BACP members have a contractual commitment to work in accordance with the current Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. These Good Practice in Action (GPiA) resources are not contractually binding, but are intended to support practitioners by providing general information on principles and policy applicable at the time of publication, in the context of the core ethical principles, values and personal moral qualities of BACP.

How to find resources

All the GPiA resources currently available are listed below in numerical order.

You can use the Search by links to search for resources by topic or by the type of resource - for example fact sheets.

GPiA documents

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 Reference  Title and link  Type of resource
 GPiA 002 Counselling children and young people in England, Northern Ireland and Wales in school contexts Legal resource
 GPiA 003 Working with adoption law within the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 004 Working in private practice within the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 005 Working with adoption law within the counselling professions in Northern Ireland Legal resource
 GPiA 008 How to choose a supervisor (counsellors) Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 009 How to choose a supervisor for your service Fact sheet
 GPiA 010 Monitoring the supervisory relationship from the supervisor's perspective Fact sheet
 GPiA 011 Monitoring the supervisory relationship from a supervisee's perspective Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 014 Managing confidentiality within the counselling professions Legal resource
 GPiA 015 How to do a literature search Research fact sheet
 GPiA 020 How to write a research proposal Fact sheet
 GPiA 025 Adoption law in Scotland Legal resource
 GPiA 026 Counselling children and young people in school contexts in Scotland Legal resource
 GPiA 029 Mental health law within the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 030 Safeguarding vulnerable adults within the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 031 Safeguarding children and young people within the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 032 Supervision within the counselling professions in England, Northern Ireland and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 033 Ethical decision making within the counselling professions Research overview
 GPiA 038 About the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 039 Making the contract within the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 040 Social media, digital technology and the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 042 Talking about suicide risk with clients in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 043 Supervision within the counselling professions Research overview
 GPiA 044 Ethical decision making in the context of the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 046 Working with children and young people Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 047 Working online in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 048 Mental health literature within the counselling professions Research overview
 GPiA 052 Understanding child protection in Scotland Legal resource
 GPiA 053 Understanding the children’s hearing system in Scotland Legal resource
 GPiA 054 Introduction to supervision in the counselling professions (members) Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 055 Making the contract in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 056 This resource is under review.  Research overview
 GPiA 057 Suicide - issues when working in the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 058 Assisted dying (assisted suicide): issues for the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 059 Abortion: issues for the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 060 Coroner’s Court, inquests and confidentiality beyond death: issues for the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 062 Equality, diversity and inclusion within the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 063 Equality, diversity and inclusion within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 064 Introduction to supervision (public version) Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 065 Confidentiality and record keeping within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 066 What do we mean by records and record keeping within the counselling professions? Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 067 Practical aspects of record keeping within the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 068 Record keeping within organisational settings in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 069 Sharing records with clients, legal professionals and the courts in the context of the counselling professions Legal resource
 GPiA 070 This resource is out of date and has been removed. See GPiA 128 Legal resource
 GPiA 071 Ownership and storage of client notes and records in the context of the counselling professions Legal resource
 GPiA 072 This resource has been archived. Unplanned endings is now covered in GPiA 132 Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 073 Accountability and candour within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 077 Dual roles within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 078 Fitness to practise in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 079 Counselling placements: information for trainers Fact sheet
 GPiA 080 Reasonable adjustment in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 081 Working with older people in the counselling professions Commonly asked questions
 GPiA 082 Counselling placements: organisational information Fact sheet
 GPiA 083 Writing reports for the courts and giving evidence in court in the context of the counselling professions in England and Wales Legal resource
 GPiA 084 Ethical mindfulness within supervision and training Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 088 Self-care for the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 089 This resource has been archived. Retirement from the counselling professions is now covered in GPiA 132 Fact sheet
 GPiA 090 Counselling placements: a trainee's guide Fact sheet
 GPiA 091 Working with interpreters in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 092 This resource has been archived. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is now covered in GPiA 031 Fact sheet
 GPiA 094 Fitness to practise within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 096 Working with disability in the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 098 This resource is out of date and has been removed. See GPiA 128 Legal resource
 GPiA 099 Workloads and the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 100 Setting up counselling and psychotherapy services Fact sheet
 GPiA 101 Race, religion and belief within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 102 This resource has been archived. Planned breaks in practice within the counselling professions is now covered in GPiA 132 Fact sheet
 GPiA 103 Writing case studies for research, publication and professional development within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 104 Clinical wills and digital legacies in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 105 The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR) legal principles and practice notes for the counselling professions Legal resource
 GPiA 106 Safe working in the context of the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 108 Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the counselling professions Legal resource
 GPiA 109 Workload in the context of the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 110 Boundaries within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 111 Boundary issues within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 112 Mental health in the context of the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 113 Accountability and candour within the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 114 Four-way contracting between training providers, placements, trainees and supervisors within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 115 Working with unhealthy dependency within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 116 Working with domestic abuse within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 117 Practitioner self-disclosure in the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 118  Charging for services within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 119 Recognising and managing attraction within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 120 Working with risk within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 121 Peer supervision within the counselling professions Fact sheet
 GPiA 122 This resource has been archived. Fact sheet
 GPiA 124 Social media, digital technology and the counselling professions Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 125 Working online in the counselling professions

Clinical reflections for practice
 GPiA 126 Suicide risk when working in counselling professions

Research overview
GPiA 128 Working with the CPS Pre-trial Therapy Guidance (2022) with adult and child witnesses in criminal courts in England and Wales Legal resource
GPiA 129 Reasonable adjustments in the counselling professions in private practice Clinical reflections for practice
GPiA 130 Contracting for adults across the counselling professions Fact sheet
GPiA 131 Contracting for children and young people across the counselling professions Fact sheet
GPiA 132 Breaks and endings in the counselling professions Fact sheet

Good practice across the counselling professions

Our Good practice across the counselling professions resources aim to help members and others working within the counselling professions to develop good practice.

Reference Title and link
GPaCP 001

Gender, sexual and relationship diversity: We're currently reviewing our resource(s)in this topic area and anticipate the new resource(s) being available in early 2026.
GPaCP 002

Safeguarding vulnerable adults in Scotland
GPaCP 004

What works in counselling and psychotherapy relationships

GPaCP 007

Working with disability across the counselling professions

BACP members have a contractual commitment to work in accordance with the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. These resources are not contractually binding, but are intended to support practice by providing general information on particular fields of work in the context of the core ethical principles, values and personal moral qualities that we promote.

Specific issues in practice will vary depending on clients, particular models of working, the context of the work and the kind of therapeutic intervention provided. As specific issues arising from work with clients are often complex, we always recommend discussing practice dilemmas with a line manager or supervisor, or consulting a suitably qualified and experienced legal or other relevant professional.

E-learning resources

Reference Title and link
GPiA EL001

Ethical decision making in the counselling professions: We're currently reviewing our resource in this topic area. 
GPiA EL002

Exploring suicidal risk with clients

Can't find what you're looking for?

If you still can't find the resource you're looking for:

  • type your topic in the Articles and guidance search bar at the top of this page
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  • click on Update the results to see all the relevant resources

Or, if you know the GPiA reference number, just type that into the search bar.

See also ...