September 2026: JS, Membership Number 00 721321, Registrant ID 107543

September 2026: Justin Slaughter, Membership Number 00 721321, Registrant ID 107543

Consensual Disposal

Reasons

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

Background

2. Justin Slaughter has been a BACP member since [...]

3. The Member previously worked in private practice.

4. On 11 December 2025 a complaint was received by the Association about the Member’s conduct. The complainant stated that she had a therapeutic relationship with the Member from March 2024 until August 2025. In summary, the complainant complained that that the Member made numerous self-disclosures in sessions, blurred the lines between therapy and friendship, and when the two met in public for a therapy session:

i. Whispered “boundaries, boundaries” to himself repeatedly

ii. Pointed to a building and told the Complainant he had once attended a “chem-sex party” there

iii. Spoke unclearly and rapidly

iv. Briefly lay his head on the Complainant’s arm

v. Excused himself to go to the bathroom a couple of times, drank a lot of water and was “very sniffly”, leading the Complainant to believe the Member was using cocaine during this session, given his previous disclosure of cocaine use

Admissions

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

a. Made numerous inappropriate self-disclosures in sessions, including that:

i. He had once overdosed on cocaine

ii. He went to a pub on Christmas Eve and ate lots of edibles

The Member accepts that he thereby failed to meet the following professional standards of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

7 - We will make each client the primary focus of our attention and our work during our sessions together.

12 – We will do everything we can to develop and protect our clients’ trust.

33 - We will establish and maintain appropriate professional and personal boundaries in our relationships with clients by ensuring that:

a. these boundaries are consistent with the aims of working together and beneficial to the client

48- We will avoid any actions that will bring our profession into disrepute.

b. Blurred the lines between therapy and friendship, by:

i. i. Keeping in touch via text outside of sessions and sharing details of his life, including sharing pictures of his family

The Member accepts that he thereby failed to meet the following professional standards of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

7 - We will make each client the primary focus of our attention and our work during our sessions together.

12 – We will do everything we can to develop and protect our clients’ trust.

33 - We will establish and maintain appropriate professional and personal boundaries in our relationships with clients by ensuring that:

a. these boundaries are consistent with the aims of working together and beneficial to the client

48- We will avoid any actions that will bring our profession into disrepute.

c. When the two met in public for a therapy session:

i. Briefly lay his head on the Complainant’s arm

The Member accepts that he thereby failed to meet the following professional standards of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

7-We will make each client the primary focus of our attention and our work during our sessions together.

12 – We will do everything we can to develop and protect our clients’ trust.

33- We will establish and maintain appropriate professional and personal boundaries in our relationships with clients by ensuring that:

a. these boundaries are consistent with the aims of working together and beneficial to the client

d. The Member failed to raise issues of concern in supervision regarding concerning aspects of his relationship with the complainant.

The Member accepts that he thereby failed to meet the following professional standards of Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018:

53- We will consider carefully in supervision how we work with clients

Mitigation

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

“This situation has been devastating for me personally.

I was going through a very difficult time in life, and I can see that this impacted on my judgment in relation to boundaries with my work with SG.

I have experienced suicidal thoughts, severe anxiety, and overwhelming stress, and I was signed off work. I have stopped working as a therapist and the impact has
affected every area of my life and future.

My thinking at the time was that I was attempting to be “human” within the therapeutic relationship with SG but can see this resulted in significant lapses in
professional judgment, for which I am deeply sorry, and from which I have learned profoundly and painfully.

My intention and hope had been that, for example, the sharing of memes would be humorous. For example, I knew SG disliked Donald Trump and humour and
camaraderie can sometimes form meaningful aspects of therapeutic work.However, despite my best intentions, there were serious boundary transgressions,
and I repeat my apology for that.

I would like to express my regret my deep regret and sadness about what took place”

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 Good Practice in the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2018 in particular paragraphs 7, 12, 33a, 48 and 53 as identified in the admissions above.

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. It determined that, whilst noting that the member denied some of the allegations and that he did not demonstrate full insight into the impact of his conduct on the complainant, given the many admissions made it is reasonable and proportionate to conclude this case by agreement on the terms set out below.

9. In relation to the finding above the IAC considers it appropriate that the Member’s BACP membership is withdrawn.

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 he will not act in any way inconsistent with this agreement such as, for example, by denying the admission(s) 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. A sanction panel may determine that it will terminate his membership. Such a decision will be published.