, however, this has not currently been decided upon. We will continue to raise this issue with HPC as the process continues so that we can update prospective students.
How will existing members gain access to the Health Professions Council register?
There are three possible ways to gain registration with the HPC. We will be pursuing the detail of all of these areas with the HPC over the course of the next year so hope to eventually be able to provide more definitive information.
- Transfer from an existing voluntary register. BACP is working to ensure that as many members as possible are registered on a voluntary register that will be accepted for transfer. If a register is accepted, registrants will be asked if they wish for their registration information to be transferred to the HPC register. There will then be a transfer of information on the registrants between the two organisations. The voluntary register will then cease to exist.
- Completion of an approved qualification. At the moment it is not known which qualifications will be approved when counselling / psychotherapy is regulated. We understand that the HPC will accept the training courses which have been approved by the Professional Bodies relevant to the field, that is BACP accredited courses, and therefore graduates of those courses.
- Grandparenting. Generally this route is used to try to offer an opportunity for registration to those individuals who are not eligible by either of the two routes referred to above. The detailed requirements for counsellors / psychotherapists gaining registration via this route are not known as yet. It is proposed that the grandparenting period will be for three years following the opening of the register.