BACP accreditation is designed to recognise your capacity for independent, ethical and competent practice. It is not specific to any modality.

Accreditation is awarded through an in-depth application and assessment process. As well as completing a set number of hours of training, practice and supervision, you must be able to demonstrate a real understanding of the way you work and how you help your clients.

Benefits of accreditation

All your existing member benefits plus:

  • use of the designatory letters 'MBACP (Accred)'
  • a certificate of accreditation and a personalised logo that you can use to promote your practice
  • professional recognition of the quality of your practice

Requirements

To apply for accreditation, you must be a registered member and meet the following criteria:

Training requirements

You must have completed and graduated from a BACP accredited course, or professional counselling or psychotherapy training that:

  • included at least 450 hours of tutor contact hours
  • lasted at least two years (part-time) or one year (full-time)
  • included a supervised placement as an integral part of the training
  • covered theory, skills, professional issues and personal development
  • required an assessment of your competence at the end

You can use more than one course to meet these requirements, but you cannot include:

  • short continuing professional development (CPD) training
  • courses which are not considered core practitioner training for counselling and psychotherapy, such as eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) or hypnotherapy
  • courses that offer a certificate of attendance, achievement or completion without any assessment

Supervised practice requirements

You must be in practice when you apply for accreditation. You must also have:

  • been in practice for more than three years (these do not have to be consecutive years)
  • completed at least 450 hours of supervised practice, accumulated over three to six years (which don't have to be consecutive). At least 150 of these hours must have been after successfully completing all your practitioner training.
  • been supervised for at least 1.5 hours a month throughout this period of practice

You can count practice hours accumulated from the date you started your placement, as long as this was supervised for at least 1.5 hours a month.

Supervision requirements

You must have a current and ongoing contract for counselling or psychotherapy supervision for a minimum of 1.5 hours for each month you are practising.

You can have more than one contract in place to meet this requirement, even if they relate to your practice in different agencies. You can also include a combination of individual and peer supervision.

Commitments

As a BACP member, you agree to abide by our Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and our Professional Conduct Procedure. You had to read and agree to these as part of your original membership application. 

You should also read our Membership policies and protocols

As an accredited member, you must agree to the terms and conditions of the BACP Register. You'll have to recommit to these every year when you renew your membership online.

How to apply

Accreditation involves a detailed written application and an assessment process that will take us four to six months to complete. You need to provide evidence of your training, practice and supervision. You must also complete a reflective practice section, demonstrating your understanding of what you do with examples from your practice.

Costs

Membership subscriptions run for a year and are reviewed annually.

If you’re receiving certain state benefits or have no personal income, you may be entitled to pay a reduced fee. You will need to select this option when you renew online. See our Reduced fee policy.

Renew your accredited membership

You must maintain your membership and renew your registration and accreditation every year by agreeing to the Register terms and conditions online. If you do not, your membership will lapse.

We will send you a renewal notice about six weeks before your renewal date. You'll need to log in to your account complete the membership and register terms and conditions, advise us of any changes to your circumstances and pay your membership fees. (If you pay by Direct Debit, your existing payment arrangement will continue unless you ask us to change it.)

Reinstate your accredited membership

If you do not renew, your membership will lapse on your renewal date. You have up to 31 days to go online and reinstate your membership.

After 31 days, you will need to contact us and complete our reinstatement forms. Please email membership@bacp.co.uk. 

You can reinstate your accreditation without having to make a completely new application. The process will depend upon how long your accreditation has been lapsed.

Please email accreditation@bacp.co.uk and let us know that you want to reinstate so that we can send you the appropriate forms.

Lapsed for less than 31 days

You need to complete:

  • membership terms and conditions
  • BACP Register terms and conditions

You need to pay:

  • your membership fee, backdated to your renewal date

Lapsed for more than 31 days but less than three years

You need to complete:

  • membership terms and conditions
  • BACP Register terms and conditions

You need to pay:

  • your membership fee - your membership will start from a new date

Lapsed for more than three years

You need to complete:

  • a new BACP membership application form
  • an accreditation reinstatement form
  • BACP Register terms and conditions

You need to pay:

  • your membership fee
  • accreditation reinstatement fee of £230 for each accreditation you wish to reinstate

See also