Professional Conduct notice / NE

December 2025: Nicola Edworthy, Reference No 00967984 , Registrant ID 395303

Outcome Details

Consensual Disposal

Reasons

1. Nicola Edworthy, a BACP individual member, agrees to the following outcome of the investigation into a complaint of a failure to meet Professional Standards under reference PCP[…].

Background

2. Nicola Edworthy has been a BACP member since […].

3. The Member works in […].

4. […] (the Complainant) complained about the Member who she saw for weekly
counselling sessions via […] from October to December Year 1.

The Complainant alleges that the Member breached professional boundaries by making personal disclosures that were not clinically justified and that she did not promptly provide her session notes to the Complainant when the Complainant requested them.

Admissions
5. The Member makes the following admissions which BACP accepts:

Allegation 1

1.1 The Member breached professional boundaries by making personal disclosures which
were not clinically justified. In particular the Member told the Complainant that:
a. She had previously […]; and/or
b. She volunteered for the […]; and/or
c. Her dog […]

Allegation 2
2.1 The Member did not promptly provide her session notes to the client when
requested.

Mitigation

6. The Member puts forward the following in mitigation which has been taken into account
by the IAC in deciding the appropriate outcome.

The Member informs that she has demonstrated openness and accountability by preparing a case review and has shared what happened in this case and how she has grown professionally as a result.

The Member made attempts to repair and respond by offering a follow up session to the Complainant and reaching out to […] to understand how best to support the Complainant.

In writing to the Complainant and to BACP the Member acknowledges what she could have done differently and fully and unequivocally apologises for the harm and distress caused to the Complainant and deeply regrets that she was unable to repair the rupture.

Conclusion

7. The issues identified and admitted by the Member amount to breaches of the professional standards reasonably expected of the Member having regard to the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy 2018 in particular:
1.2 The Member thereby failed to meet professional standards, including in particular by acting in a way which was inconsistent with the following paragraphs of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

33a: (We will establish and maintain appropriate professional and personal
boundaries in our relationships with clients by ensuring that these boundaries are
consistent with the aims of working together and beneficial to the client); and/or

7: (We will make each client the primary focus of our attention and our work
during our sessions to gether).

2.2 The Member thereby failed to meet professional standards, including in particular by acting in a way which was inconsistent with the following paragraphs of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

15: (We will keep accurate records that:
• are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the type of
service being provided
• comply with the applicable data protection requirements – see
www.ico.org.uk) and/or

46: (We will give conscientious consideration to the law and how we fulfil any
legal requirements concerning our work).

8. One of the aims of the Professional Conduct Procedure is to protect members of the public. The IAC in considering the appropriate outcome and sanction for the admitted breaches in this case have taken into account the interests of public protection and determined that it is reasonable and proportionate to conclude it on the terms set out below.

9. In relation to the findings above the IAC considers the following sanction to be
appropriate.

Within 8 weeks of entering into a Consensual Disposal Agreement to provide to BACP:

(1). evidence of completion of a minimum of 6 hours in total of continuing professional
development on:
(a) ethical boundaries and self-disclosure in therapy, and
(b) record keeping and data protection

(2). Having completed the above training to provide to BACP:
(a) a letter of apolo gy to the Complainant focusing on the specific Allegations and
addressing what went wrong in this case,
(b) a written document setting out what went wrong in this case, what the Member has learned from the training they have taken as requested in 1 (a) and (b) above, what changes they have made to their practice to avoid a repetition of the conduct set out in the Allegations, how they have embedded these changes into their practice referencing the relevant parts of the Ethical Framework 2018 and the impact of their conduct on the Complainant and the wider counselling professions.

In addition to the above sanction, the Member is requested to confirm that:
(a) she has discussed the letter of apolo gy, her CPD and her learning from the CPD with
her supervisor, and
(b) she is meeting the BACP supervision requirement of a minimum of 90 minutes per
month of supervision.

10. The Member agrees that this Agreement will be published by the BACP in line with the
Publication Policy and that it will be disclosed to the Complainant.

11. The Member agrees that she will not act in any way inconsistent with this Agreement
such as, for example, by denying the admissions in paragraph 5 above.

12. If the Member fails, without good reason, to comply with the sanction set out above or acts in a way which is inconsistent with this Agreement the matter will be referred to a sanction panel for consideration. Such a decision would be published.

(Where ellipses [ . . . ] are displayed, they indicate an omission of text)