Chief Executive

Dr Phil James, Chief Executive

I’m deeply committed to working with our members and to advancing BACP towards fulfilling its public benefit objective as a vibrant and relevant professional body. I’ve experience in leading professional and awarding bodies that stretches across sectors as diverse as mining and social work. Before joining BACP in December 2023, I was CEO of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, leading transformation projects and advocating with members, regulators, UK government departments and international stakeholders. I aim to bring my experience and positive collaborative outlook to the BACP family and engender a culture of trust, dynamism and inclusion.

Executive team

Philippa Foster, Chief Operating Officer

I joined BACP in February 2022 as Chief Financial Officer. I’m a Chartered Management Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in public, not for profit, and charitable organisations.

My role at BACP primarily focuses on the financial strategy that underpins our delivery against our charitable objectives. I’m also responsible for the financial operations of BACP and stewardship of the assets of the Association.

My personal interest in mental health aligns with the vision of BACP and I feel privileged to use my professional expertise within the Association.

Ben Kay, Chief Experience Officer

I joined BACP in June 2023 as our Director of Transformation and Digital. Prior to joining I've held roles across a number of industries including at Thames Water, IBM and EE, as well as working with a variety of clients at my own consultancy company.

My career has focused primarily on helping organisations connect with their audiences and deliver the best experience in everything they do. I’ve launched new brands and delivered many digital and customer transformations in the UK and around the world.

This role at BACP brings together a few of my personal passions, not least that of mental wellbeing.

Lisa Morrison, Chief Regulation and Standards Officer

I joined BACP in December 2023 as Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research. I'm a Chartered Psychologist with almost 30 years’ experience in professional membership and research organisations in the charity sector, primarily supporting mental health. My specific expertise is in strategic leadership and stakeholder engagement to maximise impactful outcomes. Throughout my career, I've helped bridge the gap between evidence, policy development and decision making; influencing Government on a variety of issues relating to mental health.

I know the importance of representing our members and the profession, and being responsive to changes in the world in which therapists work. I want to ensure our workstreams deliver the best possible outcomes for clients, by ensuring high standards, guiding best practice and providing robust evidence to strategically influence employers, commissioners and policymakers. I'm delighted to be working with expert members and staff to drive forward effective change.

Senior management team

Martin Bell, Head of Policy and Public Affairs

I joined BACP in 2008 and have held a number of roles within the policy team before becoming Head of Policy and Public Affairs. My role focuses on raising awareness of the positive contribution of counselling and psychotherapy, the work of our members and the value they can bring to governments, parliamentarians, decision-makers and commissioners across the UK. I’m supported by a team with individual remits for healthcare, children and young people, third sector, workforce employment and the four nations. 

Before I joined BACP, I worked as a government relations consultant and as a research assistant to two MPs.

Eve Carruthers, Head of Insights, Planning & Change

Having worked in various roles across BACP since 2014, I moved into the role of Head of Insight, Planning and Change in 2025. This role is all about encouraging and supporting the organisation to make evidence informed, strategically aligned, and impactful decisions that deliver meaningful and innovative change, whether that be through change projects, process improvements, or developing new strategies. The Insight, Planning and Change team includes project management, business analysis and data insight functions, all of which support the organisation to create robust planning strategies and lead through change.

My personal interest in the counselling profession, combined with the colleagues and members I have worked with and learned from, has inspired me to continue my career with BACP. It is a privilege to apply the knowledge, skills and experience I have gained to help drive meaningful change.

Grace Gardiner, Head of Member Services

Since joining BACP as the events administrator, I’ve had the privilege of being part of the most creative teams and work alongside some of the most inspiringly passionate people. BACP has provided me with an opportunity to develop my career through leadership of the events team to become part of the Senior Management Team.

As Head of Member Services, I'm committed to developing resources that ensure our members continue to feel valued, heard and supported through the different levels of their professional journey. The department includes the member resources team (events and CPD), the divisional journals team, the product services team, content curation and strategy.  

The aim of the member services team is to continue to explore the possibilities around creating new and compelling member interactions with the objective of providing members with the tools and support they need to become better therapists.

Caroline Jesper, Head of Professional Standards

I’ve been Head of Professional Standards at BACP since 2020. Prior to this role I worked for BACP as an accreditation assessor and as a professional standards development facilitator, developing BACP competences and curricula. I’m a supervisor, a BACP accredited counsellor and a qualified life coach and also work in private practice.

I’ve more than 20 years’ experience working as a counsellor with adults, children and young people in a range of settings including in further and higher education, primary and secondary education, the NHS, staff counselling services and in the voluntary sector. I was also a senior lecturer in higher education for many years developing and delivering counselling and supervision training.

Adam Pollard, Head of Marketing and Engagement

Having joined BACP in 2019, I moved into my current role of Head of Marketing and Engagement in July 2020, where I’m responsible for our customer services, membership, marketing and communications team.

My primary focus is to continually improve our member experience by delivering innovative, creative and engaging communications across all key BACP touchpoints – including our e-newsletter, website, customer services and social media channels.

I’m also responsible for the management and promotion of the BACP brand, and for raising the public profile of our members and our ‘counselling changes lives’ message through our proactive media and PR activity.

Prior to joining BACP, I’ve enjoyed a series of marketing and campaign management roles in the financial services and higher education sectors and spent several years running my own successful company.

Dr Clare Symons, Head of Research

My role, as Head of Research, ensures that the research team supports BACP’s strategic goal to further develop confidence in the credibility of the profession through commissioning, undertaking, encouraging and facilitating research of key relevance that makes an impactful contribution to the evidence base. I'm a BACP registered senior accredited counsellor, I’ve worked with clients in a range of settings including higher education, private practice and the voluntary sector. My belief in the value of research to practitioners has been instrumental in my former work, both as a trainer on a BACP accredited course and as Editor of BACP’s Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal, as well as being integral to my current post at BACP.

Chris Silverton, Head of Digital

I joined BACP in 2025 as Head of Digital. I’ve spent much of my career helping charities and not-for-profit organisations modernise their systems, improve digital experiences and work more efficiently.

Before joining BACP, I led IT and digital transformation across several multi-site and international organisations, with a focus on building and integrating digital platforms and enterprise systems, strengthening data and security capabilities, and creating the technology foundations for great user experiences.

What really attracted me to BACP is the chance to use technology in a way that genuinely helps people. I’m passionate about building a digital environment that supports our members, strengthens our services and ultimately makes it easier for counselling to change lives.

Natalie Scott, Head of Governance and Risk

Moving from governance in a chartered membership organisation, I joined BACP in 2026 bringing with me a strong compliance and governance background, alongside a passion for helping organisations become fit for purpose and future-ready.

For the last few years, I have focused on continuously improving governance structures to support robust decision-making, while ensuring that effective risk management is embedded in both strategic decisions and day-to-day operations to protect the organisation and enable sustainable success.

My focus has always been about more than frameworks and processes. I'm passionate about empowering the right people, in the right roles, with the right tools to make strong decisions in organisations that are agile, effective, and ready for the future. I enjoy solving complex challenges while maintaining the highest standards of governance, integrity, and accountability.

Aseia Rafique, Head of DEIB

I’m a passionate advocate for all things equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. My role, alongside BACP, is about ensuring that anyone who needs counselling is able to access equitable, ethical, and effective practice. My aim is to embed DEIB in our work, while listening to, learning from and working alongside you to shape and co-produce the work we deliver. I’m also the co-author of White Allies Matter, which explores how we can support anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice at work and in our personal lives.