BACP sets, promotes and maintains standards for the profession. The Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and the Professional Conduct Procedure ensure that members of BACP abide by an accepted and approved code of conduct and accountability. It safeguards both practitioners and members of the public alike. The Register department reviews allegations through the Professional Conduct Procedure.

We recognise that having an allegation made against a member can be a very difficult experience for them. We therefore have experienced practitioners who will be available to support members if this situation ever happens to them. The role of Member Supporter is to offer emotional support around the impact of the case. The member supporter needs to have sufficient knowledge to signpost, where appropriate, both internally and externally.

Purpose of the role

You will provide emotional support (but not counselling) to BACP members in relation to the impact of the complaint.

You will provide BACP with a brief overview of the themes presented by your case load on a quarterly basis. This will all be anonymised information.

Carrying out the role

You'll be expected to:

  • provide telephone support to members in relation to the impact of the allegation or the professional conduct proceedings
  • signpost within BACP and externally, where appropriate, to other relevant services that may be able to support the member
  • provide a confidential service to the member. Only breaking that confidentiality if a safeguarding concern is raised or if the member discloses something which suggests that the allegation against the member should be upheld

BACP will seek your availability in advance and will be responsible for matching your availability with the member who is seeking support.

Skills and abilities

You should:

  • have experience of undertaking non-counselling emotional support
  • have training and competence in delivering support via phoneline
  • be an experienced counsellor or psychotherapist - BACP Registered, Accredited or Senior Accredited
  • have an excellent understanding of relevant issues including safeguarding, consent, confidentiality and data protection
  • have an awareness of issues that may necessitate referral, for example, Professional Conduct Case specific queries, ethical queries, employment law and the law in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion
  • have demonstrable ethical qualities of care, diligence, courage, empathy, identity, humility, integrity, resilience, respect, sincerity and wisdom
  • have the ability to deal with sensitive issues in a confidential way
  • have the ability to think on your feet and respond appropriately to any unexpected situations or queries that may arise
  • have excellent organisational skills that demonstrate an ability to work on your own initiative, to organise and prioritise your own workload, adhering to agreed deadlines

Time commitment

We are unable to give a firm commitment on the amount of work that will be allocated to contractors as this will depend on the number of requests that the Member Support service receives. However, we will always consult in advance to seek contractor availability.

Please note that our Member Support calls are always scheduled between 0900 and 1600 Monday to Friday.

Additional requirements

Professional indemnity insurance to cover your conduct support work.

Your own arrangements in place for supervision.

When undertaking support calls you will keep a brief record of the call in accordance with the requirements of the Ethical Framework and data protection legislation and provide members with a way to contact you as well as details of your Privacy Policy (for example, in case they wish to make a Subject Access Request).

Training

We will be holding an induction and training session for selected applicants in November or December 2026. It is hoped that those appointed will be able to attend. On an ongoing basis the Deputy Registrar will also be available for support to those appointed.

Fees and expenses

Contractors will be paid at the rate of £60 per hour and so will therefore receive a fee of £40 for each support session that they undertake (each support session should be limited to no more than 40 minutes).

Contractors are also able to claim a fee for any BACP training that they are required to participate in for the role. The fee for this will be based on the hourly rate. It is expected that all training will take place online.

Reasonable expenses, which should be confirmed with the BACP point of contact in advance, will be payable and must be submitted promptly after the expenditure has been incurred and no later than 31 days after the event. All claims must be supported by an explanation of the expenditure and by VAT receipts. Our BACP business expenses policy is updated from time to time by BACP and you can get an updated version from your point of contact at BACP.